Fedor Emelianenko vs. Jeff Monson Pre-Fight Press Conference Quotes and Notes

"The Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko will return to action on November 20th for a fight against Jeff Monson on M-1 Global's fight card in Moscow, Russia. Looking to get back on winning ways after three consecutive defeats at Strikeforce, Fedor Emelianenko currently holds a professional MMA record of 32-4-1, with his last victory coming against Brett Rogers back on November 7th, 2009.

The fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Jeff Monson will take place at the 19,000-capable Olimpiskiy Sports Complex in Moscow, which is widely considered as the best multi-purpose arena in Russia. Tickets prices range between 350 rubles (10$) and up to cageside for 100,000 rubles. (3,100$). It will be Fedor Emelianenko's first fight in Russia since the Submission victory over Matt Lindland at BodogFight Clash of Nations event that took place on April 14th, 2007.

Here's what M-1 Global boss Vadim Finkelstein, Fedor Emelianenko and Jeff Monson had to say about their November 20th not-so-romantic date:

Vadim Finkelstein

- "The arena will be open for 22,000 people. Right now we have certain difficulties with tickets, simply because our partners at Kassir.ru are unable to cope with such a high demand for tickets. But I want to assure everyone that the issue will be solved and everyone will have an opportunity to purchase a ticket."

- "The fights will start at 1PM on Sunday and end at 6PM. This way people will have no trouble to travel from far away and return to their homes on the same day."

Fedor Emelianenko

- I'm very happy to fight at home. Since the majority of my fights took place in Japan or United States, I'm happy to be fighting in Russia again after 4 years. I would like to thank Jeff Monson for the opportunity to fight him, I always followed his career and hope that we'll be able to show a beautiful fight for the fans.

- "During my last three fights I always had a feeling that I can win. But somehow, in the last moment something always went wrong."

- "Sergei Kharitonov had an opportunity to fight me in Japan, but he didn't use it. Also, I don't think people would be interested to see two people from the same country fighting each other. Not speaking about the fact that me and my team helped Sergei at the very start of his Mixed Martial Arts career."

- "I live with thoughts about God, but it has absolutely nothing to do with my performance as a fighter and the fact that I'm representing my country."

- "We are currently negotiating a New Year's Eve fight in Japan. I always loved to fight there. There's much less "noise" and hustle than in United States.

Jeff Monson (translated from Russian)

- "I always wanted to fight in Russia. I travel a lot as a fighter, but somehow I never fought in Russia. It's a wonderful country with a lot of interesting places and people, but after all, I'm here to fight. Fedor Emelianenko is one of the greatest fighters on the planet and I'm honored to step inside the ring with him."

- "I wanted to fight Fedor for a very long time, simply because he's the best. It's a very special fight and I'm definitely going to be well-prepared for that."

- "I think every fight is unique. Last time when I watched his fight with Dan Henderson, I think Fedor got caught. Everyone wins and loses, and Fedor went unbeaten for 10 years fighting best of the best. When I fight him it's not going to have any ghosts of past fights. Its not going to give me any extra confidence because it's not going to have any effect on my fight."

Photos: Championat.ru