(Monson when he fought Tim Sylvia for the UFC HW title)
Longtime Mixed Martial Arts fans are very familiar with ‘The Snowman’ Jeff Monson. He made his name as a Division 1 wrestler for Oregon State University, made his professional MMA debut in 1997, and has been a dominate force in the submission grappling world for many years. He has fought for every major MMA organization and one of the few fighters in the world to have fought on all corners of the globe. Back in 2006, fresh off a decision loss toTim Sylvia for the heavyweight title he requested a release from the UFC with intentions of one day facing Fedor Emelianenko. Negotiations fell through and the fight never happened until now.
Fedor vs. Monson will be held on Russian soil under the M-1 Global banner on November 20th 2011. Jeff took time out of his day to speak to the Lowkick.com about his upcoming fight with Fedor, the future of Strikeforce, tattoos and the idea of an epic battle between him and the ancient Roman emperor Julius Caesar. No holds are barred from this interview and this is a must read for fans of one of the most interesting people in Mixed Martial Arts.
You’ll be facing one of the greatest fighters in the history of the sport when you go to Moscow, Russia to face Fedor Emelianenko. What have you been working in your camp to ensure victory on November 20th?
His standup is up is probably one of his greatest assets. I’ve been doing a lot of striking in my camp. In the past I didn’t really feel confident in it, but now we’ve been working on it and I feel much better in it.
After losing three straight back in Strikeforce, it appears that Fedor may perhaps be in the twilight of his career. From what you’ve observed in his three losing fights or any of his past fights what sort of holes in his game will you be looking to exploit?
I don’t think he’s in his twilight; he’s only 33 years old. He hasn’t taken too much of a beating in his past fights. If you look back at his fights, he dropped Dan Henderson but he got caught with an uppercut. He dropped Fabricio Werdum but got caught in the triangle. The only person who really beat him up recently was Antonio Silva, but he’s like 300lbs. Look at the kind of guys he’s fought. When you fight that many times, when you the roll the dice that many times, you’ll eventually get caught.
You’ll be fighting under the M-1 Global banner on 20th. Have you signed a contract with them or do you have any sort of agreement with them or will you be allowed to fight under any other banner?
I’m still signed with Strikeforce, they actually let me go to M-1 for this fight. I’m still with Strikeforce and this so far is a one shot deal with M-1.
Read the rest at LowKick.com.