Translated Interview With Aleksander Emelianenko

Here’s a lengthy interview(translated from here) with Aleksander Emelianenko, top 15 world heavyweight and the brother of Fedor Emelianenko.

Aleksander Emelianenko. Nicknamed Death.

Three time combat sambo champion and one of the most extravagant masters in MMA jumped into a conversation with the journalists of SE.

We met Emelianenko junior on the Krasin Street, near the corporate HQ. We’ve reminisced how Nikolai Valuev has stumbled into SE the same way. We talked for an hour, and after that the giant Nikolai went to catch a cab. At that time barely anyone knew his face - the cars were afraid to stop for Valuev. Many would cross the lane into oncoming traffic.

The 27-year-old Aleksander Emelianenko, who’s acknowledged by the whole world as one of the best MMA fighters, is rarely recognized on the streets of Moscow. Although in New York and Tokyo he can barely walk around. Even, when we met with his brother, famous Fedor Emelianenko, not too long ago in the crowd of the Kursk train station. We found a quiet corner and sat down, without anyone recognizing him. And just to the side of us, the kiosks of pirated discs were flooded with the fight bootlegs of the Emelianenko brothers. It was a fantastic feeling.

Aleksander has knocked out giants in such a way, that at times it seemed as if the floor was giving way. The worried doctors often times had to get the mouthpiece with their hands off of his opponents, and not everyone was able to raise their hands after a meeting with Emelianenko. No wonder the Americans gave him the nickname The Grim Reaper.

He came in wearing tall army boots. Sideways, bent his head to squeeze into the door. We remembered the site mesilovo.ru, which specified Sasha’s height at 198 centimeters…

Your brother, the legendary Fedor, mentioned that, as a fighter, you are more talented than him. Do you feel like that?

Of course I feel like that. I don’t know what I don’t have that Fedor does. I am the strongest. Better than anyone. I’m ready to fight with any fighter in the world - whoever is number one, whether in ratings, or by recognition. I will mess anybody up.

It’s sad, that we can’t even train with my brother. He lives in Stary Oskol, I live in Petersburg. We’re both travel year-round.

You used to practice together before?

Yes. And we went at it at full strength. I boxed better. I was beating Fedor with my hands. And I was practicing without a coach, - I was training my hands by myself; whatever I felt was right. I just got a boxing coach not too long ago, Yuri Razumov. I realized that my understanding of boxing that I had at the time was…

Not even boxing, something else?

I didn’t know crap! Just now, I finally saw what boxing was. Now, I trained my hands to be good. I’m boxing at a level higher.

Did you hear about a young fighter - Kirill Sidelnikov?
No

Not a bad kid. Earlier he could somewhat hang with me in the ring, and now his coach is almost in tears; screaming “Don’t hit him. Kirill is not ready yet. He’s not gonna box with you again like that…” Then turns around to him and says “Aleksander has progressed, and you’re just standing still!”

If you’re more talented than Fedor, why is he number one and undefeated, and you’re just barely making the top 10?
more…) Here’s a lengthy interview(translated from here) with Aleksander Emelianenko, top 15 world heavyweight and the brother of Fedor Emelianenko. Aleksander Emelianenko. Nicknamed Death. Three time combat sambo champion and one of the most extravagant masters in MMA jumped into a conversation with the journalists of SE. We met Emelianenko junior on the Krasin Street, near the [...]

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