With UFC contract complete, Shawn Jordan wants to fight Fedor Emelianenko

Shawn Jordan

Unbeknownst to many, Shawn Jordan’s bout with Ruslan Magomedov at UFC 192 earlier this month was the final fight on his UFC contract.

Jordan (18-7) suffered a unanimous decision loss to Magomedov at the event to snap a three-fight winning streak. Regardless of the result, though, Jordan is now a free agent and is pursuing a matchup with a heavyweight not on the UFC roster.

That heavyweight is none other than former PRIDE FC champion Fedor Emelianenko (34-4), who recently ended a more than three-year retirement and was announced to compete in Japan on New Year’s Eve for the upstart Rizin Fighting Federation.

Emelianenko retired from MMA competition in June 2012. However, he declared his intentions to make a comeback earlier this year and was reportedly in negotiations with several organizations, including the UFC.

As has been a constant throughout his career, though, Emelianenko was unable to reach terms with the UFC. He instead opted to return to Japan, where he earned many of his career-defining victories under the now-defunct PRIDE FC banner.

Emelianenko reportedly could face unheralded Jiadeep Singh on New Year’s Eve, however, the matchup has yet to be formally announced by the promotion. That means there’s still an opportunity to campaign for the bout, and Jordan has made it clear he wants to face “The Last Emperor.”

“How many people get to compete with man that brought them to their sport?!!!” Jordan wrote. “Let’s do it.”

Jordan is arguably the top heavyweight free agent in MMA and has the credentials to present a challenge to Emelianenko. The 31-year-old earned all six of his UFC victories by knockout and has submission wins on his record, as well.

The probability of Jordan being placed in a matchup with Emelianenko is unknown, but if it does come to fruition, “The Savage” is confident he’d give the Russian everything he could handle.

“To compete with a legend (is) an honor and I’m still not an easy fight for anyone,” Jordan said.

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