American heavyweight Chael Sonnen (31-15-1) will face one of the great fighters of all time in Russian Fedor Emelianenko (37-5-0, 1NC) in the semi-final bracket of the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix at Bellator 208 in New York.
Sonnen, 41, will have the hometown advantage, at least on paper. “The American Gangster” eliminated Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in the first round of the tournament at Bellator 192 and is on a two fight win streak after losing his Bellator debut to Tito Ortiz in January 2017.
Meanwhile, “The Last Emperor,” 41, has won six of his last seven fights, including an opening round  knockout of Frank Mir at Bellator 198 in April to advance in the tournament.
The winner will face the victor of the other semi-final bracket of Ryan Bader and Matt Mitirone in the finals.
Bellator 208 is scheduled for Oct. 13 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.
Other bouts are expected to be announced.
