Fedor arrived in Los Angeles roughly around the same time the Lakers claimed their second consecutive championship. It wasn't a coincidence. Fedor called that the Lakers would win in game seven before the series even started. He flew to LA in order for two GOATs to appear in the same location at exactly the same time. Its occurrence is the sports world's equivalent of Haley's comet. The next day (and about three fruit trays later), Strikeforce held a conference call that featured The Last Emperor and Fabricio Werdum. This was perhaps the most candid we've ever seen Fedor. Aside from blatantly stating that he wasn't a fan of the UFC, when asked if he was planning on retiring, Fedor admitted that recently, he has seriously been considering retirement. At least that's what Fedor said, if you were on the call (or have a copy of it) then you may have heard something drastically different. Steven Bash, M-1 Global's attorney and Fedor's translator, left out an entire sentence in Fedor's response that, if translated, would have completely altered Fedor's answer.

Earlier today, with the help of our fluent Russian speaking bud, we've isolated that question and transcribed exactly what was said during this part of the conference call.

Reporter: "Забегая вперед, можешь ли ты прокомментировать свои перспективы после боя с Вердумом - будет ли бой с Оверимом, и есть ли шанс, что это будет твой последний бой в принципе?"

Steven Bash/Translator: "Последовала затянувшаяся пауза, во время которой Стивен Баш переводил Емеьяненко вопрос. Затем Фёдор ответил (дословно)"

Fedor Emelianenko: (After a long pause) "Я не хочу так далеко забегать вперед. Я думаю только о предстоящем бое с Фабрисио вЕрдумом. Всё будет зависеть от того, как я в нем выступлю. Вот. У меня осталось два боя по контракту, дальше будем смотреть. Если буду чувствовать себя хорошо, то будем заключать новый контракт. Вот. Нооо... Я ВСЁ БОЛЬШЕ ДУМАЮ УЖЕ ОБ УХОДЕ."

The part in bold is what Steven Bash failed to translate. In English, it reads: "If I will feel good, I will sign a new contract. But, I am more and more thinking about retiring". There was also a part in the conference call where Fedor directly blames Strikeforce for not having his fight in April. Steven Bash translated this as: "It was between Strikeforce management and Vadim Finkelstein to decide".

The audio is there for anyone to listen to. In no way is this fabricated. We've been on this 'Fedor retirement story' earlier this month when we broke the news that Fedor will be running for political office and that he was considering retirement. When other media outlets contacted M-1 Global for a clarification, they confirmed Fedor's run for office but completely denied that Fedor may retire.

After Werdum, Fedor has one fight left on his contract which will hopefully be against Alistair Overeem sometime late in 2010 or early 2011. It's the fight we all want to see and judging by Fedor's recent statements, it very well could be his last. Bummer. Told you guys Fedor vs. Brock would never happen.

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