MMA fans are very excited for another intriguing Strikeforce heavyweight showdown in July when two legends collide: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Dan Henderson.
For those that have not heard, Henderson has agreed to fight this bout at heavyweight, despite being the current Strikeforce light heavyweight champion.
Lowkick.com’s Anton Gurevich compiled some interesting quotes from “The Last Emperor’s” camp, about eight weeks away from this historic fight.
Fedor explained why he decided to continue his fighting career, amidst rumors of retirement after consecutive losses to Fabricio Werdum and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva.
“Two mistakes in a row is not a coincidence. I didn’t want to make a third, so that’s why I considered retirement. But then, I discussed the situation with my trainers and my spiritual father,” the Russian heavyweight said.
Fedor continued, “When I returned home, I was fully convinced that it’s not the right time to retire, but to continue fighting.
“Our life is full of crossroads, and we always have to make the right decisions. I have no regrets about staying in the sport, and will continue fighting.”
Next, The Last Emperor spoke about the respect he has for his next opponent:
“Dan Henderson is a very exciting fighter; he’s a strong wrestler and is very quick with taking the fight from stand-up, down to the ground. He starts in stand-up, but then attacks like a tornado, often surprising his opponents by putting them on their back.”
Although, it would probably be fair to say that Fedor is not intimidated by Henderson’s credentials, noting that Henderson has had “fights where he had to sweat against relatively weaker competition.”
Vadim Finkelstein, a member of M-1 Global, and Fedor’s manager, also had something interesting to say.
How surprising is it that his statement is open for debate.
“I think if Fedor loses to Dan Henderson, he will retire from mixed martial arts,” Finkelstein stated.
But he wanted to be clear that regardless of what happens, retirement will be Fedor’s decision to make, and M-1 Global has no say in the matter.
“And like I said many times before, it will be his decision and we (M-1 Global) have no influence of any kind of whatever he decides to do. It’s up to him. But we hope for the best.”
Finkelstein said it would be a mistake to already consider Henderson the winner by default, though, since Fedor is training with intensity.
“Fedor is very motivated, and will be more than ready for this fight. He has a new goal, and is fully concentrated on reaching it.”
Fedor vs. Henderson goes down on July 30 at the Sears Centre, in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
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