“One in a billion such athletes”: how Emelianenko is praised for knocking out Jackson at Bellator

Russian MMA fighter Fedor Emelianenko knocked out American Quinton Jackson, nicknamed Rampage in the Bellator 237 tournament. This victory was his 39th.

After the fight, the 43-year-old athlete said that he did not intend to end his career, but did not want to talk about his future plans. At the same time, his coach was satisfied with the form of the ward and expressed confidence that Emelianenko would leave sports early.

“He completely fulfilled the battle plan. Fedor was very fast, incredibly fast. And his very strong and quick blow decided the outcome of the battle. He can still perform at the highest level, ”quotes Peter Taysse TASS.

In turn, Bellator President Scott Cocker said that the promotion is ready to organize a title fight for Emelianenko if the athlete wants to. Recall that in June the Russian signed a new contract with the organization. According to media reports, it is designed for three fights.

“Fedor looked incredible. It was simply impossible to stop. I think Jackson still felt his blows. And the meeting was stopped right. We will look about the specific date of the next match, wait for the restoration of Emelianenko. But what I would definitely like is for him to put a good point in his career by fighting in Moscow, ”Cocker shared his opinion.

Jackson also paid tribute to the opponent. At the same time, according to him, the cause of the lesion was a significant difference in weight - 11 kg.

“Fedor should not end his career, he looks great. He is very fast and powerful, as in his youth. Just unbelieveble. I could not do anything. Lost because it’s very big. It was hard for me to move, I was slower. Everything is natural, what else to say, ”the American said.

Russian and foreign experts also admired the actions of the Russian fighter in a meeting with Jackson. So, the head of the Union of MMA of Russia Radmir Gabdullin noted the uniqueness of Emelianenko.

“There are one in a billion of such athletes, and thank God that he is from Russia. We are very proud of him, I myself am primarily proud of him, and I was lucky in life that I spent five years in one room next to him, ”the functionary admitted.

In addition, he highlighted the ability of a heavyweight to choose the right tactics. According to him, the opponent is famous for his attacking actions, but the Russian did not allow him to fully prove himself and forced him to keep the defense.

“Fedor always acts on the situation, but in this battle it was clear that he would work as the first number. Jackson doesn’t quite like this, and all his technique and tactics are focused on moving forward, he doesn’t quite like working second number, ”Gabdullin explained.

Many experts believed that the battle would end in favor of Emelianenko. At the same time, they were surprised by the duration of the meeting, which amounted to only 164 seconds.

“The impressions are joyful. To be honest, I expected victory, but not so fast. I thought that Rampage would leave the forces at the end of the second round. At the weigh-in I saw that he had big problems with being overweight. It seems to me that this was the main reason that the American was moving so badly, ”Sport24 quotes former Bellator champion Alexander Shlemenko as saying.

In his opinion, Jackson's uniform left much to be desired, and Emelianenko did everything that was supposed to in this situation.

“Fedor is handsome. He never had a problem with big guys. He was faster and moving well, because Rampage allowed him to do this. Emelianenko’s trick is that it is very explosive for heavy weight, ”concluded Shlemenko.

The Russian MMA fighter Vyacheslav Vasilevsky noted that this is exactly what he predicted the course of the battle. He canceled the speed of the Russian, as well as the ability to correctly evaluate what is happening in the octagon. The athlete emphasized that sometimes Emelianenko misses attacks after his own attacks, but now this has not happened.

“I said that Fedor will win by knockout in the first half of the first round, in the end it happened. He was faster, better, serious in preparation, as before. And Rampage just did it - for hype, for money. From the first minutes it was clear that the opponent has very few chances, ”Vasilevsky shared his opinion.

At the same time, another MMA fighter Kirill Sidelnikov noted that the victory of the Last Emperor was not as easy as it might have seemed from the outside.

“A long journey has been made, plus a performance in front of the Japanese public. But Fedor completely fulfilled his plan, looked good and it was clear that he was better prepared. Even in training, it was noticeable that Emelianenko had enough gunpowder, and more than one fight, ”RIA Novosti quoted Sidelnikov as saying.

The first Russian UFC champion Oleg Taktarov also has a department due to his compatriot.

“The ability to get up after losing with Fedor cannot be taken away. Unlimited respect only for this. He, of course, is a real fighter, to the marrow of bones. For many of our young people this is not enough and will never be enough. You need to walk around and live life in his loafers. Ready, aimed, although I did not think about protection again and could fly a couple of times. A nice gift to the country for the New Year, ”wrote Taktarov on his Instagram.

Emelianenko admired in the Absolute Fighting Championship. So, the representative of the lightweight category, James Wieck, noted the speed of the hands of the Russian, and his division colleague Ed Yakvinta succinctly commented on the outcome of the battle on his Twitter page.

“Fedor is still Fedor. Rampage is not very, ”the American wrote.