GETTINGS SERIOUS, FEDOR HEADED TO CAMP
Friday, June 05, 2009 - by Steven Marrocco - MMAWeekly.com
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No. 1 ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko will head back to Russia this weekend to begin training for his showdown with Josh Barnett at Affliction: “Trilogy” on Aug. 1 in Anaheim, Calif.
The two have shared a friendship that’s spanned over several years and work in two big-ticket promotions, often hanging out after shows to drink vodka and talk shop. Both have made it clear that the upcoming fight is business, and the relationship will stay intact whatever happens in August.
“Everyday I fight with my friend in training,” said Emelianenko. ”It’s a sport. We’re athletes in the ring to compete. I’m confident our friendship will continue after the fight.”
Emelianenko told MMAWeekly the bout was simply inevitable.
“I always understood that sooner or later, that question would come up and a decision would have to be made to fight Josh, so I just kind of accepted it for what it was, that it had to happen,” he said.
The stoic fighter did not, however, believe that Barnett was the last serious challenge to his dominance over current Affliction heavyweights.
“I don’t think that’s the case at all,” he said. “I think there are a lot of great fighters out there that I’m aware are negotiating with Affliction and that are out there and available to fight.”
Emelianenko’s trainer, Vladimir Voronov, was critical of his fighter’s performance against Andrei Arlovski at Affliction: “Day of Reckoning” in January, saying Emelianenko won using "his old tricks."
