- How were the first days after winning the Bellator title ?

- I was constantly on the phone - everyone called, congratulated, wrote on social networks.

- Did you meet many people upon arrival at home?

- Yes, I didn't expect so many people to come. About 100-150 people were waiting in the airport hall. Most of them are acquaintances, I guessed that they would come. But then they told me: "Now you will go out into the street, you will say a few words."

- And what did you see there?

- Left the airport and was stunned. There were a lot of people. As they said, about a thousand people.

- Has this happened before?

- No, this was the first time we met.

- Fighters celebrate victories in different ways. The same Conor McGregor threw a huge party in Las Vegas when he won the second title from Eddie Alvarez. How did you celebrate?

- We had dinner with my family, the next day we went to some friends, on Friday we saw others. Now we are planning to relax at sea, and upon our return we will throw a larger celebration.

- You said that the preparation for this fight was the hardest in your career. How long are you planning to rest?

- First, we will recuperate, then we will spend ten days with my family at sea, and then I will slowly resume the training process. Some teammates already have battles assigned. There has been no official announcement yet, but you will find out soon. You need to help with preparation, and to keep yourself in shape. After a long rest, it is difficult to put yourself in order. Very stressful for the body.

- Do you expect to have another fight in 2020?

- I would very much like to speak again before the end of the year, but it will hardly work. Firstly, my American visa is running out, and secondly, Bellator has already planned tournaments for the coming months, and I do not get to them. And there is no information about future events yet.

- Ukrainian fighter Yaroslav Amosov said that after the battles his wife bakes him tarts. Does your wife make you happy with something similar?

- We have a tradition: upon arrival home, mom and dad cook manti, wife's sister - a cake. Nothing else is needed, so the wife herself does not bother too much.

- On the eve of the battle with Ryan Bader, you said that you were going to beat him both for yourself and for Fyodor Emelianenko.

- I would not say that he was going to take revenge. But, for example, I was pleased when Valentin Moldavsky beat Karl Albrektsson, to whom I lost on the Rizin FF 1 show. It's the same here. I wanted to show that Fedor's school is very strong. In January 2019, the fight was not as beautiful as it could have been. Everything was decided by one hit in the 35th second.

- How did you react to that defeat of Emelianenko?

- I was very upset. I knew that Fedor was very well prepared. He started training camps with us, and then worked in the Netherlands. It was a shame that one blow canceled out two or three months of intensive training.

- Then many advised Fedor to end his career. There were no such conversations in the team?

- It is foolish to tell Fedor what to do. Especially if he feels that he has the strength to keep fighting. At the same time, you don't have to fight top fighters like Bader. You can delight your fans by fighting other veterans. Everyone will enjoy it.

- When you were approved as a contender for the light heavyweight title, what did Emelianenko say?

- We talked with Fedor about the opponent. He pointed out his strengths to me, although after watching the fights with Bader's participation, I myself understood everything. We developed a plan and started preparing.

- The fight with Bader was not the most difficult for you. Which fight in Bellator caused the most discomfort?

- Probably with Phil Davis. Honestly, there are no easy battles. But when I returned home after meeting Bader, at least my legs were intact, there were no injuries. On Monday I was already running cross-country, and on Tuesday I was swimming in the pool. For example, after the fight with Liam McGeary, my legs hurt for a month and a half. You go, and the bones are walking.

- You said that you are the best light heavyweights in the world with Bader and could defeat the representatives of the  UFC. Do you really believe in Ryan?

- Yes. He proved it. Bader has been very successful in the UFC. Before leaving the promotion, he lost only to Anthony Johnson, while in other fights he won on the case. I have also achieved a lot at Bellator. Cleared the light heavyweight division, moved up in weight and took the title there. Until recently, he ranked second among the representatives of his category according to the Fight Matrix, behind only John Jones.

- Who would you include among the strongest light heavyweights in the world at the moment?

- Bader, Davis, Jan Blakhovich, Thiago Santos and myself. You can also add Dominic Reyes. A very good fighter. I believe that you can work with each of them. There is nothing supernatural about them.

- For what reason was Jones not on the list?

- Only because of his move to the heavy division. Of course, Jones is a very experienced and unconventional fighter with a huge arsenal. He hits with all parts of his body and fights well. But recent contractions say that he is either wasting too much energy or has some other problem.

- Which opponent would be a dream fight for you?

- In principle, this is how the duel with Bader can be described. I was really looking forward to the opportunity to fight him, it took a long time to tune. This fight gave me a lot.

- At Bellator 244, Valentin Moldavsky took over another former UFC star Roy Nelson. Is the Russian worthy of the right to fight for the heavyweight title?

- Moldavian deserved to fight for the belt. Especially given the current situation in the division, which is a mess. There were several possible contenders, but each of them lost to the athletes that Valya defeated. The same Sergei Kharitonov had a successful streak, but lost to Linton Wassell. Tyrell Fortune with an 8-0 record was knocked out by Timothy Johnson, who, in turn, was dominated by Vitaly Minakov. In contrast to them, Moldavskiy consistently wins.

- Moldavian is among the contenders for the heavyweight title and may soon fight the same Bader. One gets the impression that representatives of the Fedor Team are specifically pursuing Ryan after his victory over Emelianenko ...

