Q & A with Fedor Emelianenko

By Gary Herman

He is often referred to as the baddest man on the planet. He has won twenty-four straight fights including two victories over (interim) UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Inside MMA recently ranked him as the number one fighter in the history of the sport. The man is Fedor Emelianenko.

Since the dissolution of Pride FC, Emelianenko has not fought a highly ranked contender. That is all about to change. Emelianenko is set to take on his toughest test in nearly four years as he takes on former UFC champion Tim Sylvia.

We recently caught up with Emelianenko to discuss the upcoming fight with Sylvia, his views on Dana White and the UFC as well as what he thinks about a possible fight with Randy Couture.

Question: What are your thoughts on the match-up with Tim Sylvia?

Fedor Emelianenko: He’s a very formidable opponent. He’s very highly ranked. He’s got a great record. He’s a very strong striker, and he’s got a good history of who he’s been in the ring with and who he’s beaten.

Q: Do you see any weaknesses in his game?

FE: Yes, I do. I’m not at liberty to talk about them, but I certainly see some weaknesses that I hope to take advantage of.

Q: For yourself, what do you think the strongest part of your game is?

FE: I think the strongest part of my game is that I can think very quickly on my feet and that I can make decisions very quickly.

Q: With Sylvia being the UFC champion during the same period that you were the champion at Pride, does that give this fight any added significance?

FE: I’ve always wanted to fight Tim Sylvia. Not necessarily because of where he comes from – I don’t really think too much about the fact that he was the UFC champion and I was the Pride champion. It’s mostly because I want to fight the best fighters in the world. Tim is one of them, and I am just very fortunate to be able to test my will against him.

Q: Speaking of the UFC, Dana White has recently said some not-so complimentary things about you. He mentioned that he thought you were a “fraud” because you haven’t fought anyone highly ranked in a long time. How do you react to that?

FE: I don’t really have any response or reaction. Those are Dana White’s issues. Not mine.

Q: Would you ever see yourself fighting for the UFC?

FE: Sitting here today, I don’t see that happening any time in the future. I have a contract with M-1 Global. I have a contract with my manager Vadim (Finkelchtein) who I trust very much and have all the confidence in the world. I’m taken. I don’t foresee going down a different road.

Q: Over the course of your career, you’ve had some great fights. Are there any victories that stand out as your greatest?

FE: I think both fights with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and the fight with Mirko Cro Cop stand out. They were both fighters that were at the top of their forms and at the peak of their careers. I’m very happy to have had the opportunity to meet them and be successful against them.

Q: With all the victories you’ve had, do you feel you are the best MMA fighter ever?

FE: I don’t really believe that, and I don’t really think about that.

Q: The only you had in your career was by a technicality to Tsuyoshi Kohsaka. During the rematch, you won the fight convincingly. Did you want to prove a point?

FE: I didn’t really look at it as a revenge fight. I didn’t want to prove that much more. I just wanted a second fight because the first fight just lasted a couple of seconds. It was a bad elbow to the forehead. It was a technicality. I just wanted to have that fight. When we fought, it was just showing the result that should have been the first time around.

Q: Looking towards the future, there’s been a lot of talk about a potential fight between yourself and Randy Couture. Do you think that fight will ever happen?

FE: I’d very much like to have a fight with Randy in the future.

Q: How do you think the fight would go?

FE: I never make predictions about how a fight would go – a fight can turn at any time and a knockout could happen at any second - so many things can happen in the ring.

Q: A lot of your fights have taken place in a ring. Do you have a major preference towards fighting in a ring as opposed to a cage?

FE: In reality, it doesn’t make a difference to me. I do my work in both, and I feel comfortable in both. I don’t really have a preference. A world-class fighter at this level shouldn’t really have any preference between a ring or a cage. There are certain nuances between a ring and a cage that every fighter needs to know about, but any smart fighter that is trained and talented knows what those nuances are and adjusts to them.

Q: With this fight being in the U.S., does it have any added significance to you?

FE: Yes, I’m very proud and I am very excited that the fight is in the United States. I’ve been look forward to fighting here more often and having the American fans see me live. I’m very honored and proud to be fighting in the U.S.

Q: Do you think the time away from fighting a top ranked contender will be a problem for you?

FE: I don’t think it will be a problem. My training has been great. The fact that I may not have recently fought a top 5 opponent shouldn’t make any difference.

Special thanks to translator Steve Vash