Fedor Emelianenko Responds to Freddie Roach's Comments

Five Ounces of Pain has an exclusive interview with #1 ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko. The Russian fighter responds to comments made by Dana White, Andre Arlovski and Arlovski's boxing trainer Freddie Roach. Roach has previously claimed that Emelianenko has "no technique" and that Arlovski will "knock him out." Here are some choice quotes from the interview:

Sam Caplan: During a recent press conference to promote "Day of Reckoning," Andrei Arlovski questioned the sincerity of a statement you made last month regarding the your loss at the Combat Sambo Championships. Can you respond to that statement?

Fedor Emelianenko: Maybe Andrei is trying to convince himself that I have been weakened in some way. But it [doesn’t] matter [as] we are not fighting Sambo with Andrei. The only thing I am 100 percent sure about is that I will be 100 percent ready to fight MMA against Andrei. And that is the only thing I care about right now.

Sam Caplan: One of Arlovski’s trainers, famed boxing trainer Freddie Roach, questioned some aspects of your standup from a technical boxing perspective, most notably your footwork. Do you feel Roach’s criticisms are relevant to MMA?

Fedor Emelianenko: The beauty about MMA is that every fighter has his own unique style and preferences. But it’s not a beauty contest. We fight to see which fighter’s approach prevails. But again, we are not boxing and we are not fighting Sambo. We fight MMA.

Sam Caplan: During a recent radio interview, UFC president Dana White once again made some negative remarks about you. He especially tried to discredit your victory over Tim Sylvia. Could you respond to that statement?

Fedor Emelianenko: I think if Dana White says something negative about his [former] champions then he is only saying something negative about his own organization. I have victories over many of the UFC’s champions. If he says something bad about them or me then he only makes his organization look weak.

Sam Caplan: If you fought for the UFC, do you think Dana would be referring to you as the number one heavyweight in the world?

Fedor Emelianenko: (Laughs) I think if I fought for the UFC, he would try to sell me as the greatest MMA fighter that ever lived.

As expected, Emelianenko handles himself well in this interview, but one has to wonder whether his opponents' mind games are having some effect on the normally stoic fighter.