Mr.Freeze
09-02-2008, 11:53 AM
Emelianenko’s Open Letter Answers White’s Criticisms
By Brian Knapp (bknapp@thefightnetwork.com)
The war of words between former PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko and UFC president Dana White escalated on Friday, as the Russian responded publicly to recent criticism levied against him in wake of his decision to commit to M-1 Global. White, who failed to bring the Sambo champion to the UFC, has been on the offensive since Emelianenko made his intentions known, questioning his validity as an elite heavyweight.
“Fedor [Emelianenko] isn’t a real fighter; he’s a complete joke,” White said in a recent interview with The Sun. “He’s fighting middleweights and guys who have absolutely no business fighting – and he’s looking like s—t doing it ... I don’t care about what he did in PRIDE years ago; he can’t live with anyone in the top five in the UFC, and that’s why he’s not here.”
Emelianenko published an open letter, addressed to White, on the Mix-Fight Championship Web site on Friday. His decision to commit to M-1 Global was followed almost immediately by the stunning resignation of UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture, who had designs on meeting his Russian counterpart inside the Octagon.
“Numerous times I have read Mr. White’s statements on [the] Internet concerning myself,” the normally serene Emelianenko wrote. “In my opinion, allowing yourself to say those things is not a sign of a gentleman or a grown man at all! If [White] candidly wants to prove himself right, then let my fight with Randy [Couture] happen, or let me face the reigning UFC champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. In the future, I wouldn’t want to hear those unfounded statements in my address ever again.”
Still regarded by many as the top pound-for-pound mixed martial artist in the world, Emelianenko (27-1, 1 NC) has reeled off 24 consecutive victories since suffering his only defeat in December 2000. The 31-year-old owns a pair of wins over Nogueira and has also defeated reigning three-time K-1 World Grand Prix champion Semmy Schilt, Olympic silver medalist Matt Lindland and one-time UFC heavyweight titleholders Kevin Randleman and Mark Coleman. Nineteen of his 27 career victories have come inside one round.
Emelianenko last competed in December, when he submitted 7-foot-2 South Korean giant Hong Man Choi (1-1) with a first-round armbar at “Yarennoka! New Year’s Eve! 2007.”
“My last fight in Japan proved that I’m ready to fight anybody with any size advantage, skill set or experience,” he wrote. “I have fought and still wish to fight the best athletes.”
Emelianenko still hopes to fight Couture (16-8) sometime in 2008, provided the 44-year-old’s legal issues with the UFC are resolved.
“The Randy [Couture] fight is my number one goal right now,” he wrote. “He’s a great fighter, and this is a very unfortunate situation when too strict and one-sided UFC contracts don’t let this fight happen.”
POSTED -- 02/09/08
By Brian Knapp (bknapp@thefightnetwork.com)
The war of words between former PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko and UFC president Dana White escalated on Friday, as the Russian responded publicly to recent criticism levied against him in wake of his decision to commit to M-1 Global. White, who failed to bring the Sambo champion to the UFC, has been on the offensive since Emelianenko made his intentions known, questioning his validity as an elite heavyweight.
“Fedor [Emelianenko] isn’t a real fighter; he’s a complete joke,” White said in a recent interview with The Sun. “He’s fighting middleweights and guys who have absolutely no business fighting – and he’s looking like s—t doing it ... I don’t care about what he did in PRIDE years ago; he can’t live with anyone in the top five in the UFC, and that’s why he’s not here.”
Emelianenko published an open letter, addressed to White, on the Mix-Fight Championship Web site on Friday. His decision to commit to M-1 Global was followed almost immediately by the stunning resignation of UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture, who had designs on meeting his Russian counterpart inside the Octagon.
“Numerous times I have read Mr. White’s statements on [the] Internet concerning myself,” the normally serene Emelianenko wrote. “In my opinion, allowing yourself to say those things is not a sign of a gentleman or a grown man at all! If [White] candidly wants to prove himself right, then let my fight with Randy [Couture] happen, or let me face the reigning UFC champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. In the future, I wouldn’t want to hear those unfounded statements in my address ever again.”
Still regarded by many as the top pound-for-pound mixed martial artist in the world, Emelianenko (27-1, 1 NC) has reeled off 24 consecutive victories since suffering his only defeat in December 2000. The 31-year-old owns a pair of wins over Nogueira and has also defeated reigning three-time K-1 World Grand Prix champion Semmy Schilt, Olympic silver medalist Matt Lindland and one-time UFC heavyweight titleholders Kevin Randleman and Mark Coleman. Nineteen of his 27 career victories have come inside one round.
Emelianenko last competed in December, when he submitted 7-foot-2 South Korean giant Hong Man Choi (1-1) with a first-round armbar at “Yarennoka! New Year’s Eve! 2007.”
“My last fight in Japan proved that I’m ready to fight anybody with any size advantage, skill set or experience,” he wrote. “I have fought and still wish to fight the best athletes.”
Emelianenko still hopes to fight Couture (16-8) sometime in 2008, provided the 44-year-old’s legal issues with the UFC are resolved.
“The Randy [Couture] fight is my number one goal right now,” he wrote. “He’s a great fighter, and this is a very unfortunate situation when too strict and one-sided UFC contracts don’t let this fight happen.”
POSTED -- 02/09/08