Despite being a Russian facing an American, Fedor Emelianenko found himself wildly cheered by the Chicago crowd in his bout with undefeated heavyweight Brett Rogers tonight. And Fedor made sure not to disappoint the fans, as he handed Brett Rogers the first defeat of his career after knocking him out in the second round. Fedor admitted to studying his opponent in the first round to find his weakness.
"The main thing is not to be nervous, to take some time in the first round, to learn a little bit about the opponent and then look for a weak place and use it," Fedor stated after the bout through a translator.
"No doubt Brett is a great fighter," he continued. "But I watched his leg play [footwork] in the first round and found some moments, and found an opening in his leg play."
Despite scoring a convincing knockout, Gus Johnson asked "The Last Emperor" if he would be willing to give Rogers a rematch, to which Fedor obliged.
"If Brett would like a rematch, why not?"
Always humble in victory, Fedor thanked the Chicago crowd for supporting him, as well as his fans in Russia.
"I'm very thankful to all of you, for all of you who came to support me," he proclaimed. "Right now there are all sorts of people in Russia who are praying for this, so it's not just my victory, it is our victory."
With the victory, Fedor improves his record to 31-1, as well as possibly securing a title shot against Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem.
|
Email Updates
Email Story
Print Story