Fedor Emelianenko answers on LowKick.com Community Questions
Posted on February 8, 2011, 05:21 AM by Anton GurevichFedor Emelianenko (32-2 in MMA) will make his long-anticipated return this weekend, facing a tough challenge in the Brazilian KO artist Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva. The fight will mark the opening of Strikeforce's 8-man Heavyweight Grand Prix, taking place at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The fight against Bigfoot will be Fedor's third under the Strikeforce banner, and his first since the shocking defeat against Fabricio Werdum last year. If victorious, Emelianenko will meet either Werdum or the reigning Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem, who will square off against each other on April 9th.
But before Fedor steps inside the Strikeforce cage, he took time off his busy schedule to answer on LowKick.com Community questions. Just recently, Fedor Emelianenko was voted "Fighter of the Decade" with 46% percent of the votes, which shows the appreciation LowKick.com users have for "The Last Emperor's" achievements.
Enjoy!
pound4pound: You have been fighting for over a decade and went undefeated until the fight against Fabricio Werdum. Who was your biggest challenge before losing to Werdum?
I had some very interesting match-ups throughout my career. But I find the fights against Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic and Antonio Nogueira in Pride as the toughest ones.
wartaal677: Dear Fedor, what do you think about Alistair Overeem and that he is always challenging you and thinks that he is better then you?
I think Alistair Overeem is a great fighter and a serious athlete. He's very strong physically. And his victory in the K-1 World Grand Prix last year was very impressive to watch.
UrHype: Do you think the respect that was synonymous with MMA is a dying belief? Your real fans will always respect what you've done for the sport. You'll always be remembered as a humble respectful fighter.
Thanks a lot for the kind words. I think that respect between fighters depends on fighters themselves. It depends on a lot of fighter's character and upbringing, which decides whether he wants to respect his opponent or not.
Arthur_Knoqout: Sambo is one of the most effective combat systems out there. It stemmed out of Judo and BJJ stemmed out of Judo as well. Doesn't it make sense to cross train with a BJJ specialist?
In my opinion SAMBO is the most effective form of Martial Arts. As for my upcoming fight against Antonio Silva, I prepared with the Dutch kickboxing coach Peter Teijsse.
jasons: Fedor, do you find an advantage in your training methods over the more complicated exercises used in the West?
I use what's best for me. Every fighter has his own training style and methods in a preparation process for the fight.
Kon: Lately, a lot of fighters tested positive for steroids. What do you think about the usage of steroids, and do you think it's a widespread phenomenon in MMA?
I never used steroids in my career. There are some fighters who use them to improve their speed and power. I disagree with that kind of approach. I think that everything has to be fair, and all fighters should be "clean". So every fighter could have an equal chance to get a victory.
Footlancer: What would you say to today's generation who are growing up with ubiquitous negative influences and role models in their lives? What do you think about MMA's current influence on young adults, and what would you change about it? Is this one of the reasons you choose not to compete in the UFC?
I would advice young generation to get involved in sports, instead of wasting their time by following bad examples.
Photos: Esther Lin
Comments
Thanks for the interview, i thought it was dead and buried but Anton, u didnt have to answer the questions yourself, i aint no fool lol Jking.
It's kind of joke that deserve slapping :)
No worries, I will turn the other cheek lol...Good work man.
Thanks a lot bro. Big props to M-1 for making it happen.
Awesome Anton Thanks Buddy.
LOL @ the peeps using big words in there questions that cant be translated into russian!!
great job on the interview!
untill he beats overeem ,cain or dos santos he aint gettin my respect
comment of the year, so far.
I was ashamed to see that you are from Ireland
You probably never watched MMA before 2007
lol, I am sure he loses a lot of sleep over that at night.
Did you read the interview, does he sound like someone that craves your respect?
There it stands the greatest fighter to ever live!
A man with no equal , no match
always in disadvantage in every match by
weight ,size and height and yet he is the best.
There is no man who Fedor wont stand infront of and give him a hell
I doubt you have even got self respect judging by your comment. Can you give us a list of who you have beaten in MMA and how long your unbeaten run lasted? Didn't think so so shut the ***k up wivya juvenile BS.
And until you learn to use the shift key, you ain't gettin' my respect.
-- MrJM
I like Fedor
im not so fond of him, but i do respect him as a fighter in MMA. its his spycho nut hugging fans that seem to give fedor a bad rep on this site.
Congrats on the interview Anton, you made it happen.
I LOVE YOU FEDOR!
FEDOR = KING
he trains so hard that hes now unlocked the "levitation" skill...next thing we will see is him using his thoughts to make his opponents strike themselves! wheres he from?? oh yea, planet russia...i think hes holding planet earth in that last pic...
DAMN, you beat me to it LOL! I was going to say that if you look closely in the first pic you will notice that Fedor is levitating. That is just how bad ass he really is. Oh well. What I will add though is that the next special ability he will unlock is the flashing green back ground. You will be able to see it when he KOs the winner of Werdum V Overeem.
The possibility of Overeem vs. Emelianenko brings to mind Lesnar vs. Couture, Power vs. Technique
WTF? Lesnar is not at these guys level in any shape or form, Fedor has a solid game he is probably the most well rounded HW while Alistair is also a well rounded fighter but on top of that he is a K-1 Champion... if these happens this will be the best HW match in recent history...
Dumbest comment I have read in a while. No offense.
Great interview. Gotta love Fedor and his influence on the sport.
"I would advice young generation to get involved in sports, instead of wasting their time by following bad examples."
Best answer EVER!!!
my respect to fedor
I was overjoyed to see my question was selected. It's kinda like be answered by God. Thanks so much, Anton. This is the coolest thing ever!!
Fedor was of course faithful to his nature in all of his answers. Gotta love him.
Whether you like Fedor or not you have to admitted that Fedor one of the good example for sportmanship.imo
Anton, I am in Canada and am very curious about how this all works etc. For example: What country to you live in and host the site from? Did you meet with Fedor personally or did you e-mail the questions to him (your name sounds Russian to me do you live in Russia and get together with him?)? I would enjoy hearing a little bit of these details.
Thanks for the interview!
gurevich is not a russian name although i am pretty sure you could just click on hi homepage and find out
Great fighter, humble and great role model. Can't wait to see him compete again.
Fedor fights brilliantly and has also mastered the art of answering eloquently(?) and respectfully while saying nothing. Look out Sonnen and Pacqioua and Cro Cop, Fedor is the next fighter turned politician.
Isn't he already in some form doing politics. Not sure to what extent but i'm sure he'll go into politics after his career over as a fighter. I think he should train people, but he might actually do good in the Russian Empire. But once things start to get good in the Soviet people get a tendency to disappear.
Fedor's cool. Great fighter, great human being.
I was critical of Anton Gurevich for not providing the answers to the FAN QUESTIONS after he said Fedor would answer if they asked. These questions were asked about 3 months ago and with no updates until now, it looked like all was forgotten. Anyways, glad to see that Anton came through and I think it's only right to give credit where credit is due. Better late than never.
amazing how fedor is so famos and big and still so humble and close to his culture
thanks you made my day
Great example for aspiring young fighters to follow. Gracious in victory as well as in defeat. High moral standards which transcend fighting and can be carried through to face all lifes challenges. Fedor has given sincere MMA fighters a roadmap to sucess .... that being a great approach to fighting which will bring sucess is indivisible from a positive and persistent approach to our everyday lives.
that being said ......
another highlight real KO would be KICKASS !!!!!
Nice play anton.
Regards to fedor for answering
All my money on Fedor!