You've got one chance to own Fedor Emelianenko's actual Glorious Sweater of Absolute Victory

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Former PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko is giving mere mortals an opportunity to own his Glorious Sweater of Absolute Victory, and it’s for a good cause.

Emelianenko and Bellator officials on Saturday revealed that the famous striped garment will soon be auctioned off to the highest bidder, with proceeds benefitting a non-profit organization yet to be named.

Emelianenko (36-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) was scheduled to meet Matt Mitrione (11-5 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) in the headlining bout of Saturday’s Bellator 172 event at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. Unfortunately, Mitrione was diagnosed with kidney stones hours before the card began, and the main event ultimately was scrapped.

Still, Emelianenko showed up to the evening’s post-event news conference to discuss the schedule change. And while there, “The Last Emperor” and Bellator President Scott Coker revealed the famed sweater will soon be offered up on the open market.

“We had hoped that this would be a different circumstance,” Coker admitted, lamenting the loss of the evening’s main event. “What Fedor has agreed to do is he’s going to auction off the sweater, so we’re going to auction it off through the Bellator channels.

“We’re going to announce how we’re going to do it soon. But we’re going to auction it off for a non-profit organization.”

Emelianenko is widely considered the greatest heavyweight in MMA history and rattled off an incredible 27 consecutive victories between 2001 and 2009. Along the way, he picked up wins over the likes of Mark Coleman, Mirko Filipovic, Heath Herring, Mark Hunt, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Kevin Randleman, among others.

Spending nearly the entirety of his career competing in Japan, and with a notoriously stoic demeanor, Emelianenko remains a largely private figure. However, multiple pictures of the legendary fighter surfaced over the years that featured him in an instantly recognizable horizontally striped green sweater. The garment became an icon of its own, jokingly credited for Emelianenko’s success.

The sweater was even featured in a promo video for Saturday’s event.

Soon, it can be yours – for the right price. But it’s probably tax deductible, so you might want to see what you can offer. After all, with what the Glorious Sweater of Absolute Victory did for Emelianenko, just imagine what it can do for you.

For additional coverage of Bellator 172, check out the MMA Events section of the site.