“This fight is what needs to take place, he’s one of the best fighters in the world, so it’s just a natural thing that we need to meet in the ring regardless of the friendship we have. This is what we need to do as athletes,” Fedor said.

Fedor also knows that despite the two fighter’s friendship, he will need to take this fight just as serious as all the others. “He definitely ranks up there as far as one of the most dangerous fighters I’ve ever been in the ring with,” Fedor said of Barnett’s abilities.

“In some aspects he ranks higher than other opponents and in other aspects he ranks lower. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, but the thing about Josh is though he may not be as technically sound in certain areas, he makes up for that with his strength and his patience and his abilities in other areas to really become a well-rounded fighter.”

Emelianenko and Barnett will square of in one of the summer’s most anticipated fights in the main event of Affliction: Trilogy on August 1st at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA.