J. Cigano has been a 'free agent' since leaving Ultimate. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram
After much expectation generated around who would be the opponent of Fedor Emelianenko in the first Bellator event held in Russia, North American Tim Johnson was chosen. The decision negatively surprised not only the fans, but also the list of heavyweights who were waiting for the opportunity to face the Russian. Among them, former UFC champion Junior Gypsy.
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The Brazilian was one of the big names who offered to face Fedor in Moscow, as well as Fabricio Werdum, alistair overeem and Josh Barnett. In an interview with journalist Guilherme Cruz, from the MMAFighting website, Cigano said he was disappointed with the choice made by Bellator.
“Not to sound disrespectful or anything, but I was very hopeful that I would be a great option for Fedor to end his career. My idea is that he wanted a great fight, a fight that would really interest the fans and make people want to watch. That would be the case with options like myself, Overeem and even Werdum. I imagined something along those lines, something that made sense in my head, but it was completely the opposite of what I imagined. He ended up choosing Tim Johnson. I don't know how the fight will be, I don't want to judge anyone, but I believe it would be much more interesting if it were Overeem, Werdum, me, Josh Barnett. He's the greatest heavyweight champion in history, I'm a fan of Fedor, but he didn't follow that path. I can’t understand why, but it was a little disappointing, I can’t say it wasn’t”, said Cigano.
Fedor Emelianenko faces Tim Johnson in the main fight of Bellator Moscow, on October 23rd. It is the first time that the organization has held an event on Russian soil.
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