"The worst thing for me in the sport is when my friends lose in combat, the best thing in my life is my family and my daughter" - Fedor Emelianenko
INTERVIEWER: Please tell me about where you've been. and what are your future plans ?
FEDOR: In July i was training in "kislo vod'sk" (training resort), and the in Ausgust i went to America to promote prides upcomming event in America. In october i will be fighting Mark Coleman, former UFC champion... he is a very dangerous opponent, we have fought before, but now he beat a few fighters, and he is challanging me again.
INTERVIEWER: Where will the fight be?
FEDOR: in Las Vegas, firts time in AMERICA
INTERVIEWER: Is pride as popular in america, as it is in Japan and Korea?
FEDOR: in America the most popular event is UFC, but in comparison to the level of fighters and the quality of the show, it is far behind PRIDE.
INTERVIEWER:Was your trip to america strictly for promotion ?
FEDOR: yes, we went there to do promotion, press conferences, and film television spots. with me where several american fighters. also pride signed a deal with Mike Tyson who will fight in pride under boxing rules to bring mass attention to pride.
INTERVIEWER:what do you think attracted pride to mike tyson ? his reputation for scandal, or his fighting skill ?
FEDOR:Im cant really say..when i met with tyson, i spoke with him for literaly a few minutes. but to me he looked like a normal happy and nice guy.
INTERVIEWER: in your opinion, do you think you sparked any interest in pride with american audienace?
FEDOR: huge interest ! during the press conference there was soo many people we could barely move. the crowd perticularly went wild for me and for shogun, the winner of last years MW GP. as far as my american opponent mark coleman, he recieved far less recognition.
INTERVIEWER: what happened after america ?
FEDOR: then we went to the small central american country of Costa Rica, to attend the MFC tournament, to select american fighters for the upcomming MFC USA vs RUSSIA tournament in november in los angelos. there where allready 7 american fighter selected, and 3 spots are still open. as for the russian side there will be roman zentsov, my brother aleks, but i will not participate. maybe i will participate in the feburary event in russia
INTERVIEWER: what did you do after costa rica?
FEDOR:alot of flying...from costa rica to japan for the last bushido event, from japan to korea to participate in the making of a video game
INTERVIEWER:tell us a little bit more about the korea trip
FEDOR: they were filming me for use in a video game, in some scenes i was fighting a young and vulnerable korean girl.
INTERVIEWER: was this girl really a good fighter
FEDOR: no, the whole fight was just a series of stunts. but what the producers really wanted to acomplish was that...the hero of the game not only had the name emelianenko, but also looked and fought like me aswell. by the way, in this game i dont fight, i am more like an advisor
INTERVIEWER: 2 months of traveling didnt tire you out ?
FEDOR: yes, i want to spend some time with my family, and i have a fight in 2 months to prepare for. thats why i am leaving to "kislo vod'sk" for some training
INTERVIEWER: are you preparing somthing special for mark coleman ?
FEDOR: nothing special, just training alot of boxing, wrestling, ground and pound, and putting extra attention on my leg game, and kicks.
INTERVIEWER: are you trying to improve your leg work after your fight with crocop ?
FEDOR:no, i was trying to impriove it way before that. because i was fighting crocop who is very good with his legs, i had to train how to beat him at his own game, and how to deffend his kicks. besides, my injury did not fully let me use my right hand all this time, and i had to fill up my time with other trainings, which was my leg work
INTERVIEWER: who is helping you train
FEDOR: vladimir voronov, aleksander mitchkov, and recently russlan nagnibida joined us as a muay thai specialist
INTERVIEWER: do people often ask you how you achieved such great success?
FEDOR: yes alot of journalist ask me, and they expect me to have somkind of compicated answer. but its all just about hard work , and not just physical hard work but also using your head.... and i dont mean using your head literaly in the fight, but using your mind and learning from youir mistakes in fights
INTERVIEWER:why did you leave the big olympic sport of sambo and judo
FEDOR: because of the money, i had to support my familiy, and it was imposible to supoprt my family on my earnings in sambo. the second reason was bias judging in sambo. for example when we would come to an event, it was imposible to comptete with local fighters , because the judges were biased. because we were from the outskirts of the country. i had an oppurtunity to go to olympic games, but i decided to go to MMA.....rite now i think i made the right choice
INTERVIEWER: if you were offered to go to the olympics now would you go ?
FEDOR: no, theres no point really
INTERVIEWER: now that you gained so much money and fame, do you think you lost somthing aswell ?
FEDOR: i dont change, money dosnt change me, or material things dont change. and fame dont change me. i have great familiy and friends, im just a regular person, and there is nothing special about me, i just try to do what im good at , and that is my job.
INTERVIEWER: sometimes your opponents act really wild and crazy, and try to put on a show...but you are always calm and emotionless. dont you want to put on a good show
FEDOR:i didnt gain my audience by any crazy spectacle or show, but by my professionalism and skill. but for many fighters, this is necesary becuz MMA is not just fighting , its also entertainment
INTERVIEWER: what do you do a half hour before a fight
FEDOR:i stretch, throw my arms around, and try to keep a blank mind. during that time, my team tries to isolate me from everyone else at the venue and in the stadium, and i thank them for that
INTERVIEWER: dont you like your fans ?
FEDOR: ofcourse i love my fans, especially for the fact that most of the times, they are people who respect the sport, but in korea it gets really hard, becuase they literally try to rip me appart over there.and it gets really hard somtimes
INTERVIEWER: ive noticed how you always try to help your beaten opponent, or help them up, or raise there hand, or give give them a hug. is that a part of your game plan, or is it sincere
FEDOR:i respect all my opponents, when you come out infront of 50 thousand people, that takes courage in itself....besides that i know they all have years of training and hard work behind themand many victories, thats why i feel everyone of my opponenets is worthy of me giving them a hand and helping them up , or raising there hand. besides, its not in a russians character to jump up and down and go crazy after a win.
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