Fedor on Brock Lesnar's return: Maybe our paths will cross again

Back in 2009, one of the most discussed fantasy match-up was one between heavyweight stars Brock Lesnar, then UFC heavyweight champion, and Fedor Emelianenko, widely regarded as the greatest heavyweight in MMA history.

Seven years later, the Russian legend is once again intrigued by the potential match-up.

"Brock is an interesting opponent," Fedor told Sovsport.ru when asked about the former champion's decision to return to MMA. "Maybe our paths will cross again."

Back in 2009, Lesnar openly revealed that he was interested in a fight against Emelianenko.

"I have nothing against Fedor," Lesnar told Inside MMA in 2009 (h/t MMAFighting.com). "He's a great fighter. Would I ever fight him some day? Absolutely, I would. I keep getting this question, 'You don't like Fedor?' No, I don't have nothing against the guy. There's just nothing to talk about until there's a fight between him and I, and he signs with this organization. Then we can talk."

Years later, UFC President Dana White confirmed that he and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta attempted to make the Lesnar vs Fedor fight on numerous occasions but failed to reach an agreement with Fedor's management.

"We made every big fight with every fighter since we bought this company," White said at a media scrum in Houston in 2013 You don't think we wanted to do Fedor vs. Brock Lesnar? I f--king wanted to make that fight so bad.

"I explained this to Fedor," White added."‘We're catching a moment in time, right here, right now, where this fight between you and Brock Lesnar will be f--king massive. We're talking Dallas, Texas Stadium. This huge fight between these two big heavyweight guys. We're laying this massive f--king offer on the table.' I said, ‘You're one punch away from being worth f--king zero.'"

Fedor is scheduled to meet Fabio Maldonado in the main event of Fight Nights Global 50 in St. Petersburg on June 17. Lesnar is expected to return at UFC 200 against Mark Hunt.