“People get on the plane, thank you for your career.” Fedor Emelianenko and his team returned to Moscow

Just under 48 hours passed from the moment of Fedor Emelianenko’s battle to his arrival at Moscow airport. Fedor and his team cross the United Arab Emirates and arrive in Moscow at 4 am. In total, the 46-year-old fighter is welcomed by a dozen people. Only Edgar Zapashny can be recognized. Close relatives are probably waiting for Fedor at home. Even his brother’s manager comes to meet Emelianenko, but not Alexander himself. There is still no direct communication between them. Fedor refuses to be questioned at the airport. His communication with the Russian press after the fight is 126 seconds in the room under the grandstand of the Inglewood arena.

Vadim Nemkov, who seconded Emelianenko in the fight and holds the Bellator light heavyweight championship belt, says goodbye to Fedor in the arrivals area, talks about something for about 30 seconds and agrees to tell what happened during preparation for the fight against Ryan Bader. Nemkov started training with Emelianenko at the age of 16, which has now led him to the status of one of the best light heavyweights in the world. His own fight with Bader ended in 8 minutes. Nemkov has had nine fights in Bellator and has yet to lose to anyone.

– You just broke up with Fedor at the airport, what did you talk about?

– At first we thought we would go somewhere here to eat ice cream, drink coffee…

– Any plans for ice cream?

– Well, yes, but now nothing works, they forgot that we arrive so early. I just discussed plans for the future. I will come right away, stay home for a week and help Valka Moldavsky leave. Fedor said that he also wanted to go to Oskol, to Belgorod.

Will he continue training and training?

– I don’t know how to train, but I will train for sure.

– Tired of this week, while in the United States they helped Fedor and Anatoly Tokov?

– More morally devastated. You try to help in any way possible. Both in training and outside of them. The day of the fights is the most tin. So I got tired.

– Were you able to talk about something with Fedor after the defeat?

– We still communicate. It happened – Fedor had a, so to speak, weak preparation. In December they flew to Bahrain, then he got a bite on his back, they didn’t give him a visa, he had to fly to Armenia. All preparations are underway.

– What did he say?

– I don’t remember exactly, but I said something like “I wanted to blurt out – it didn’t work out.” In the direction of entering, finishing in the first round. Because when you are 100% ready, you yourself feel like you can fight another fight. And when he realized that the preparation was not very good, he was not scheduled to fight five rounds. I had to finish right away.

– How many percent of best form did Emelianenko score during training?

– I do not even know. I can say he was much better prepared for the fight with Johnson in Moscow.

– Wouldn’t it be a mistake to say that now 50% of the Fedors were with Johnson?

– Maybe yes.

– Why did Fedor himself drive a car from Oskol to Moscow, when he had to fly for a visa?

I probably didn’t want to. It’s just more comfortable for him.

– You flew from Los Angeles to Dubai, from there to Moscow. Fedor learned a lot on the road.

– So much. Both in America and in Dubai. In Dubai there was something with something. Just kapets, security had to be put in place. I’ve thought about getting up myself, because people get up, and some don’t understand at all. Hard. On the plane, it’s already a little simpler: there, people thank you for your career, they say a few words of support.

You were supposed to fight Yoel Romero in this tournament. How long has your fight been postponed?

– With Romero, as I was told, we will fight around June, but there is no specific date yet. So there is time, you can heal and do everything well.

– Romero is almost the same age as Emelianenko – what level of opposition do you expect from him?

– Strong opposition. Romero, it seems to me, eats rejuvenating apples. You can’t tell by looking at him that he’s 45. I’m ready for a serious fight. It is impossible to tune into an easy duel at this level. I had a moment where I fought a Latvian in the Grand Prix semi-final. I prepared normally, but psychologically I was not at all worried about this fight. Maybe it played a cruel joke when he hit me. Because when you go out and don’t have that pre-launch jitters, it’s bad. And I went out and didn’t bathe.

– Have you had a solid form in recent weeks?

– Although I don’t worry much about it, I don’t need to keep myself in top shape. Either way, the form will sag, as I need to acclimate, the weights will definitely drop if I start swinging. Functionality will drop. But everything will come back.

When will you start camp?

Probably in April. Valentin asked to fly with him into battle (Moldavsky will meet Vassell on March 10 in San Jose – approx.), And then you can start on your own.

– You have won the Grand Prix with a million dollar prize. Were you able to get that money?

– I received a small part so far, then we will try to translate the rest. There are moments.

— But will Bellator fulfill its obligations?

— Yes, there is nothing like that, they are ready. Just tell me where to put it.

– You said that you are now trying to invest in a recreation center in the Belgorod region. Do you plan to invest there?

– I wanted to do such a trade there for the soul, so that it would bring in some money.

How safe is it to build something in this area now?

– There was a helicopter base, but all this time he flew there only once, the missile was shot down, and that’s it. There was nothing else. And then the helicopters were withdrawn. Now all is fine.