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.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
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.