Dana White doesn’t consider Fedor Emelianenko one of the best of all time, reacts to his retirement

When it comes to the “GOAT” discussion, UFC president Dana White does not hold Fedor Emelianenko in high regard.

At the UFC Vegas 68 post-fight news conference, White was present. The 53-year-old was questioned about “The Last Emperor’s” decision to leave MMA while he was there.

The Russian, according to White, did not test himself against the finest fighters because he did not participate in the UFC. Emelianenko was not one of his top contenders because of this, in his opinion.

“I don’t want to belittle the man. He’s retiring tonight and such, you know. You people are aware of my previous interviews, right? He was defeated by middleweight Dan Henderson, after all. You get what I’m saying? I believe that some of the businessmen and others liked him. So they gave him accolades. He was never given the chance to prove himself here. However, I never shared their opinion that he was one of the all-time greats “Dana White stated.

White’s remarks about Emelianenko begin at 19:04 in the following video:
At Bellator 290, Fedor Emelianenko took part in his final professional mixed martial arts match. Ryan Bader and “The Last Emperor” fought for the heavyweight championship. Emelianenko’s night did not go well because he was eliminated in the first round.

The Russian had a 40-7-1 overall MMA record when he retired.

Dana White speaks about the one fight he could not pull off

During a Q&A session in June 2022, Dana White discussed the one fight he was unable to get in.

White claimed that while he had been successful in pulling off major events like Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather, Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brock Lesnar had not been successful.

“I have staged every MMA match that has ever been conceivable, including the match between Mayweather and McGregor. Fedor vs. Brock was the only match I ever failed to book. I created every other fight that we had ever discussed or that viewers had expressed a desire to watch. I think the one I couldn’t do was that.”

Emelianenko never competed in the UFC, although during his MMA career, he defeated a number of UFC champions, including Frank Mir, Antonio Rodrigo Nougeira (interim), Andrei Arlovski, Mark Coleman, Kevin Randleman, Quinton Jackson, and Andrei Arlovski.

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