Pre-fight interviews are typically full of cliche questions with cliche answers. But every once in a while, an interview takes a turn and provides something more.
That’s the case with Bellator‘s Rob Emerson as he spoke with MMA Junkie in his Bellator 116 pre-fight interview when discussing UFC Flyweight Ian McCall.
“He knows I don’t like him. It is a very personal thing I have against him. I hold him responsible for a lot of the stuff that happened to Shane, indirectly. I have a deep-seeded dislike for that kid.” Emerson said, via Karim Zidan of Bloody Elbow.
Shane Del Rosario died Dec. 3, 2013 and was initially scheduled to compete at UFC 168 before an injury forced him out of action. The toxicology report indicated there were traces of cocaine, opiates and THC but ruled that the substances were not the cause of death, according to Steven Marrocco of MMAjunkie.com.
The official cause of death was listed as anoxic encephalopathy, ventricular fibrillation and Long QT syndrome, as per Okamoto.
It was McCall who found his roommate Del Rosario unconscious Nov. 26, and SDR was taken to the coronary unit and deemed to have suffered cardiac arrest.
McCall has a long and storied history with substance abuse and has spoken about it on numerous occasions.
Perhaps this is what Emerson is referring to? There’s no shortage of disdain from both men for one another as McCall’s tweet (since deleted), via Alex Giardini of MMA Mania, shows (tweet contains NSFW language).
It’s a pretty serious accusation by Emerson that will likely need a follow-up interview to get the exact details out of the Bellator fighter. With such a sensitive topic like this, you can bet there will be things said that won’t sit well with MMA fans if this beef continues.
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