Tag: Chael Sonnen vs. Fedor Emelianenko

Fedor Emelianenko breaks down how he plans to prepare for his next fight under the Bellator banner when he meets light heavyweight champion Ryan Bader.

Process

The MMA Legend scored a first round TKO win over Chael Sonnen n the main event of Bellator 208 on Saturday night (October 13, 2018) at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York on the Paramount Network.

This served as a semifinal bout of the Bellator heavyweight tournament and now he will advance. He is set to meet Bader in the finals of the tournament in January 2019 where the winner of this fight will become the heavyweight champion.

Fedor Emelianenko Breaks Down

Emelianenko stated to the media after this bout that he had completely focused on this fight and didn’t watch Ryan Bader’s decision win over Matt Mitrione the night before at Bellator 207.

“We take into consideration the specialities and the features of all the opponents we meet,” Emelianenko told reporters, including MMAjunkie. “We’re preparing for this fight, and we’re taking into considerations the very strong sides of Chael.”

Preparation

When it comes to preparation, Fedor has the same gameplan in mind but knows they will have to focus on the ground game.

“The same will happen, actually, for the preparation for the fight for Bader. Me and my team will make the next conclusions. Certainly there will be a lot of attention given to all the work on the ground, on the canvas.”

Title

Despite what other people may think, Fedor brought up not thinking about winning the heavyweight title just yet and what it would mean for his legacy.

“First of all, I’m not the champion of Bellator,” Emelianenko said. “First of all, you have to fight and you have to earn it, and we’ll have to get together and discuss that if we win.”

Retirement?

He also addressed potentially walking away from the sport should he win the heavyweight title. However, at this time, that is not a thought that he has at this time.

“Everything depends on how I’m feeling, how my health is,” Emelianenko said. “I will be able to answer this question after the fight.”

The post Fedor Emelianenko Breaks Down Plans To Prepare For Ryan Bader appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Fedor Emelianenko breaks down how he plans to prepare for his next fight under the Bellator banner when he meets light heavyweight champion Ryan Bader.

Process

The MMA Legend scored a first round TKO win over Chael Sonnen n the main event of Bellator 208 on Saturday night (October 13, 2018) at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York on the Paramount Network.

This served as a semifinal bout of the Bellator heavyweight tournament and now he will advance. He is set to meet Bader in the finals of the tournament in January 2019 where the winner of this fight will become the heavyweight champion.

Fedor Emelianenko Breaks Down

Emelianenko stated to the media after this bout that he had completely focused on this fight and didn’t watch Ryan Bader’s decision win over Matt Mitrione the night before at Bellator 207.

“We take into consideration the specialities and the features of all the opponents we meet,” Emelianenko told reporters, including MMAjunkie. “We’re preparing for this fight, and we’re taking into considerations the very strong sides of Chael.”

Preparation

When it comes to preparation, Fedor has the same gameplan in mind but knows they will have to focus on the ground game.

“The same will happen, actually, for the preparation for the fight for Bader. Me and my team will make the next conclusions. Certainly there will be a lot of attention given to all the work on the ground, on the canvas.”

Title

Despite what other people may think, Fedor brought up not thinking about winning the heavyweight title just yet and what it would mean for his legacy.

“First of all, I’m not the champion of Bellator,” Emelianenko said. “First of all, you have to fight and you have to earn it, and we’ll have to get together and discuss that if we win.”

Retirement?

He also addressed potentially walking away from the sport should he win the heavyweight title. However, at this time, that is not a thought that he has at this time.

“Everything depends on how I’m feeling, how my health is,” Emelianenko said. “I will be able to answer this question after the fight.”

The post Fedor Emelianenko Breaks Down Plans To Prepare For Ryan Bader appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Chael Sonnen addresses the speculation that he could be close to potentially making the call to retire from the sport of MMA. As seen in the main event of Bellator 208 on Saturday night (October 13, 2018) at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York on the Paramount Network, Fedor Emelianenko was able to score a first round TKO win over Sonnen.

Sonnen was able to pick up a decision win over former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson at Bellator 192 at The Forum in Inglewood, California in January to move forward in the tournament. However, his time in the tournament to crown a new heavyweight champion is over.

What Went Wrong

Following the fight, Sonnen spoke with the media about it and how he thought that the MMA Legend used up all of his energy. Thus, he believed that this would allow him a chance to make a comeback. Obviously, that didn’t happen.

“I thought there was opportunity there,” Sonnen told reporters, including MMAjunkie. “I was covering up, and I thought he was slowing down. Whether that’s accurate, I thought he was slowing down a bit, and the referee warned me. He said, ‘If you don’t move, I’m going to stop this fight.’”

Sonnen even admitted that he was trying to have a rope-a-dope moment in the fight that backfired.

“I didn’t think he would because they were going into my hands. I thought I was blocking them. I thought I was having a rope-a-dope moment. I thought I was luring him in. That was a bad strategy, it turns out. That was a bad plan.”

The former title contender praised Fedor for still having some serious power and being explosive despite being past his prime.

“Explosive – I would call him explosive. With his punches, there wasn’t a ton of setups; they just came, and they came hard. And even on the ground, I had some good positions on him, and he would just explode. It wasn’t necessarily technique-based, but it was impressive. He’s an impressive athlete. I don’t think I’ve ever been ground-and-pounded like that.”

What’s Next?

Sonnen also talked about what’s next for him after competing in MMA for more than 21 years. This led to him making it clear that he is looking forward to what’s next.

“I have some other goals I would like to achieve,” Sonnen said. “I really looked up to what Randy (Couture) was able to do to extend his career; I would like to extend mine. But it won’t be my choice. It was never my choice. Eventually coach Clayton (Hires) will come up and say, ‘We’re done.’ Then we’re done.”

Chael Sonnen Addresses

Part of this question was regarding his potential retirement as a pro-MMA fighter. This is not the cards for Sonnen right now and won’t be until his coaches make the call.

“But I must remind you I was just in the final four of a tournament with the baddest dudes in the world. It wasn’t like old Chael got cleaned up in a parking lot on a Saturday. We’re down to the final four in a weight class I’ve never been in.”

The post Chael Sonnen Addresses Potential Retirement After Bellator 208 Loss appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.