[bears9]

Fedor Emelianenko apparently got his wish after all.
The former PRIDE heavyweight champion and top-ranked fighter will headline M-1 Global’s first-ever show, which will be held Dec. 31 (New Year’s Eve) in Japan.
That’s the word from the Mix-Fight Championship’s Russian website, anyway. (Which is different from the M-1 Global website.) An email from one of the company’s executives was also sent to MMAjunkie.com (UFC News & Rumors - MMA News - UFC Fighters - UFC Event Recaps and Previews - MMAjunkie.com) today.
According to the website, the event will take place at the Saitama Super Arena, a 22,000-capacity multi-purpose venue in Saitama City, Saitama, Japan.
No other information about the event was announced, but according to the Mix-Fight Championship’s website, further details will be released soon.
Back in October, a restructured M-1 Global organization announced that it had landed Emelianenko and signed the former PRIDE title-holder to a long-term deal. At the initial press conference, M-1 Global executives said that the organization would likely hold its first event in February.
However, earlier this month, a letter written by Emelianenko (and translated to English) appeared on the Mix-Fight Championship’s Russian website. In it, Emelianenko hinted at the possibility of fighting at a New Year’s event in Japan, which had become somewhat of an annual occurrence for the fighter.

Report: Fedor Emelianenko to Headline M-1 Global’s Debut Show on New Year’s Eve

[EmpireWF]

That's a pretty quick turn around. The company was formed less than a month ago (IRC) and they will have their first show at Saitama on New Year's Eve.

That was usually PRIDE's biggest show of the year so I assume they will try to keep that effort alive for the Japanese fans.

I wonder if Jeff Monson will fight Fedor or if they have someone else.