6 Things You Need To Know Before Bellator NYC

Left without a heavyweight champion for over a year, Bellator has been very patient, waiting for a murky picture to clear before reactivating the title. With potential contenders all over the place including Bobby Lashley, Cheick Kongo, and Vitaly Minakov, the chances are we could see one half of the next title match on Saturday.

Many people see this as a passing of the torch moment. Pushed by some as the greatest heavyweight ever, Fedor Emilianenko is on his last go round. He faces Matt Mitrione, fresh off a solid UFC run and a 2-0 start in Bellator. Fedor is a legend of the sport, and is currently on a five fight winning streak. Considering the opposition during that run, this will be his biggest test by far since his three fight losing streak in Strikeforce. Losses to Fabricio Werdum, Antonio Silva, and Dan Henderson possibly signalled his best days were behind him, and that was back in 2011.

At 40 years old, The Last Emperor has nothing left to prove, and sometimes matchmaking just makes sense. Many feel Mitrione's overall striking game might be a little too much for Fedor at this stage of his career, but you can never count him out. If he still has something left in the tank and beats Mitrione, maybe he can set up one last run at gold before hanging up the gloves.