We're All Human: Fedor Critiques Rogers Fight

Those lucky enough to attend the Paradise Warrior Retreat Center luncheon Sunday in Hoffman Estates, Ill., following Saturday’s Strikeforce/M-1 Global “Fedor vs. Rogers” got a real treat.

Fedor Emelianenko watched his seven-minute bout with Brett Rogers for the first time and broke down his thoughts on his performance through his interpreter.

Here are some highlights:

On letting Rogers’ first strike slip through: “Well, as it happens with me pretty often, I missed the first punch, which really wasn’t very painful, but I got cut. But to tell the truth, Brett is a very strong and dangerous opponent, and when I tried to take him down, he was very slippery because he was sweating. I was trying to control the situation. In the course of the fight, I could feel that I had the dominant position, and was in control, and instead Brett was leaving his positions.”

On the second round: “In the second round, now that I can see it, what I tried to do was use different speeds -- attack, clinch, attack, clinch -- to (get) him tired. Looking at his game, I could see that he was getting loose, he’s getting tired and then I managed to catch his certain movements” for the knockdown punch.

On fighting in the cage for the first time: “I didn’t think about that that much, but I didn’t have any complications or difficulties. (Fighting) in the cage is a little bit different than the ring, but we worked hard and I learned some special (techniques) from my trainers.”

On the mental game: “When I go into the ring, I try not to think of the victory or the loss. I’m preparing for the fight and I hope that everything will go the way it needs to go today.”

On what he learned from the fight: “I still have some gaps in my techniques, in my skills, and that’s why my trainers press me hard to work hard and improve. In spite of the fact that they try to work me hard and make my game perfect, I still, in some places, I look a little bit clumsy.”

On humility: “I am the way that I am, but I always remember that the harder a person gets, the more it hurts to fall down. That’s why I think about all the results (that come from) what I do in a calm way. Also, I try to treat all people the same way. We’re all human beings, with two arms, two legs and all of us are equal in front of God.”

To find out more about Paradise Warrior Retreat Center’s training seminars and other special events, go to www.paradisewarriorretreat.com