MMA Legend Fedor Emelianenko Hospitalized in Russia with COVID-19

Mixed martial arts legend Fedor Emelianenko announced Thursday he had been hospitalized following a positive test for COVID-19, per ESPN's Ariel Helwani. 

"I'm getting better," Emelianenko wrote in an Instagram post. "Thankful to the doctors and medical staff for caring and hard work."

According to Helwani, the 44-year-old continues to be under the supervision of medical personnel.

Emelianenko rose to prominence with the Pride Fighting Championships in the early 2000s. He beat Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for the heavyweight championship and never relinquished the belt before Pride's sale in 2007.

Emelianenko continued to fight for a variety of promotions before debuting for Bellator in 2017. His last appearance came at Bellator 237 in December 2019, where he earned a first-round TKO win over Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

While Bellator resumed action in July after pausing its events amid the pandemic, Emelianenko has yet to make his return to the cage.

Bellator president Scott Coker told MMA Junkie's Dave Doyle and Mike Bohn in December he wants to give the Russian a finale befitting his stature in the sport.

"I really want Fedor to finish his career in front of 30,000 people in Moscow, to be honest, Bellator MMA's first fight in Russia," Coker said. "Do a fight in Moscow. For him, the prodigal son has returned. Fedor is the greatest fighter of all-time, and he's now coming home to retire and put his gloves up and hang it up to retire."