“It is unlikely that he will fall for a clumsy “bun”: what they say on the eve of Emelianenko’s last fight in his career

Fedor Emelianenko began preparing for a rematch with Ryan Bader at the end of November.

It is noteworthy that for almost two months he led it in Russia, and arrived in Los Angeles only on January 29, just seven days before the fight.

In comparison, Islam Makhachev arrived in Australia three weeks before the confrontation with Alexander Volkanovski to better adapt.

The company of the legend in the United States was his pupil Vadim Nemkov.

It is the Bellator light heavyweight champion who helps a colleague in the final stage of training.

He even posted photos from joint classes on social networks.

On them, they both work in the rack and fight.

From this we can conclude that the Russian relies not only on a knockout blow, but also on actions on the ground.

Nemkov's advice is especially valuable from the point of view that at one time, unlike Emelianenko Sr., he defeated Bader and took his belt away from him.

In the summer of 2020, the judges stopped the meeting early in the second round.

A few days before entering the octagon, the rivals talked to reporters.

In particular, Fedor once again emphasized that this fight is guaranteed to be the final one for him, and he is not going to continue.

“Now that's all.

I will finish thoroughly and irrevocably.

No.

God bless the fight.

Of course we will fight.

There is a drive.

I don't know what to compare.

The vessel is filled with water to the eyeballs.

And so my career ends already to the eyeballs.

I thank God for everything, for my long long journey.

Interesting, exciting and beautiful.

It's time to finish, ”the veteran said in an interview with TASS.

According to him, after the end of his career, he will finally be able to devote more time to his family, in particular to his little daughter, who recently turned four years old.

“Mom is looking forward to it.

My family wants me to retire.

I want to spend a lot of time with my daughters.

I can live without fights.

I love fighting, but it's time to stop, ”Sports Illustrated quotes Emelianenko.

At the same time, unlike Khabib Nurmagomedov, he is not going to completely leave MMA.

The former Pride champion intends to continue coaching and help his Fedor Team players, including Vadim Nemkov.

Opponents also spoke about each other.

In particular, the Russian stressed that it was extremely important for him to meet with the current title holder and try to take revenge for the unfortunate failure in 2019.

“In my two recent fights I won victories, so I need a spectacular final.

So I asked Bellator to give me a fight with the champion.

Bader is very disciplined and impresses me.

He is a wonderful person.

And as an athlete, he is very purposeful.

I went to my peak form so that everything went well, ”added Emelianenko.

Bader, although he paid tribute to his opponent, promised to end the confrontation even earlier than the first time, when he achieved a knockout already in the 35th second.

Moreover, the American refused to call his counterpart the best heavyweight fighter in MMA history.

In his opinion, Cain Velasquez, who won the belt in the UFC twice, could have challenged him.

Fedor did not move to the UFC, but this does not call into question his achievements.

He created a legacy.

He had fights in Japan and won many of them.

But if Fedor and Kane fought each other at the time of their peak form, I would bet on Velasquez, ”the Mmafighting athlete quotes.

At the same time, before the fight, some fans believe that in any case, he will not bring additional glory to Bader.

He risks giving the title to the 46-year-old veteran, and the victory will be taken for granted.

However, Ryan found the motivation to be the first and last fighter to beat the MMA legend twice.

“Even on the evening of our first fight, I still couldn’t believe: “Stunned, my opponent is Emelianenko, I will go against him.

The US national anthem was played, followed by Russia.

Before the meeting, I had a little more time to collect my thoughts than usual.

But I kept telling myself, “He’s just another contender.

I have already gone against everyone, against the best MMA fighters.

Rising stars and legends have become my opponents."

Now such excitement no longer rolls over me, but Fedor was the only opponent before the fight with whom I thought: “Well, it has begun!”.

It was a little difficult to believe in the reality of what was happening, ”the Bellator champion described his feelings.

Despite numerous statements by the Russian about his desire to end his career, according to his American manager Jerry Millen, Emelianenko can, according to the rules of boxing, meet with the famous blogger Jake Paul, who has already turned out to be stronger in the ring than such eminent athletes as Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley and Anderson Silva.

“He said that this is his last fight and that he will finish with MMA.

But who knows, maybe he will try boxing.

Even in the US, because Jake Paul is looking for an opponent.

So maybe we can fight him.

Let's see what happens, ”Millen said in an interview with Sport-Express.

Emelianenko himself, although once again stressed that he intends to hang up his gloves and focus on the family, did not give an unequivocal negative answer to the question of the possibility of holding his confrontation with a popular blogger.

Meanwhile, domestic fighters are sure that Fedor has every chance of taking revenge on Bader in the farewell fight.

For example, UFC champion Islam Makhachev believes that one powerful blow is enough for a veteran to win.

“Of course, I will follow, I just have a regimen and I don’t have to break it.

But I'll watch it 100% again.

I don’t think that an American will be able to somehow press and fight him ... I always remember Fedor’s past and bet that no one can overcome him.

He just needs to hit, he has the same fast hands, the same power in his fists.

Well, don’t miss it yourself, ”Match TV quotes Makhachev.

Former Bellator heavyweight belt holder Vitaly Minakov also believes that Emelianenko worked on his mistakes after losing to the American and will take into account his non-standard technique.

According to the Russian, Fedor has everything to end the confrontation ahead of schedule.

“At least he is unlikely to fall for a clumsy “bun”.

When we work with strikers, boxers, the technique is very clear, and you know when to block, when to pull away, when to counterattack.

And when you get hit at a non-standard angle, you can raise your hand and defend, but it will hit a different area.

It all depends on the functional state of Fedor.

He is capable of fighting in his class, and he fights at a much higher level than Bader, ”Gazeta.Ru quoted Minakov as saying.

On the eve of the final duel, even the younger brother Alexander, with whom they have not communicated for many years, wished good luck to the Last Emperor.

In his Telegram channel, he posted a video of their old SAMBO confrontation.

In it, a relative succeeded in just a few seconds, first with a beautiful throw, and then with a painful arm.

Emelianenko Jr. expressed the hope that the victory over Bader would be just as confident and easy.