PUTIN’S PALOOKA
FBI quizzed MMA pug loved by Vlad, tied to Cohen
A RUSSIAN mixed martial artist linked to Vladimir Putin and who previously worked for a short-lived fighting league run by President Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen spoke with FBI agents last week, his manager confirmed Sunday.
Fedor Emelianenko met with FBI officials at his suburban Chicago hotel room Tuesday, in the leadup to his Saturday night fight in Rosemont, Ill.
His manager declined to say what the heavyweight MMA fighter discussed with an agent and a Russian interpreter.
“All I can say is that, yeah, they showed up unannounced, knocking on our doors,” Jerry Millen told the Daily News on Sunday. “They were very nice, very cordial.
“It was a surprise to us,” he said.
Millen told The News the officials said “they would be there” for Emelianenko’s Saturday fight against Frank Mir in the Bellator 198 tournament, which the Russian won in 48 seconds.
The FBI didn’t return The News’ request for comment Sunday.
Putin, himself a judo practitioner, has taken in some of Emelianenko’s fights in Russia, and the two have posed for photos together.
The 41-yearold fighter, who came out of retirement three years ago, previously headlined the only two fights run by Affliction Entertainment, of which Donald Trump was a part owner. The heavyweight, nicknamed “The Last Emperor,” signed with the fight league in 2008 — a year before it went belly up for financial reasons. The President “was great to work with, so was Mr. Cohen,” said Millen, who identified himself as a Trump supporter and has represented Emelianenko for 16 years. Cohen, Trump’s longtime personal attorney and fixer, served as Affliction Entertainment’s chief operating officer. Politico previously reported that he brought “The Apprentice” host in as an investor in the league, at a time when dominated the class.
FBI agents raided Cohen’s Park Ave. hotel room, apartment and office two weeks ago in search of files tied to the $130,000 hush agreement he arranged with adult film star Stormy Daniels right before the 2016 election.
She sued Trump earlier this year to break free of the agreement — which she argued Trump didn’t sign under a fake name — so she could discuss their claimed 2006 tryst.
The FBI was acting on a referral from special counsel Robert Mueller’s office, which is looking into possible collusion between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign.
Cohen is reportedly being investigated for campaign finance violations and bank fraud. Emelianenko heavyweight