Jan 7, 2009 - 10:51:19 AM By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Sam Caplan at FiveOuncesOfPain.com today posted an interview he conducted with number one ranked heavyweight and WAMMA Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko. The heavyweight phenom answered questions regarding his upcoming opponent at Affliction's Day of Reckoning pay-per-view Andrei Arlovski, as well as questions regarding comments from Dana White and his outlook for 2009. Below are some highlights from that interview:
On Arlovski questioning his mental acumen following his Sambo loss: "Maybe Andrei is trying to convince himself that I have been weakened in some way. But it [doesn’t] matter [as] we are not fighting Sambo with Andrei. The only thing I am 100 percent sure about is that I will be 100 percent ready to fight MMA against Andrei."
On the criticism of his stand up from Arlovski's boxing coach, Freddie Roach: "[MMA]'s not a beauty contest. We fight to see which fighter’s approach prevails. But again, we are not boxing and we are not fighting Sambo. We fight MMA."
On Dana White: "I have victories over many of the UFC’s champions. If [Dana] says something bad about them or me then he only makes his organization look weak...I do not pay too much attention to what Dana White says in the media. He is trying to sell one thing as good and make you not buy another thing by saying it is bad. I just want to fight the best fighters in the world...I think if I fought for the UFC, [Dana] would try to sell me as the greatest MMA fighter that ever lived."
He also touches on the possibility of fights with Anderson Silva, Brock Lesnar and Randy Couture, though he says he does not make predictions for the outcomes of his fights.
Finally, on how often he'd like to fight in 2009: "God willing, it will be nice to fight three times in 2009 and have one more fight New Year’s Eve."
Wade Keller's Analysis: Fedor is right about one thing. If Dana signed him, his public statements about him would completely change. It seems Fedor even gets that Dana is a marketer and not to take what Dana says personally. Dana, I think, says what he says, as outlandish and ridiculous as some of his comments are (repeatedly asking "Who?" when asked about Bobby Lashley, month after month, for instance), because he sees his job as promoting UFC first and foremost, with his eye on the truth being a far lower priority. It's refreshing to hear a fighter just call a spade a spade and not get wrapped up in the politics.
[Fedor Art Credit - Corey Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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