Fedor Emelianenko isn’t coming out of retirement. Not now, not ever.

But what if, hypothetically speaking, he was in his prime and could fight any of today’s heavyweight contenders? The Russian MMA legend knows exactly who he’d choose.

“Cain Velasquez,” Emelianenko said from Friday in Calgary, where he’s in town to help promote amateur MMA. “He has some technical difficulties, but he has ambition and he’s fearless. He wants to win so badly and he’s in great condition. He’s a thinking fighter.”

Unfortunately for fight fans -- many of whom still rank the former Pride champion as the greatest heavyweight of all time -- a dream Emelianenko-Velasquez tilt will have to be relegated to the long-list of MMA what-ifs.

These days, Emelianenko keeps busy by promoting amateur MMA as the honorary president of the World Mixed Martial Arts Association. It’s in that capacity that he’s in Canada this week, helping advocate for the sport’s growth at stops in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.

The 37-year-old will be doing a meet and greet in Calgary before hosting an MMA and sambo seminar in Edmonton, where the Canadian Mixed Martial Arts Federation will be holding its final tryouts for the world amateur championships, being held in Belarus later this year.

“I’m really here to promote the sport, provide support for Canadian fighters and be here to celebrate the joining of (the Canadian MMA Federation and the worldwide organization),” Emelianenko said through translator Ioulia Reynolds. “Getting MMA in the Olympics is the main goal. Right now we’re focusing on the safety of the sport and putting all the rules and practices in place to adhere to world standards of the sport and make sure it’s safe.”

Although Emelianenko’s been retired from professional fighting since his win over Pedro Rizzo in 2012, the man who once won 28 straight fights is still looking trim and terrifyingly in-shape. He says that’s because he’s still training and the only thing that’s really changed is he’s not trading blows in the ring a couple times a year.

“I still train, so there isn’t much that I miss,” said Emelianenko, who’ll also be doing work with Sambo Canada while he’s in the country. “A true athlete is someone who doesn’t just stop training when they stop competing. It’s a way of life and they keep in shape just to keep up that standard.

“Plus, there’s a lot of younger guys who would like to take me down, so I always need to keep up because I definitely don’t want that to happen.”

That lifestyle still involves going into the Siberian forest and lifting fallen logs, he says, but working with younger fighters is a big part of it as well. That solitary training style stands in stark contrast to the brightly-lit, glamorous world of modern MMA, where there are often cameras present throughout a fighter’s training camp.

Emelianenko says that’s something he urges the young fighters he works with to avoid.

“It’s essential for a fighter to go separately and just focus on training away from everybody else,” Emelianenko said. “(To be an MMA fighter) takes hard work. You need to be fearless. You need to see your target and go for it. You have to turn all your negatives into positives and all your weaknesses into strengths.”

CORMIER-JONES HEATS UP

Apparently Instagram is where UFC fighters now go to air out their grievances.

Shortly after Jon Jones revealed that he suffered a cut above his left-eye, his opponent at UFC 178 took to the social media service to offer his opinion known on Jones’ supposed over-sharing.

“September 27th I’m gonna put so many of these on ur face @jonnybones. I can’t wait everyday I’m dreaming and thinking of you. And I’m gonna take u down and grind my elbow into that cut you got today. Put a bullseye on that thing. Some things should remain private. DC,” Cormier wrote.