Bozigit Ataev spoke about the first meeting with Fedor Emelianenko in 20 years

Dagestan fighter Bozigit Ataev told Sport24 that for the first time in 20 years he met Fyodor Emelianenko before his fight against Ryan Bader.

Ataev in the early 2000s trained with Fedor in the same team in Tula.

– Did you manage to see Fedor Emelianenko in Los Angeles?

– Yes! Just the guys and I went for coffee, and I see that after a while Fedya came with his guys. But he didn’t recognize me. And I was already at the exit – they were sitting there, in the corner separately – I went up and said hello. I said, “Do you recognize me? Answer: “No, I didn’t know.” I introduced myself, and he discovered everything, remembered everything. Wish him good luck in battle. He said I’d be waiting for the win because he’s been keeping fit for many years in the clip. Imagine how many years I know him, and he only rested two years, he took such a break. At this age, keep yourself in shape. And he’s fighting in Bellator now, he’s got a championship fight. This indicates a good result, he managed to save himself.

– When was the last time you saw each other?

– 20 years ago.

– 20?!

– Well, consider 20 years. We are in 2023 now. And in 2003, I left Tula, and we never saw him again, never met him.

Did you manage to remember the days spent with him?

– I think that after the fight we will still have time to sit down, talk and remember everything. And so, now he has all his thoughts on the battle. So I didn’t tell him about our youth.

The fight between Emelianenko and Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader will take place on February 4 in Inglewood (USA). The first meeting of the fighters, which took place in January 2019, ended with the victory of the American by knockout in the first round. The fight will be the last of Emelianenko’s career.

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A source:

Sport24