Fedor Discusses Upcoming Bout With Jeff Monson

Fedor Emelianenko and Jeff Monson will meet on November 20 in Russia at an event promoted by M-1. This will be the first time Fedor has fought in his native country since a 2007 win over Matt Lindland.

For Emelianenko, who was once considered the greatest MMA fighter on the planet, a return home is a hope that he can right the wrong of three straight losses in the United States while competing for Strikeforce. He was stopped by Fabricio Werdum, Antonio Silva and Dan Henderson.

"I am delighted to speak at home, as in most of my fights were held abroad and only time I played here four years ago in St. Petersburg," said Emelianenko during a pre-fight press conference in Russia last week. "Thanks to Jeff that he had come, I hope we will show a nice fight, this is one of the best fighters are always watching his career, will be happy with them to measure themselves (against).

It was not long ago that Emelianenko was riding an incredible streak of wins that spanned nine years and included just a single no-contest with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Now, he fights to prove that he is still capable of competing with the new class of incoming heavyweight fighters.

"I never went to fight with anger, probably all a matter of recollection of the last battles of course, is that it was the defeat in the first place was my fault," Fedor said. "There was also a family experience, but even so, I'm more inclined to that it was an error in the preparation on my part. It so happened and accept it as is.

Fedor-Monson will take place from the Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Russia. It has been reported that the fight will either be available on Showtime or on a pay-per-view basis either via television or internet.

Dana Becker is a staff writer for FightLine.com. He can be followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/DanaBecker.