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One of the biggest names in MMA is not a fan of the president of the sport’s biggest promotion.
Former Pride heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko, who many regard as the greatest MMA heavyweight of all time, recently gave his thoughts about UFC president Dana White. Although “The Last Emperor” is highly revered in the sport, he has never competed under the UFC banner.
In what is billed as starting his retirement tour, the 45-year-old Russian is set to fight Timothy Johnson on October 23, 2021, in the main event of Bellator 269 in Moscow, Russia. And ahead of his showdown, Emelianenko spoke to TASS.
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GettyVladimir Putin (front R) congratulates heavyweight mixed martial artist Fedor Emelianenko (front L) after watching his fight against Pedro Rizzo entitled “M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Rizzo,” at Ice Palace in Saint-Petersburg, late on June 21, 2012.
During the interview, The Last Emperor said White has “no respect for any human being,” respecting “only money.”
“A very unfavorable impression,” Emelianenko said via the outlet. “Money means everything to him, he has no respect towards fighters, no respect for any human being. Only money and that’s all.”
“There is nothing humane about him and I found that quite revolting,” The Last Emperor continued. “Money, of course, is important for living and for the family. But trading human relations for money is unacceptable.”
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The Last Emperor Explains His Decision to Fight Johnson
Johnson is far from a household name in the MMA community, so it confused some when Emelianenko chose to fight him, especially since it could be the Russian’s last fight ever.
Johnson is 15-7 as a professional and holds wins inside the Bellator cage over former UFC fighters Matt Mitrione and Cheick Kongo. Johnson was riding a three-fight win streak heading into his last fight but dropped a unanimous decision to Valentin Moldavsky in June 2021 at Bellator 261.
And during a recent press conference, The Last Emperor explained his reasoning for taking on Johnson.
“Tim Johnson had quite a winning streak going on,” Emelianenko told MMA Junkie. “That obviously shows he’s quite a good fighter. Fighting someone who is spearheading the (division) is always a great opportunity.”
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Emelianenko Gave His Thoughts on Junior dos Santos
An exciting potential opponent for The Last Emperor is former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos. The Brazilian is currently a free agent after parting ways with the promotion earlier this year. “Cigano” was released from his contract after suffering his fourth TKO loss in a row, losing to Ciryl Gane in December 2020.
“Aside from Tim Johnson, Dos Santos, for example, had a serious streak of losses alongside,” Emelianenko said to MMAJunkie.com. “He was also fighting for the UFC, as well. That is why I don’t think it would’ve been much suitable to fight him compared to Tim Johnson. Not to mention the fact that Bellator came up with a bunch of options and Tim was the obvious choice.”
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