Although Fedor Emelianenko may not be a fan of women’s MMA, he seems to have, at the very least, seen some of Ronda Rousey’s fights.
During a recent Q&A session at a youth forum in the North Caucasus, Fedor was asked to give his opinion on the UFC women’s bantamweight champion.
“To date, [Rousey] stands out as number one in the world rankings,” said Fedor. “But I do not like that she misses a lot of punches, which leads to painful reception. I do not advocate such tactics, especially for women.”
A few months before Fedor announced his return to MMA, he provided some controversial quotes regarding his views on women’s MMA. While his viewpoint is on par with those of a devout Orthodox Christian from ethnic Russia, his quotes made headlines in the MMA community, and female fighters were forced to contend with his words.
“Women shouldn’t compete in UFC/MMA because this sport is for men,” Emelianenko said. “There are a lot of sports where women look like women – like gymnastics, water sports, maybe some athletics. MMA is for men. It’s a man’s sport.”
Naturally, neither of Fedor’s daughters compete nor train in combat sports.
“Mary was engaged in many sports, but now leads a healthy lifestyle and engages in fitness, stretching, cycling, but study takes her a long time, so the sport is just for her health. Vasilisa is engaged in gymnastics.”
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