November 22, 2024

Report: Gabriel Gonzaga comes out of retirement to face Aleksander Emelianenko in May

Bloodyelbow

Gabriel Gonzaga, a UFC veteran with more than 20 bouts in the Octagon under his belt, will spring back from a two-year retirement to take Fedor Emelianenko’s younger brother, Aleksander. It will happen at the next installment of Russian Cagefighting Championship, on May 5, as Combate reported.

With only one win in his last five UFC bouts, Gabriel Gonzaga (17-11) bested Konstantin Erokhin via unanimous decision in December 2015. However, the heavyweight was defeated by Stipe Miocic, Mirko Cro Cop, Matt Mitrione and, most recently, Derrick Lewis in April 2016. All but two of Gonzaga’s career losses have come by way of knockout.

Although convicted of aggravated sexual assault in 2015, Aleksander Emelianenko (25-6) heads for his second bout of 2018. Currently riding a three-fight win streak in Akhmat MMA, the promotion operated by Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov, the 36-year-old knocked out Geronimo dos Santos, Virgil Zwicker and Szymon Bajor. Emelianenko hasn’t lost since January 2014, when he was TKO’d by Dmitriy Sosnovskiy.

Gonzaga is expected to take Emelianenko at RCC 3: Fighting in the Cage 1, on May 5, in Yekaterinburg, Russia.

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