Fedor Emelianenko Talks to FanHouse Before Andrei Arlovski Fight

Fedor Emelianenko is a quiet, unassuming 32-year-old Russian who just happens to be the toughest fighter in the world.

Emelianenko is widely regarded as the greatest competitor in the short history of the burgeoning sport of mixed martial arts, but in America, that makes him more a mystery than a star. Emelianenko has never competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, by far the most popular MMA promotion, so many of the sport's fans in this country are only vaguely aware of him.



That, however, may be changing. His only fight in 2008 was a 36-second destruction of former UFC champion Tim Sylvia at the Honda Center in Anaheim on July 19, and he'll be back at the Honda Center on January 24 (9PM ET on pay-per-view) to fight another former UFC champion, Andrei Arlovski, in the Affliction promotion's second show, Day of Reckoning.

I spoke with Emelianenko on the phone Thursday from his home in Stary Oskol, Russia, (with translating assistance from Steve Bash), and he said that contrary to UFC President Dana White's claims that he is unwilling to fight the best opponents the UFC has to offer, he's happy to fight anyone. Emelianenko says he wouldn't rule out fighting in the UFC in the future, and for now he's happy to fight whoever his promoters, Affliction and M-1 Global, put in front of him.

Our interview is below.

What is your preparation like on the day of the fight?
I don't have any major training the day of the fight. I just work on my sharpness. I'll do some light running for about 10 minutes and we go through a couple of training exercises, work on some pads with my striking trainer, (Alexander Vasilyevich Michkov) and then some light wrestling with my ground trainer (Vladimir Mihailovich Voronin).

We've all heard that you train very hard for your fights, and that you've trained as hard for the Arlovski fight as you did for the Tim Sylvia fight. And yet you don't look as cut and muscular as most MMA fighters. Does that say anything about how your training differs from other MMA athletes, like do you do less weightlifting?
All of my training is the same. Every fighter has a different physique and different baggage they bring to the ring. I don't rely on weight training. I haven't for several years. It's really more focusing on the opponent and working on sparring, wrestling and certain activities I do. It's all about the training camp. All the hard work and all the results that show up in the ring is a result of what's done before.

Affliction says if you beat Andrei you'll fight the winner of the Josh Barnett-Gilbert Yvel fight next. Do you expect that to happen? Have you already committed to another Affliction fight in the spring or summer?
I don't think about any of my future fights. I'm committed with Affliction and M-1 Global, but I first have to take care of business against Andrei and then we can decide what happens down the road.



Dana White told me he hopes you'll fight Brock Lesnar in the UFC some day. Do you think you'll ever fight in the UFC, and what would it take to make that happen?
The fact that I'm not in the UFC is because we haven't been able to come to terms with the UFC. That's something the UFC is going to have to sit down with my manager, Vadim Finkelstein, and M-1 Global and work something out. I trust my team and Vadim very much and I trust that if things have not been agreed upon to date I know there's a reason.

With respect to whether I can fight there in the future? It's always a possibility. Brock Lesnar is a very good fighter and I would be more than happy to fight with him. But this is all talk. It's been talked about before, with Randy Couture, now with Lesnar, and maybe with Frank Mir in the future. But in order for that to happen we have to come to an agreement. Maybe by then there will be some other name. But that's all talk. Right now I'm very content and happy with working with Affliction and M-1.

It's interesting you mention Vadim because White has said that you don't control your career, your manager does. Is that true?
Well, that's not entirely true. Vadim is my friend, he's my partner and he's very well qualified and he's proven himself as a good manager. He's got a track record of building my career and collaborating with major organizations, which has afforded me the opportunity to fight the best fighters in the world to date. Everyone has their duties in this business. My role is to fight. Vadim's role is to deal with people like Dana White.

After you beat Tim Sylvia you said you hoped Randy Couture would be your next opponent. Is that still the fight you want the most?
Yes, of course, Randy is one of the best and he's a really strong and serious opponent and it would be someone I would love to have a fight with. To tell you the truth, I like him very much as a person as well and I have great affection for him. If the possibility was there I would be more than happy to have a fight with him.

