'Stitch' Duran laments missed chance to be part of Fedor Emelianenko's 'legacy' at Bellator 172

A lot of people were disappointed when Matt Mitrione had to drop out of his Bellator 172 headliner with Fedor Emelianenko at the last minute due to health issues.

That list includes cutman Jacob “Stitch” Duran, who, after being personally contacted by Emelianenko (36-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) – in English, no less – the week before he and Mitrione (11-5 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) were supposed to square off, was looking forward to working closely with the iconic fighter ahead of his Bellator debut.

“I had gotten a call the Saturday before from Jerry Millen, who is the adviser for Fedor, and he asked if I was going to be in San Jose, and I said, ‘Yeah, of course.’ And he says, ‘Hold on, somebody wants to talk to you,'” Duran told MMAjunkie Radio. “And it was Fedor. And he says, ‘He, how are you doing?’ And he does speak English, believe or not. Maybe just to me, but nobody else.

“When I saw him at the weigh-ins, he’s at his own private little green area, and Jerry takes me in there, and he sees me, gets up and gives me a big hug and says, ‘Hey brother, I need your help tomorrow.’ And I say, ‘Yeah, of course.’ I was looking forward just to work his corner, just to wrap his hands and just to be part of his legacy. Because (there’s) no telling how many fights he has left. This one with Matt would have been a tough, tough fight.”

Duran said he first heard about the situation with Mitrione, later diagnosed with kidney stones, as he headed to the arena with the other cutmen, and got the confirmation shortly after. While he was personally saddened by the situation, Duran felt the most for Bellator President Scott Coker and the promotion’s halted momentum.

“It was (Coker’s) show; it was in San Jose,” Duran said. “And then the one with Tito (Ortiz) and Chael (Sonnen) (at Bellator 170) was such an epic fight. As a matter of fact, one of the top journalists was saying, ”Stitch,’ doesn’t this show remind you of the way the UFC used to be years ago, where everybody was involved, great fights and all that?’

“So that made that a special moment, and for them to have back-to-back moments events like that I think would have been very instrumental in the growth of Bellator.”

In any case, it looks like a partnership between Duran and Emelianenko, even in an outside-the-cage capacity, isn’t off the table just yet.

“I talked to Fedor when he came into the arena,” Duran said. “He comes in, he taps me in the bottom of my leg, and I look, and it’s Fedor. (He) gives me another hug. Because I have a nice relationship with him. And I was telling him how Anatoly Tokov (whom Emelianenko cornered on the same card), one of his proteges, I wrapped his hands and he really liked it.

“And I gave his coach my business card, about doing a seminar in Russia. First thing that Fedor says is, ‘When?’ And I said, ‘He has my card.’ And he goes, ‘No, I have your card also.'”

Bellator 172, of course, went ahead without the original main event at SAP Center, in San Jose, Calif., with the Patricky Freire-Josh Thomson fight elevated to headliner. Mitrione seems to be recovering well, and Emelianenko is now eyeing a May or June slot for his Bellator debut, possibly a rebooking of the scrapped bout.

To hear Duran’s recollection of the incident, check out the video above.

And for more on Bellator 172e, check out the MMA Events section of the site.

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