Fedor Meets Frank Mir on April 28 at Allstate Arena in Bellator Heavyweight World Grand Prix Matchup

LOS ANGELES – The third opening round matchup in 2018’s Bellator Heavyweight World Grand Prix will feature the greatest heavyweight of all time Fedor Emelianenko (36-5, 1 NC) taking on former world champion Frank Mir (18-11) in Bellator’s return to Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill. on Saturday, April 28.

An exclusive online presale for this event takes place Wednesday January 24 and Thursday January 25, with tickets going on-sale to the general public on Friday January 26 at 10 a.m. CT. Tickets for the event start at just $30 and are available at the Allstate Arena box office and Ticketmaster.

The event, presented by Miller Lite, will be broadcast live and free on Paramount Network (formerly Spike) at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT, while preliminary action will stream on Bellator.com and globally on the Bellator Mobile App. Additional bouts will be announced in coming weeks.

A former PRIDE champion, “The Last Emperor” is one of the most revered and respected heavyweight fighters the sport has seen. Stone-faced and quiet, Emelianenko boasted one of the most impressive unbeaten streaks in the history of MMA, not losing a bout between 2001 and 2009. A multi-time world champion in MMA and Sambo, Fedor recently returned to the sport after a brief hiatus, accumulating two decisive wins since his return to action and taking on Matt Mitrione in an instant classic at Bellator NYC.

Frank Mir joined Bellator earlier this year following 15 years in the UFC where he became a two-time world champion, collected 16 victories and defeated a who’s who of heavyweight contenders, including Brock Lesnar, “Bigfoot” Silva, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Mirko Cro Cop. Fighting out of Las Vegas, Mir set numerous records while competing with his former promotion, highlighted by the most fights (27), victories (16), and submissions (8) in heavyweight history. With 14 of his 18 career wins coming by way of knockout or submission, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt will now try his hand in Bellator’s heavyweight division.

Updated Fight Card:

Heavyweight Grand Prix First Round: Fedor Emelianenko (36-5, 1 NC) vs. Frank Mir (18-11)