Although Dana White doesn't always speak highly of you, others in the UFC do. I recently spoke to Mark Coleman, who told me you were the toughest opponent he's fought. Frank Mir told me he doesn't think he could beat you and Georges St. Pierre said you're the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. What does it mean to you to hear comments like that from fighters in the UFC?
I try to treat everybody with kindness and speak about them positively and with respect. And when I hear other fighters speak very highly of me it brings me great pleasure and it makes me feel very appreciated. I'm very grateful for it.

Were you surprised that Frank Mir finished Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, something you did not do in your fights with him?
No. It's not surprising. Antonio has taken a lot of punishment over the years and he's had a lot of fights and sooner or later that catches up with you. Sooner or later someone was going to knock him out, especially with the style of his fights: He takes a lot of hits, misses a lot of strikes and over the course of a career that's certainly something that plays a role. At the same time, you have to give Frank a lot of credit that he was the one to do it and he was the one to take advantage and have the right way of beating him.

Who is the toughest opponent you have faced?
All opponents are tough. The interesting part is really the preparation for these guys because you prepare a certain way, taking into account their strengths and weaknesses. If I had to pick the ring battle that turned out to be the toughest it would have to be either Nogueira or Mirko Cro Cop.

You didn't fight any Top 10 heavyweights in 2006 or 2007. Do you feel like during those two years of the prime of your career, you should have been fighting better opponents?
Well, unfortunately sometimes my desires are not what transpires in terms of wanting to fight certain people. For one reason or another those fights weren't able to be made. There was a period of time when that simply wasn't a reality. But one of the good points is that it gave me time to work on a lot of things, heal my hand injuries and other things to become better and more capable of performing to the highest capability today.

You mentioned your hand, which you re-injured against Sylvia. How is your hand right now?
Good, thank God.

What can you tell us about the Fighting Fedor reality show?
That's really more a question for Vadim.
(Editor's note: In a follow-up e-mail M-1 officials said Fighting Fedor, a show that will pit MMA fighters against each other and give the winner the opportunity to compete against Emelianenko, is in pre-production and "in advanced stages of negotiations with potential television distributors worldwide.")

Can you clear up how your brother Aleksander is doing and why he pulled out of the previous Affliction card? Is he able to get sanctioned by an American athletic commission?
Unfortunately I'm unable to provide any new updates. Aleks has been busy training in St. Petersburg and I've been here in Stary Oskol so any additional updates is something that Vadim would have to answer.
(Editor's note: M-1 says, "We intend to have Aleksander fight in the U.S. and are in the process of resolving any possible obstacles towards licensure. It is very important for Aleksander to fight on U.S. soil for the American fans and we anticipate that occurring on the next M-1 Global/Affliction show.")

People have this mythic image of you as a superhuman fighting machine. What normal, everyday things do you do that would come as a surprise to fans?
There's a lot of things I do every day that everyone does. I pray, I go to church, I read books, I hang out with my friends. All those things that everybody does, I do as well. I also play chess, and I train, of course, and go to the sauna.

You were only eight during the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, but do you have any memories of the Soviet boycott? And have you given any thought to the way your presence as the headliner of two events in L.A. is a sign not just of how much your own life has changed, but also how much the world has changed?
To be honest I don't remember much from the '80s in terms of the Olympics and the politics, I was still a little too young and I think my mind was focused on other things at that time. But I certainly am aware that the relations between our countries are much warmer and I'm very fortunate and I think many people around the world are very fortunate that that's the case and that we're able to participate in these types of events on each other's soil.

Who were your favorite athletes when you were a child?
Growing up I came to learn about Yuri Vlasov, one of our Olympic weightlifting champions. I read a book about him and his life story became of interest to me.

Do you expect to keep fighting in the United States, or might you fight in Japan, Russia or somewhere else?
I definitely anticipate fighting in the U.S. in the future, but I would very much love to fight in other countries, all over the world.

How much longer do you think you'll be a professional fighter? And what will you do with your life once you've retired from MMA?
I'd like to fight as long as possible. That will be up to God, what the future brings. At some point after my career we will see what direction my life takes me, but I'd like to train young kids for the future.