The Daily Beast has more information about Russia mixed martial arts fighter Fedor Emelianenko whom the FBI interviewed in Chicago last month, likely because of his connections to Vladimir Putin, President Trump, and Michael Cohen.
A fearsome heavyweight known as “The Last Emperor”—and who’s beloved by Russian President Vladimir Putin—Fedor Emelianenko had been in America for only five days before the feds appeared at his hotel near O’Hare Airport on Tuesday, April 24.
A decade before, Emelianenko had headlined an MMA league championed by Donald Trump and his personal lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen. The outfit went bust after only two fights.
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Jerry Millen, Emelianenko’s manager, declined to discuss what the G-men asked the 41-year-old warrior, who won his Bellator slugfest in 48 seconds four days later ...
“They told us they’d be at the fight on Saturday,” Millen said of the federal agent and a translator, who came from the FBI’s Chicago bureau and chatted up Emelianenko for 20 minutes before handing him their business cards. “They said they’d be in plainclothes and we won’t know they’re there.”
When asked if Emelianenko has a relationship with Cohen, Millen replied, “Not that I know of.”
It’s unclear whether the FBI interest in Emelianenko, a slightly pudgy bruiser with a shaved head and stony gaze, is connected to either inquiry. But Millen, who partnered with Trump on a failed reality TV show featuring Emelianenko, said everything the MMA legend does is above board.
“Fedor is one of the best people I know,” Millen added. “He’s not involved in any goofy shit at all.”
At the same time, Millen stressed just how connected Emelianenko is to Putin.
“Fedor works for Putin,” Millen said. “He’s very close to Mr. Putin and a big supporter of Mr. Putin and he’ll probably go back to work, after this is all over, for the government of Russia as sports ambassador.” Indeed, Emelianenko was a member of Putin’s United Russia Party and in 2012 was placed on the Russian president’s sports advisory council.
Emelianenko is tied to Trump and Cohen through a failed MMA venture launched in 2008.
... [T]he Affliction apparel company launched an MMA league in answer to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Before Affliction’s MMA venture, the UFC had prohibited its fighters from wearing Affliction duds during events. “I don’t like the way they do business,” UFC President Dana White told Bleacher Report of the clothing line, which had been sponsoring the sport’s fighters. In response, Affliction launched a league of its own.
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In May of that year, at a press conference at Trump Tower, the [Donald Trump] declared his partnership with Affliction and announced its first pay-per-view fight. Emelianenko would be the star of the July 2008 bout—titled “Affliction: Banned,” in a nod to the turf war with the UFC.
Trump held another presser one month later to announce the signing of Belarusian fighter Andrei Arlovski. “I’ve got a lot of money. That helps, right? But also and perhaps more importantly, I seem to get a lot of attention,” Trump told reporters.
“If we make money, that’s great,” Trump added, “I think we will. I think it will be successful. What I do is usually successful.”
Cohen was named Affliction Entertainment’s chief operating officer in a press release touting “Banned,” which drew thousands of fans to the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, and starred a Megadeth performance. Cohen said he was “nearly speechless” that Trump and Affliction trusted him to make MMA magic happen.
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[Then-vice president of Affliction MMA Tom] Atencio said he met with Cohen, the chief operating officer, a few times for lunch but that “at the end of the day, he was really Donald Trump’s lawyer and had nothing to do with the events.” Atencio said he got “a big kick out of” seeing Cohen’s COO title in recent news reports.
“He told me that he studied martial arts,” Atencio said of Cohen. “He was a really nice guy. [But] he wasn’t involved in any of the operations or putting things together. Nothing.”
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All three Affliction events featured Emelianenko as the main event. But the company, which was hemorrhaging cash on glitz and payroll, folded before the third bout, “Affliction: Trilogy,” which was scheduled for August 2009 ...
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Emelianenko was at the center of another failed enterprise backed by Trump: a reality TV series called “Fighting Fedor.” Millen pitched the 15-episode project, which was supposed to be taped in St. Petersburg, Russia.
In October 2008, Affliction announced it would begin filming the show, which would send 16 unknown fighters to Russia for a chance to battle Emelianenko. Trump and M-1 Global [an MMA promoter based in St. Petersburg, Russia] were listed as partners.
“I don’t know who is going to make it through, but whoever it is will be incredible,” Trump said in a press release for the Soviet spectacular, adding, “I’m going to be there, but I don’t want to compete on the show.”
Filming for the series never got off the ground ...
Trump told Howard Stern in July 2008 he liked the MMA because it's more violent than boxing.
Putin’s Top MMA Fighter: Backed by Trump, Busted by the FBI (The Daily Beast)