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The Last Emperor was quite complimentary of his Russian counterpart, but did see room for improvement.
In the current world of MMA, Khabib the best in the world at 155 pounds. The UFC lightweight champion is undefeated in 28 fights, but has a stiff test ahead of him at UFC 249 where he’ll take on Tony Ferguson. If you look over the history of MMA, you’ll surely see that Fedor Emelianenko was once in a similar position to Khabib – at the head of the class, with everyone gunning for him.
Fedor has admitted in the past that he doesn’t follow worldwide MMA much anymore, preferring to stick to watching his teammates and students. But in an interview with Russian news agency tass.ru, The Last Emperor offered his thoughts on Khabib, and while they were mostly positive, he does see some flaws (translation via BJPenn.com):
“Khabib has found his style, wins by using his strengths. That’s good because he is a UFC champion and uses his strengths. In these elements he stands above his rivals,” Emelianenko said.
“However, Khabib must, of course, patch the gaps in his technique. For example, in the technique of punches and kicks. But he also does everything right. He also has time to polish these techniques to become even better.”
Emelianenko (39-6, 1 NC) is coming off a knockout win over Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson at Rizin’s New Years card. Khabib and Ferguson will throw down on April 18th in Brooklyn.