Matt Mitrione just as surprised as you when sweater-clad Fedor Emelianenko announced as Bellator 172 opponent

Matt Mitrione claims he was just as surprised as anyone when Fedor Emelianenko walked out from backstage at Bellator 165 to be announced as his opponent for the Bellator 172 main event.

Mitrione (11-5 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) was in San Jose, Calif., for Bellator 165 and knew he was going to get an opponent announced during the card. But the longtime UFC vet, who has won both his Bellator fights by knockout since moving over earlier this year, thought the opponent would be Quinton Jackson.

“It was such a surprise,” Mitrione told MMAjunkie Radio on Monday. “Honestly, I thought it was going to be ‘Rampage.’ And he started to walk out in that sweater of all things, I thought, ‘Oh, good God, this is great.’

“Totally legit – I was under the impression that Fedor was having issues in M-1, and there wasn’t going to be a co-branding with Bellator. So I was under the impression that Fedor wasn’t the scoop, and I also heard that Fedor was fighting Shane Carwin.”

Mitrione said Emelianenko (36-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) wasn’t a realistic thought for him.

“He wasn’t even on my radar,” he said. “There was a small hope. But then I thought, ‘Maybe it’ll be Shane Carwin. Maybe it’ll be (Sergei) Kharitonov, but Kharitonov just lost, so what other big name could there be unless they have a new signing I don’t know about?’ It’s got to be ‘Rampage.’ So that was kind of my thought. Apparently I was wrong – thankfully. I mean, I’m happy about it.”

“Rampage” Jackson is a legendary former champion, and a Mitrione fight against him would be an interesting one given they spent time together on Season 10 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” Mitrione was coached by Rashad Evans, opposite Jackson.

But Emelianenko is part of MMA’s Mt. Rushmore and is a different level of legend as far as most fans – and fighters – are concerned.

And because of that, Mitrione said there was no way he was going to jaw-jack with the veteran Russian on the Bellator 165 Spike broadcast this past Saturday.

“Who am I to bum gums with Fedor? At the right time, when we’re really hyping the fight or whatever else, yeah, sure,” Mitrione said. “But at that time, I was just happy to see that Fedor was coming back. I was happy that I was going to have the opportunity to punch him in his face. I was happy. Why would I want to ruin that with talking (expletive)? I’m not that guy. I bum gums with the best of them in the world, and I can hold my own, verbally, with anybody. But it just wasn’t that time or the place. I’m not going to have a contrived, (Conor) McGregor-esque pre-determined comments. I’m going to be myself, and I’m going to have it come out and be who I am.”

The rest of the world will find out how that plays out on Feb. 18 at Bellator 172 at SAP Center in San Jose. The main card will air on Spike following prelims on MMAjunkie.

For more on Bellator 172, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.

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