I found an excellent interview of Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira and Pedro Rizzo where they talk about Fedor Emelianenko made by a GracieMag.com magazine. It was made about two years ago, just after the famous Fedor Emelianenko vs. Mirko CroCop fight in PrideFC organization, but despite it is still very interesting and up to date, even more so. Below I will quote some interesting parts of the article, but you really should go and read it completely.
Q: The day before he fought Mirko Cro Cop for the heavyweight belt, Emelianenko’s breakfast was eggs, bacon and sausages. What bothers you guys most, the fact that Pride today has a non-Brazilian king or that he is, well, chubby?
Nogueira: His genetics say he is chubby, so that’s got nothing to do with it. There are other great fighters with the same body type, such as Mark Hunt.
Further, the fact that he is fat makes it even more complicated when it comes to such an explosive, slippery fellow. It’s like Jeremy Horn, when the guy is fat an the skin is smooth, it gets hard to grab him.
Rizzo: More muscular fighters have more edges you can grab.
Nogueira: It was three times I fought him hitherto, right? What puzzles me is that he is smiling the whole time. As soon as he sees us he starts smiling. Amaury Bitetti says it’s because he is happy, he has the belt, what would you want him to do? Cry?
Nogueira and Rizzo were asked about who can defeat Fedor Emelianenko and how to do it.
Rizzo: The secret is truly exchanging strikes, and then just let MMA flow. Because playing on the bottom is difficult, since to attack from the guard you’d have to open it, then he jumps out and stands up.
Nogueira: The key to beating him, to me, is explosion. It’s what got in my way when fighting him. I go for the spring, he takes off. I try a thrust, he hits and runs. The person who has best fought him hitherto was Arona, who is as explosive as he is. Took him down and got his back. Arona can take anyone down.
They also had several things to say about his skills.
Rizzo: These days everyone is complete. He is quite complete, I don’t know. And he can play true MMA, he trades standing, he takes down, plays on top, submits, he doesn’t only play on the bottom. He is good at everything, so in order to beat him one must do everything too.
Technically he may not have such a big advantage, but physically he is the fastest heavy guy in MMA history. He tries a punch, misses it, then immediately shoots again – Cro Cop for example didn’t even see them coming.
He’s the fastest I’ve ever seen. Much faster than Mirko. And he’s got a great reaction.
Rizzo: That’s what I was going to say: he has a fast eye, good for counter-attacking.
And in every fight he shows up with something new under his sleeve. Against Filipovic he used a great clinch-strike combo: he’d go for the uchi-mata, quickly following with a powerful hook.
Fedor is no excellent striker, no excellent wrestler, no excellent ground player, but he is good at everything.
They shared a few words about Fedor's management of fighting and career issues.
Rizzo: That is it. And Fedor looks like a small refrigerator on top with those little legs underneath. But he invests a lot in training: the same way Rodrigo goes to Cuba and I go to Holland, Fedor is now in Holland all the time training muay thai with Ernesto Hoost.
Then he has that conscience concerning his career, another positive trait...
Nogueira: He does have a good manager [that is Vadim Finkelstein]. He only signs up fights when he is 100% sure.
Rizzo: You just have to look at who he’s fought this year. He faced a weak Kohsaka and only fought in August because Pride’s summit went there with the contract and the pen and told him: "Sign it or leave!"
Nogueira: If he didn’t fight his belt would have fallen again, as it did in 2003 [when Rodrigo submitted Cro Cop and gained Pride’s provisional belt]. So they pushed him.
About Fedor vs Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović fight, which happened just a few months before this interview and about CroCop's skill, style and personality. The answers make you really think about the level of Mirko Filipovic and his "success" in the UFC...
Q: What did you guys think about Fedor vs Mirko? Was the result as expected?
Nogueira: It was, kind of. I even thought for the fact Cro Cop had knocked Fedor’s brother out, he could win. In the first round he was even dangerous. But Fedor is much more of a fighter.
Rizzo: I was betting everything on Fedor. I lived with Mirko in a gym for two months, in the same room. He doesn’t have a warrior’s heart. You just have to see his style, always backwards. Peter Aerts said something I agree on: "The longer the fight takes, the more chances Mirko has of losing it." He has no heart to turn a fight upside down.
Nogueira: Fedor, on his side, will fight you to death.
Q: And Cro Cop fights in the counter-attack, waiting for a hole to get in, which is easier in any kind of martial art. The one who attacks more exposes themselves...
Rizzo: But when you push the rhythm up it gets easier to trap them. Fedor has that styles, like Shogun’s, of going irresponsibly, and that smothers counter-attacks. But indeed Fedor got out of that fight more injured than Mirko.
Nogueira: What if the opposite happens: Fedor gives Mirko one of those nose blows? I think Mirko just calls for the waiter and asks for the check.
Rizzo: Yes, Mirko never takes the initiative. I always cheer against him. It’s like Bob Sapp winning K-1, a big guy with no technique.
Q: What about Fedor’s ground play?
Nogueira: It wasn’t all that good in this fight, he probably trained to fight standing.
Rizzo: This last fight he mounted about 30 times incorrectly, looked like a horse. But Mirko did a good guard-work, defended well. He’s got strong legs, hard to get in. He doesn’t want to fight you on the floor.
At the end there is also a mini-interview of Renato Sobral. That's what he had to say about Fedor Emelianenko.
When I fought Fedor in 2001 no one knew who he was. I suffered a stomach kick in the first round and there went my stamina. He then played technically, striking from the top, and made good use of Rings’ rules. I ended the round exhausted. I went for the jackpot in round two but I was truly done. Look, I’ve fought many people from around the world, so I’ve seen many strong fighters. But like him, never, no kidding...
There are some other interesting information, like Fedor's vodka drinking habits, so you should definitely go and read the article.
0 comments:
Post a Comment