RIZIN
Who were the potential
opponents you spoke to to fight
Fedor who didn’t pan out?
You know, I talked to Randy Couture
and it would have taken Randy a
little bit more time to get ready. I
mean, come on, you can’t just throw
it on Randy at the last minute. And
never say never. You never know
who Fedor will fight next. You never
know if Randy Couture would come
out of retirement to fight, you know.
I think it’s a definite possibility.
We talked to quite a few guys. Some
guys weren’t ready, some guys said they
were ready but, you know, they want five
million dollars. And it’s like ‘come on
man’, I mean our phones are blowing up.
And at the end of the day, Jaideep Singh
— Sakakibara felt it made the most sense.
You know, he’s of Indian descent
but he’s lived in Japan since he was
three years old, speaks fluent Japanese,
and he is definitely interested in
mixed martial arts. And Sakakibara
felt that he had the credentials
to go up against Fedor, and you
know, anything can happen.
People are always gonna complain.
No matter who Fedor fought, there
would’ve been a complaint. Make no
doubt. Because he wasn’t in the UFC,
you know, all the nut-huggers would’ve
complained that ‘oh, he fought thisguy or this guy’s a bum, or he should’ve
fought that guy, that guy’s a bum’. But
unless he’s in the UFC, everybody’s
gonna complain. Even if he’s in the
UFC people are gonna complain about
who he fights. That’s that problem.
It’s like, you really have to step back
and say, number one, Fedor makes
the decisions if he wants to accept this
opponent. Fedor accepted Jaideep Singh.
Fedor is a grown man that’s proven
himself time and time again in this sport,
and he doesn’t have to answer to anyone.
He didn’t have to come back, he came
back for the love of the sport. He was fine
with Jaideep Singh as an opponent, and I
think everyone should respect that.And the debate ‘oh, he’s not the
greatest of all time, that hurts his
legacy’; Fedor’s legacy is cemented.
I’ve seen 90 per cent of Fedor’s fights
live. And when he fought in Pride, it
was the Joe Louis era of mixed martial
arts. And to me, Fedor is the greatest
of all time in that era. Now we’re in a
different era in mixed martial arts. So
people gotta realise that Fedor is at the
end of his career. Fedor’s gonna choose
what’s best for Fedor. And as long as
he puts on a great fight and we’re not
asking somebody to pay $70 for a pay-
per-view, I don’t think they really have
anything to bitch about to be honest.When will Fedor fight next and is
it 100 per cent certain that it will
be for Rizin?
Yeah, his next fight will be for Rizin.
I mean, in the crazy world of mixed
martial arts, I can say that he’s not
going to fight in April, but then again,
anything can happen. I mean, you
know how this crazy fight game goes.
He can come to us and say, ‘I don’t want
to fight in April’ and then he fights in
April. But right now he’s on vacationI MEAN, COME ON,
YOU CAN’T JUST
THROW IT ON
RANDY AT THE
LAST MINUTE. AND
NEVER SAY NEVER.
80 | FIGHT AUSTRALIA fightaustralia.com.au