Andrei "The Pitbull" Arlovski vs. Fedor "The Last Emperor" Emelianenko headlines the main event for the Affliction 2: ‘Day of Reckoning’ event. Both fighters are currently training for one of their most difficult match-ups of their mixed martial arts careers. Although their bout is still two weeks away (January 24th), the trash talking has started to escalate.
Arlovski’s boxing coach, Freddie Roach, has analyzed Fedor’s boxing skills and states that he is very "flat-footed" and "his boxing game is weak." Roach feels that Arlovski has the better stand-up tools to knock out Fedor if they both decide to keep the fight on their feet.
Fedor responded to some of Roach’s statements, correcting him in many instances. He reminds Roach that his bout with Arlovski will be not just focus on boxing or Sambo, their fight is MMA which involves the skills stated above plus much more.
Snip from Freddie Roach:
"As far as his stand-up game, we’ll kill him. If we can keep the fight standing up, if he chooses to fight us like a man, we’ll dominate him…he throws one punch after the other. He’s very predictable. He makes the same moves every time. He’s very common. His boxing game is weak. From what I can see, I think Andre’s going to be sharper. I think we’re going to knock him out…he’s flat-footed, has no technique, but he can punch. That always helps. He’s accurate. He’ll follow you right to the floor, so he’s aggressive. But that aggressiveness can be used to our advantage, I think."
Fedor Emelianenko’s response:
"Maybe Andrei is trying to convince himself that I have been weakened in
some way, but it doesn’t matter as we are not fighting we are not
fighting Sambo with Andrei. The only thing I am 100 percent
sure about is that I will be 100 percent ready to fight MMA against
Andrei. And that is the only thing I care about right now….The beauty about MMA is that every fighter has his own unique style and
preferences. But it’s not a beauty contest. We fight to see which
fighter’s approach prevails. But again, we are not boxing and we are
not fighting Sambo. We fight MMA…sometimes it is a trainer’s job to point out weaknesses in his fighter’s opponents, and sometimes it is a trainer’s job to convince his fighter that his opponent has weaknesses…we will see…we are not boxing and we are not fighting Sambo. We fight MMA."
In a December press conference, Arlovski indicated the following:
“After his (Fedor Emelianenko) loss in the Sambo tournament, I think he’s messed up a little bit…he says it’s not important, but c’mon, let’s be serious. He was
unbeatable, like, five years, six years in Sambo, and he’s not beatable
in MMA. When you lose something, of course it’s [expletive] important.
For me, it’s really hard to believe that he doesn’t care about it. Of
course he cares. He’s not like 100 percent sure of himself.”
(Props to fiveouncesofpain.com…click here for the full interview with Fedor Emelienanko).
What a fight!! Can’t wait for this bout and the entire Affliction 2: ‘Day of Reckoning’ fight card…
