RIZIN
taking some time with his family, you
know, much needed, because he was
training his ass off for the past three or
four months. So he’s on vacation right
now, having a great time hopefully.
And we’re going to do another show
— I think after April or probably July,
then September, October, and then
New Year’s Eve. And we have a couple
of different things cooking. So it could
be July, it could be the September or
October show. It just depends on which
way Fedor wants to go.
Could Fedor ever leave Rizin and
go to the UFC?
I want whatever’s best for Fedor. I work
for Rizin — make no mistake — but I
want what’s best for him. But truly in
my heart, I know that the UFC is not
what’s best for Fedor. You know, Fedor is
not the kind of guy that has an ego and
he feels he’s gotta go chase Werdum or
he’s gotta go chase Henderson or he’s
gotta go chase Bigfoot. That’s not like
his motive. He’s not that kind of guy,
like, ‘oh, they beat me, I must go avenge
myself’. That’s not his personality.
And he just wants to be treated
with respect. And over the years,
he’s been completely disrespected by
Dana White, until Dana wants him.
And then ‘Oh, I was only kidding’.
It doesn’t work with Fedor. It doesn’t
work with certain fighters. Fighters
that are hungry and need to feed their
families — yeah, they will kiss Dana’s
ass. Fedor is not in that position.
So no, I don’t ever see him fighting
in the UFC. I don’t think it’s best
for him. I mean really, if you really
step back and think about it and
you really think about the reason
that Dana White would want Fedor
Emelianenko, what would that reason
be? Would it be to make him the UFC
Champion and promote him as this
big superstar? Absolutely not. It would
be to destroy him and say, ‘Look,
the last piece of Pride that I could
never get, I got, and I destroyed.’
Make no mistake, they don’t want
Fedor as the champion over there. They
want to bring Fedor in to get beat. So
with that being said, why would you
want to go somewhere, where number
one, they’ve never showed you respect.
And number two, they’re not interested
in making you one of the anointed
ones. So other than money, what’s the
motivation to go there?
Are you pursuing Wanderlei Silva
to sign him with Rizin?
It’s Wanderlei Silva; of course I’d love
to see Wanderlei Silva in Japan. He’s a
warrior. Wanderlei Silva is one of my
favourite fighters in the world because
Wanderlei Silva brings it. Every fight,
win or lose. Wanderlei Silva is a warrior
and he brings it. Either you’re going to
kick his ass or he’s going to kick your ass
and he’s great — I love Wanderlei Silva.
Very good friend and I would love to see
Wanderlei in Japan, so we’ll see.How about a fight between
Wanderlei and Fedor in Rizin?
Sure, I think it would be a great fight.
I mean, we’ll see if we can make it
materialise, but I think it’d be a huge
fight. I think people would love to
see that. I’d love to see it even though
I’m close to both of them. I’d hate to
see friends fight, but hey, it’s a sport
and friends have to fight because
that’s just the way the business is.Have you buried the hatchet with
Dana White or is there still some ill
will towards each other?
I didn’t get a Christmas present
from Uncle Dana this year. So youfightaustralia.com.au FIGHT AUSTRALIA | 81