"I do hear just my corner" - When Fedor Emelianenko reacted to Khabib Nurmagomedov giving him advice during his fight against Fabio Maldonado
Fedor Emelianenko has spoken about the time Khabib Nurmagomedov attempted to give him advice during a fight in St. Petersburg, Russia.
The date was June 17, 2016 and the opponent was Fabio Maldonado. The two men battled it out for three five-minute rounds, and while many felt as if Maldonado should’ve come away with a positive result, it was Fedor Emelianenko who managed to secure the majority decision victory that took his win streak up to five.
Fedor Emelianenko - a heavyweight great
It was the final fight the great Fedor Emelianenko had before beginning the Bellator chapter of his career, and while some have often been critical of this era of his career, nobody can deny how fun it is to still see him compete.
In attendance that night against Maldonado was none other than Khabib Nurmagomedov who, at cageside, took it upon himself to try and offer the one and only Fedor Emelianenko some advice.
Catch Emelianenko's comments on Khabib's advice below:
“Thanks a lot to Khabib for his worries, for his tips, but I do hear just my corner.”
Fedor Emelianenko is great at a lot of things and it seems as if being polite is also one of them.
He’s a man who regularly opts out of big press conferences or interviews because, more than anything, it’s just not who he is - and Khabib is quite similar in that regard.
They’re both Russian legends in their own right and they will both go down in history for doing an insane amount of good for mixed martial arts in that part of the world.
Now the focus for Fedor Emelianenko is simple - try and beat Tim Johnson in what will likely be the last fight of his iconic career when Bellator heads to Moscow later this year.
It’s not the showdown many wanted to see for his last outing but when putting all of that noise to the back of our minds, one thing becomes clear: Fedor Emelianenko deserves one of the best send-offs this sport has ever seen and we sincerely hope Bellator gives it to him, regardless of whether he wins or loses.