Aleksander Emelianenko and the Red Devil fight team part ways

According to published reports, Aleksander Emelianenko and the Red Devil fight team in St. Petersburg, Russia have parted ways. The separate appears to be mutual, as both the team website and Emelianenko’s own personal website indicated that there are no hard feelings towards either side.

Emelianenko commented on his site that he was looking forward to the next chapter in his life and that he would defend his name and prove that he was the best. He also added that his first priority was to defend the honor of Russia in international tournaments.

An official statement by M-1 Global has yet to be issued and while Emelianenko’s separation from Red Devil has been confirmed, it is unclear if he is still contractual aligned with M-1.

There was no specific reason given by either site to why he was leaving. However, rumors have persisted that he had been at odds with some of his Red Devil teammates for some time now.

Emelianenko also had been scheduled to fight last July during the inaugural Affliction card but was scratched at the last minute for reasons that still have yet to have been disclosed. Some sources have speculated that he tested positive for Hepatitis B but those reports have never been confirmed.

The younger brother of WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko, Aleksander is 14-3 in his career. The former PRIDE veteran holds victories over Sergei Kharitonov, James Thompson and Assuerio Silva while also having dropped notable fights to Josh Barnett, Mirko Cro Cop and Fabricio Werdum.