Fedor Emelianenko Is More Concerned About His Personal Legacy Than His Professional One

Fedor Emelianenko spoke with MMAjunkie ahead of his fight with Frank Mir at Bellator 198 next weekend. Highlights are below:

On his legacy: “The main thing for me is that I would like be remembered by fans not as a fighter, but as a person – as a Russian Orthodox person. I don’t think about what I haven’t done yet. Certainly, I’d love to win the tournament, because that will add to the prestige of my country.”

On Mir’s size: “Certainly I think the size of the fighter does have some importance – not a lot, but it definitely influences the fights. But I think the main factors are the skills of the athletes and the quality of the sportsmen. Frank fills the distance during the fight very well, and is very strong on the ground. It’s not like I have to be afraid of that, but that’s what I actually paid attention to (in training camp).”

On looking forward to the fight: “This was a fight I was looking for for some time, as well. There was a time he was one of the best fighters, so he occupied the top of the rankings.”