Fedor coming back to Anaheim

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Fedor Emelianenko has stamped himself as the top heavyweight mixed martial arts fighter in the world by defeating former Ultimate Fighting Championship champs Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski in consecutive bouts at the Honda Center in Anaheim.

Now he’s returning for a third fight in Orange County. On Aug. 1, promoters announced Monday, Emelianenko will fight MMA veteran Josh Barnett.

Barnett, 31, was the UFC heavyweight champion in 2002, when he defeated Randy Couture. He lost three times since to Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic and also was defeated by recent UFC champ Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, but has won his last four fights, including a third-round January submission (strikes) of Gilbert Yvel at the Honda Center show where Emelianenko beat Arlovski.

-- Lance Pugmire