Tim Johnson responds to criticism for being chosen as Fedor Emelianenko's opponent

T. Johnson fighting for Bellator Photo: Instagram

After suffering harsh criticism for being chosen as the opponent of the return of Fedor Emelianenko to Bellator, heavyweight (up to 120,2kg) Tim Johnson decided to respond to the 'attacks'. The American fighter made it clear that it was the Russian who chose to face him and stated that he hopes to face the best possible version of the 'Last Emperor'.

See too

Former training partner of Francis Ngannou, Ciryl Gane does not believe he will have an advantage in the duel against the champion

TJ Dillashaw 'ignores' possible duel against José Aldo and projects chance for the bantamweight title

Seeking recovery, Edmen Shahbazyan faces middleweight promise at UFC 268

Alexander Volkanovski praises the level of athletes in the UFC and rejects the possibility of facing AJ McKee

“I think of two options: maybe Fedor chose me because he thinks he can knock me out immediately. I don't want to think like that. I think he chose me because he is a warrior. He has a warrior mentality. I'm going to give him a real fight. I'm not a guy who goes there to become famous for fighting Fedor. He knows there's going to be a fight,” Johnson said in an interview with 'MMA Junkie'.

Even with the Russian fighter out of action since December 2019, Johnson declared that he does not expect an easy fight and believes he will face a Fedor Emelianenko in good shape.

“He will put every ounce of will he has into winning this fight. He will be the fighter he was 10 years ago. He won't be the Fedor of the last two or three years. He will be 'Retro Fedor'. This is the fight I’m preparing for”, concluded the North American athlete.

the duel between Fedor Emelianenko and Tim Johnson will headline the first edition of Bellator held in Russia. The show is scheduled to take place on October 23rd.

Current number two in the heavyweight rankings, Tim is coming off a defeat in his last fight. Last June, the American competed for the category belt and was defeated by the Russian Valentin Moldavsky in a unanimous decision by the judges. Johnson has an MMA record of 15 wins and seven setbacks.