Fedor Emelianenko in the USA. Photo: Esther Lin / Strikeforce
Fedor got finished, but he’s not giving up. The greatest MMA fighter of all times didn’t let his loss to Fabricio Werdum at the June 26 Strikeforce show (his first loss in ten years) diminish his faith in his training methods.
Right or stubborn, the Ukrainian monster brought up in Russia said he’s not going to practice Jiu-Jitsu, in an interview published today on Steve Rattlesnake’s MMA website. “I don’t practice Jiu-Jitsu at all. Sambo is superior.”
Well, as much as Werdum has to disagree, Fedor showed confidence in his training regimen and pointed out where he failed in the fight: he was excessively confident and certain of victory.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOLXEkMkMbo
Check out some of the highlights from the Fedor interview taken by a reporter in Russia.
Would you like to rematch Fabricio Werdum?
If he agrees to, of course I’d like to fight him again. I was a victim of my own mistakes. Things like that happen. I’ll take any date for the rematch, but that’s something Vadim (manager) and Strikeforce decide. I don’t decide those things on my own.
Did you prepare for the fight by working on your Jiu-Jitsu? Or do you feel it was a mistake not to have trained for the fight with a Jiu-Jitsu specialist?
No, I don’t train Jiu-Jitsu at all. I train sambo. Sambo is a superior ground-fighting system. On that night what brought about my defeat wasn’t training, nor was it my preparations. I was the one who went in there excessively confident. My preparation went excellently and my coaches did a good job of getting me in tip-top shape.
Fabricio Werdum issued a statement saying he would even do the rematch in Russia. What do you think of that?
If he can put it together, I’m down. (Laughs). But MMA is not welcome here at this point in time…