Fedor Emelianenko news reveals that "The Last Emperor" picked Cain Velasquez as an ideal match-up if he was still fighting. The reigning UFC heavyweight champion on the other hand feels the same way about the PRIDE FC legend.
"The Last Emperor", who is touted by mixed martial arts fans as one of the greatest fighters of all time, has been retired from competition since 2012. He last fought fellow veteran Pedro Rizzo in a headline fight for M-1 Global, wherein he emerged victorious via a first round knockout.
He ended his MMA career with a record of 34-4, with 1 no contest.
During the height of his career, Fedor Emelianenko was in talks to be signed by the UFC, which is deemed as the biggest and most prominent MMA promotion company in the world. Amidst the buzz, he was pitted against former champion Brock Lesnar.
However, in a recent interview with the Calgary Sun, "The Last Emperor" named current champion Cain Velasquez as an ideal match-up for him if he was still actively competing.
"Cain Velasquez. He has some technical difficulties, but he has ambition and he's fearless," he said about the Fedor Emelianenko news. "He wants to win so badly and he's in great condition. He's a thinking fighter."
Fedor Emelianenko news also reveals that the former PRIDE FC champion is still actively training.
"A true athlete is someone who doesn't just stop training when they stop competing," the 37-year old former fighter said. "It's a way of life and they keep in shape just to keep up that standard. Plus, there's a lot of younger guys who would like to take me down, so I always need to keep up because I definitely don't want that to happen."
Ironically, Cain Velasquez shares the same sentiment about Fedor Emelianenko.
"For me, I think Fedor [is the ideal match-up]," Velasquez told MMA Fighting in a 2010 interview. "I've always watched him as a fighter. I've always looked up to him. His overall size compared to the other guys, it seems he's always mismatched, but he always has a lot of power, he has good technique on the ground, so I would definitely love to fight him."
