It appears that several Russian fighters will compete alongside Fedor Emelianenko on the Rizin Fighting Federation New Year's Eve show, most notably Bellator heavyweight champion Vitaly Minakov.

According to the vice president of the Russian Union of MMA, Radmir Gabdullin, Minakov is expected to compete on the December 31 fight card but is yet to be offered an opponent for the show.

"Kirill Sidelnikov, Valentin Moldovan, and Vitaly Minakov will fight on the show in Japan," said Gabdullin (via Tass.ru).

The anticipated Rizin show will also feature the return of "Baby Fedor" Kirill Sidelnikov, who has not competed in professional MMA since 2010. The native of Stary Oskol compiled a 7-4 record during his career, most of which took place under the M-1 banner.

Rizin FF ambitious World Grand Prix event will take place over the course of three days (Dec 29-31). The first component is an eight-man tournament held on Dec 29th and Dec 31st. The December 30 show will mainly feature pro wrestling contests. Overall, the promotion's plans to create a platform where many of the world's top organizations can collaborate on "mega-tournaments."