Fedor’s controversial statement – I am Not A Fan of the UFC
During a Friday teleconference call touting, Fedor Emelianenko had some strong criticisms for the UFC in his June 26 bout against Fabricio Werdum at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.
The stoic fighter predictably gave credence to his own affair when he was asked which upcoming heavyweight bout between UFC 116’s Brock Lesnar-Shane Carwin and his own fight against Werdum had more relevance. While doing it, Emelianenko dropped an eye-opening remark.
“I think both fights are very important because you’ve got basically four world-class heavyweights in the top 10 of their sport, but I’m not a UFC fan, So, I would invite all the fans to watch our fight that I believe is more important because we’re not in the UFC.” said Emelianenko.
He, the most sought-after fighter in the sport, did not approve of the world’s No. 1 promotion. When asked, he said, it was a combination of how its fighters carried themselves and how the UFC presented its events.
“What I meant to say was, I’m not a fan of watching their fights, compared to a lot of the commercials, promotion and anticipation of their fights and compared to a lot of the shows that I’ve seen, there seems to be a negativity involved in a lot of their shows, so I’m just not a fan of watching their programs. I think the combination (of presentation and fighter attitude) — in some ways how the fights are presented and the manner they’re presented and also in some ways the actions and behavior of a lot of the fighters from the UFC — it takes away from the sport”, said Emelianenko.
With the UFC last summer, Emelianenko was offered a multi-fight, seven-figure contract, but he declined the offer. With Strikeforce, Emelianenko went on to sign to co-promote with M-1 Global management.