Fedor Emelianenko kommer återvända in i buren då han tar sig an före detta UFC-fightern Fabio Maldonado, när de möts vid ”EFN” 50 i St. Petersburg. Enligt arrangören Kamil Gadzhiev fick Fedor själv välja sin motståndare, och detta hade han att säga via ”ValeTudo.ru”:
Fedor was choosing from opponents that I offered him. This is a situation where Fedor’s name is much bigger than the name of Fight Nights. We have to call things by what they really are. We can’t appoint the opponents for Fedor. We’re simply in a different league here. We have parity.
Fedor’s participation is extremely important in this event. For us it’s a milestone marketing event. So it’s not the situation when we signed a guy and can do anything in the interests of the organization. Why should I lie to everyone now? Yes, we need Fedor, as it’s a breakthrough for us. But we can get Fedor in our fight card only by taking into consideration his interests also.
Fedor was totally adequate when choosing the opponent. He never said ’give me a can so I could beat him.’ He understands that fighting a lower-class opponent that he would defeat in one minute is a road to nowhere. Japanese didn’t have many options with Jaideep Singh back in time. But if his fight with Maldonado will be the same, people would eventually lose interest in Fedor. He understands this and never asks someone [weak] he could easily beat.
Emelianenko kommer att ta sig an Maldonado den 17 juni, och sist vi såg Fedor slog han ut Jaideep Singh vid ”Rizin FF” i december förra året.
