Fedor Emelianenko Knocks Out Frank Mir At Bellator 198, Advances In Title Tournament

Fedor Emelianenko turned back the clock and slept a former UFC Heavyweight Champion in a fight over a decade in the making at Bellator 198.

In the first round of Bellator's Heavyweight Championship tournament, Fedor was able to overcome early adversity against his opponent Frank Mir. After a stiff right hand connected for Mir, Emelianenko landed one of his own that dropped his opponent, and followed up with sick ground and pound to secure the victory in under a minute. 

You can see an excerpt from our Fightful live coverage below.

Round One: The round begins with Mir attacking Emelianenko with leg kicks, Emelianenko scores a takedown and Mir gets right back up. Emelianenko eats a left from Mir, Emelianenko drops a swinging Mir with a punching combination and he pounces on him with more strikes until the referee jumps in.

Official Result: Fedor Emelianenko def. Frank Mir by TKO via strikes (0:48, R1)

Mir and Fedor were near the top of heavyweight MMA for much of the last 15 years, although always in separate companies. Fedor had competed in Pride FC, Strikeforce, Affliction and others, while Mir held multiple UFC Championships during his career. 

After the fight, Chael Sonnen took to the cage, as the two will square off in the second round of the Bellator Heavyweight title tournament.

You can see our full coverage of Bellator 198 at this link. Fightful will also cover the happenings of the show on Tuesday's Holy Smokes MMA Podcast.