Fedor Vs. Monson Press Conference: Emelianenko 'Happy To Fight At Home'

Lost amongst a dramatic month of non-stop UFC and Bellator action was the fact that M-1 Global has begun to gear up for the next episode of Fedor Emelianenko's career. "The Last Emperor" is slated to fight former-UFC heavyweight contender Jeff Monson on November 20th in his homeland of Moscow, Russia. After a series of theatrical losses stateside, the fabled Sambo champion will be fighting back home for the first time since mid-2007, a fact that he appears to welcome with open arms.

"I'm very happy to fight at home. Since the majority of my fights took place in Japan or United States, I'm happy to be fighting in Russia again after 4 years," Emelianenko explained during a pre-fight press conference over the weekend, via Lowkick. "During my last three fights I always had a feeling that I can win. But somehow, in the last moment something always went wrong."

Without question the former champion's current three-fight losing streak against Fabricio Werdum, Antonio Silva, and Dan Henderson has removed a majority of the sheen that surrounded Emelianenko throughout his career, however Monson feels it should not detract from the situation at hand.

"I wanted to fight Fedor for a very long time, simply because he's the best," Monson plainly stated. "It's a very special fight and I'm definitely going to be well-prepared for that."

Of course, this may not be the last time fans get to see "The Last Emperor" in action in 2011. When the bout was first announced, M-1 management proclaimed that the 35-year-old former Pride champion would fight once more before the end of the year, at a New Year's Eve card in Japan. Despite the belatedness of his date with Monson shedding some doubt on those claims, Emelianenko ensured fans that the wheels are already in motion.

"We are currently negotiating a New Year's Eve fight in Japan, Fedor concluded. "I always loved to fight there. There's much less ‘noise' and hustle than in United States."