Mir expected to make Bellator debut vs. Emelianenko in heavyweight grand prix

It appears Frank Mir is getting the fight he wanted.

After the UFC granted him his release earlier this year, the former heavyweight champion is now expected to make his Bellator debut opposite Fedor Emelianenko in April as part of an eight-man grand prix that will crown the promotion's first divisional king in over three years.

Mir announced the news himself Saturday on his "Phone Booth Fighting" podcast, with MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani subsequently reporting the matchup has been agreed upon, but contracts have yet to be signed.

The fight will mark Mir's first since suffering a KO at Mark Hunt's hands in March 2016, after which he was suspended by the USADA for two-years in relation to a failed in-competition drug test. His penance expires on April 7.

Emelianenko will vie for his first stateside victory since stopping Brett Rogers under the Strikeforce banner in 2009. The former Pride FC champ came out of retirement in 2015 and picked up two straight wins before falling to Matt Mitrione by KO in his Bellator debut this past June.

Also competing in the tourney are recent UFC import Roy Nelson, Mitrione, as well as light heavyweights Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Chael Sonnen, Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal, and divisional champ Ryan Bader. Their matchups have not yet been announced.

Bellator's last heavyweight title bout came in April 2014, when Vitaly Minakov took a decision over Cheick Kongo in his sole defense of the crown. He was stripped due to inactivity two years later.