If Saturday's Bellator MMA Heavyweight Grand Prix final turns out to be the final fight in the career Fedor Emelianenko, the Russian legend has a chance to walk away having put a fairly massive cherry on top of his resume. 

To be fair, the 42-year-old Emelianenko, who meets light heavyweight titleholder Ryan Bader at Bellator 214 inside The Forum in Inglewood, California (Paramount Network/DAZN simulcast, 9 p.m. ET), hasn't outright said he will walk away after this weekend. He did, however, provide enough of a tease during this week's media workout.  

"To tell the truth, at the age I'm at right now, more and more I am thinking about retiring," Emelianenko said. "I cannot answer this question at the moment. But I am willing to take some rest and then decide."

"It's not because I don't want to fight. Definitely it is because of the age and injuries that I have."

"The Last Emperor" previously retired in 2012 and has compiled a record of 4-1 since returning three years later. Despite being a shadow of his once great self, which included a 10-year unbeaten streak in his prime, Emelianenko's hands have remained remarkably quick and powerful to help him secure first-round knockouts of Frank Mir and Chael Sonnen to open the tournament.

Although the vacant Bellator heavyweight title he will be competing for represents an attractive trinket to potentially close his career by winning, it's the quality of opponent in front of him in Bader, who will compete to become Bellator's first simultaneous two-division champion, that would make this so special. 

At 35, Bader appears to be operating at the most comfortable and dangerous level of his career. He also may have stumbled into a division at heavyweight that could be better suited for his quickness and skill set despite a lengthy  205-pound career behind him as a longtime UFC contender and the current Bellator titleholder. 

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It's because of Bader's resurgence, which includes dominant tournament victories over Mohammed "King Mo" Lawal and Matt Mitrione, that he might just offer Emelianenko a shot at his most impressive victory since he defeated the likes of Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, Mark Hunt and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in Pride nearly 15 years ago. 

Doing it at such an advanced age, of course, would make it even sweeter for Emelianenko and likely give him enough reason to raise his new title before giving it back to Bellator CEO Scott Coker and walking off into the sunset. Yet don't expect Bader to be so willing to help provide such a bookending moment to his opponent's great career. 

In fact, it's Bader who believes recent opponents have shown Emelianenko too much fear and reverence during the tournament.

FavoriteUnderdogWeightclass

Ryan Bader -325

Fedor Emelianenko +230

Heavyweight title

Aaron Pico -500

Henry Corrales +350

Featherweight

Jake Hager -400

J.W. Kiser +300

Heavyweight

Juan Archuleta -260

Ricky Bandejas +200

Bantamweight

Adel Altamimi N/A

Brandon McMahan N/A

Featherweight

"If you look back at the Chael fight, we didn't get to see [Emelianenko] too much, he looked great," Bader told MMA Weekly. "I felt Chael respected him too much. In the Mir fight, he did get dropped right out of the gate. Before that, [Emelianenko] got dropped and knocked out by Matt Mitrione. The fight before that against Fabio Maldonado, he got dropped a bunch of times. I do feel like I can definitely put some hands on him.

"I feel like he hasn't fought a guy like me in a long time. I'm going to keep that pressure on him the whole time. I know I can strike with him, I feel like i can go to the ground with him, I can do everything. He has never fought anyone like me."

In the co-main event, rising prospect Aaron Pico will take on his biggest challenge to date when he squares off against Henry Corrales. Pico (4-1) has look every bit the prodigy Bellator hoped he would be since losing in his debut, but Saturday's bout with Corrales represents a clear sink or swim challenge to see if he can compete at the highest level.

Prediction

If Bader's very successful run as a UFC light heavyweight taught us everything, it's that he's vulnerable early against big punchers. Knockout losses to the likes of Lyoto Machida, Glover Teixeira and Anthony Johnson helped prevent Bader from ever fighting for a UFC title despite a record of 16-4 with the promotion over eight years. 

It's because of that, mixed with Emelianenko's combination of guile and powerfully quick hands, that the first round of this fight should produce nothing but drama. It's the potential of what might happen beyond Round 1, of course, that has helped the younger Bader open as such a strong betting favorite. 

Emelianenko has fought beyond the first round just once in his last seven appearances and is facing someone in Bader whose wrestling-heavy style is designed to outwork and gas his opponents. Emelianenko may have been stubborn enough to regain his feet after being taken down by Sonnen but Bader is too big and close to his prime to afford that same luxury. 

Should Bader survive the early fireworks, this could be a long night for Emelianenko — and one that might even end via stoppage.

Pick: Bader via unanimous decision