This month we confirmed the first fight that will be part of the tournament that Bellator MMA will hold to name a new heavyweight champion: Frank Mir vs. Fedor Emelianenko, which currently has no official date.
Today we bring the words of the American fighter facing this challenge.
"I believe Fedor is still extremely dangerous. The difference is that everyone else has simply improved a lot. Before, fighters were not as complete. Fedor is still good at everything. But now everyone is good at everything. We really can't say anymore that a guy doesn't dominate the stand-up game or the ground game. Just like in boxing, not everyone does it the same, but everyone boxes. Underestimating Fedor would be a mistake. He is a great fighter. But the rest of us have caught up."
In regards to the tournament, Roy Nelson has also recently spoken.
"Sometimes you can have a bad day or have four consecutive victories, but you don't get a title shot. Then they tell you to get one more victory and still don't get the opportunity. This time I can see the gold at the end of the road.
"I really don't care who my opponent is. Frank Mir and Fedor Emelianenko are supposed to fight, but Frank Mir can't fight until April because he's serving a suspension for doping or something like that."
"For me, I prefer to fight against Chael Sonnen. Give me that little guy who will be easy for me. I also think about King Mo Lawal. Even before signing with Bellator, I thought about him when he defeated Rampage Jackson. I want to let him know that the division is mine.
"That's my title. I have nothing else to think about. All I care about is when I will fight the three fights to win the title."
Source: BJPenn.com