- I think it's just a coincidence. It turned out that Bader himself crossed our path, took two belts. When you have a championship title, you cannot choose who to fight with. As for Moldavsky's position, we must not forget about Cheika Congo. Their first duel with Ryan was ruled out due to eye contact. It is highly likely that Bellator will call for revenge.

- How do you assess Moldavsky's chances in the fight with Bader?

- Valentine must win. Personally, I did not feel anything supernatural in Bader - neither in terms of physics, nor in terms of struggle. During the preparation he fought with his brother Vitya, Valya himself, Zhenya Goncharov. Each of them is certainly not weaker.

- Nevertheless, in the first round he made a takedown ...

- Caught me on the move. I relaxed, went to him, and he made a translation. But he didn’t do anything special on the ground.

- For a duel with Bader you went out to the composition of the group Nightwish - Nemo. Why did you choose it?

- This is an old story. In 2009, the Red Devil team entered the M-1 Selection tournament. Later my brother used it, and I also liked it myself. 

- Some athletes listen to music before entering the cage. How do you tune in for the fight?

- I don't have any special ritual. You just try to be distracted so that time passes faster. For example, on the eve of Bellator 244 I was sitting in a hotel and watching TV shows. The tournament was held at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville. Roughly speaking, we lived and fought in the same building. 30 minutes before the fight, I packed my things and went to the arena, talked to my teammates there and was ready to fight.

- After the fight, you said that your next opponent will be the winner of the fight between Lyoto Machida and Phil Davis. Which one of them do you consider the more dangerous opponent?

- Of course, Davis. A well-rounded and very physically strong athlete. I may have put on some weight in two years, but Ryan didn't seem as powerful as Phil to me.

Bellator recently signed with former UFC fighter Corey Anderson. Would you be surprised if he was immediately named the first challenger?

- Of course it will come as a surprise. After all, Anderson left the UFC after losing by knockout to Blakhovich. It would not be very logical if a fighter, after a heavy defeat, immediately gets a chance to fight for the title. But if the management says that I need to fight him, I will.

- Usually, UFC fighters , moving to Bellator, immediately become either champions, like Bader, or contenders, like Phil Davis, Benson Henderson. Does this mean that the level of the championship fighters is higher?

- I think, first of all, Bellator matchmakers pay attention to the athlete's place in the world rankings, and also take into account the possible excitement around the fight. If an unknown fighter came to them, albeit from the UFC, he would not be allowed to immediately compete for the belt. The same Bader already had a big name, so he was given the opportunity to immediately meet with the reigning champion. She and Davis had fought before, so the revenge was easy to sell. 

- In your opinion, why at one time Strikeforce was perceived as a direct competitor to the UFC, while Bellator continues to be considered a promotion of a lower level?

- Now almost all star fighters compete in the UFC, they have much more opportunities. The promotion runs at least one tournament every week, and sometimes several. This already says a lot. Bellator has fewer promoted athletes. If you remember the same Strikeforce Grand Prix in heavyweight, then there were all the brightest representatives of that era. Although Scott Cocker also arranged an interesting championship among welterweights.

Weren't you surprised that the UFC staged its first show back in the midst of the pandemic in May, while Bellator waited until July?

- The UFC is a promotion of a different scale. But I do not exclude that Bellator's management deliberately did not rush to organize tournaments, because they were worried about the health of the athletes. The risk of getting infected is very high. Perhaps this decision was correct.

- At that moment there were no thoughts that Bellator could follow the PFL path and refuse to hold tournaments until the end of 2020?

- Of course I thought about it. There were even similar rumors. I was very happy when they were not confirmed, because there was an opportunity to earn money. Initially, the battle was supposed to take place in late March - early April, then it was moved to May 9. At that moment I was doing repairs in the apartment. I thought I'd finish it and get my royalties. And in the end it turned out that the repair was completed, the money ran out, and the fight was postponed.

- Preparation for the tournament requires serious financial costs. How did you get out of this situation?

- I am a member of the Fedor Team, and the team is assisted by Metalloinvest, Oskol Electrometallurgical Plant. Everyone is paid small salaries, which helps a lot. Without them, there would be no preparation or combat. I would have to get a job during the pandemic.

- Now some PFL athletes are seriously thinking about terminating their contract and moving to another promotion. Does your brother Victor have an agreement with the organization now?

- Not. He did not renew the contract in 2019, and this year he did not manage to sign a new agreement for participation in the Grand Prix. While he is in the status of a free agent, but soon we will have an announcement on this matter. We are preparing something.

- You said that you have one fight left under your contract with Bellator. Do you think that in case of a successful defense it is worth going into the free agent market and see what the UFC has to offer ?

- Most likely I'll stay here. But it all depends on what offers come from Bellator and the UFC. The main thing for me is to perform. Frankly, when there were no battles, it was hard.

- Many people think that an MMA fighter cannot be considered absolutely successful if he does not achieve success in the UFC. Do you agree with this?

- Not. You can fight in other organizations, but with no less strong rivals. People who are not very good at MMA say things like that. Even after this fight, I read many unflattering messages from fans.

- For example?

- One person wrote: "If it were not for this lucky punch, it is not known what would happen next." I don't know how to comment on this.

- Yana Kunitskaya admitted that she receives a lot of negativity from Russian fans. In your opinion, what is the reason for this?

- Perhaps because mixed martial arts are not yet so developed in Russia. Especially when compared with the United States. Still, they have been actively followed there for 25 years, and not many people in our country knew about this sport, even when Fedor was already playing in PRIDE.