The FBI interviewed an MMA fighter linked to Trump, Putin, and Michael Cohen

Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with Mixed Martial Art (MMA) heavyweight fighter Fedor Emelianenko of Russia in 2011
(Image credit: Pool/Getty Images)

The FBI this week questioned a Russian mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter named Fedor Emelianenko, The Associated Press reported Sunday. Emelianenko in 2008 signed with a fight league partially owned by President Trump and managed by Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen. Emelianenko appeared at a press conference with Trump in 2008, and he has been photographed with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who attended some of his fights.

"The FBI came to the hotel looking to talk to Fedor, and they were very nice, came in to speak with Fedor for a few minutes, spoke to me, very cool guys, and that's all I can really say about it," Emelianenko's manager, Jerry Millen, told the AP. "Again, the FBI did come to the hotel; they found us, knocked on the door." Millen said he was completely surprised by the visit.

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Bonnie Kristian

Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.