White: 'I never considered Emelianenko one of the greatest fighters'

UFC president Dana White said he never turned on Fedor Emelianenko in the list of the best fighters in the history of mixed martial arts.

On the morning of February 5 at the Bellator 290 tournament in Inglewood, USA, Emelianenko lost to Ryan Bader by technical knockout in the first round. After the fight, the 46-year-old Russian announced his retirement from the sport.

“I would not like to criticize the guy, because today he ended his career, but you remember my old interviews. I never thought that Fedor was that good. You see, middleweight Dan Henderson knocked him out.

People love him, praise him, but he never tested himself here, at this level. I never considered him one of the greatest fighters. There is no antipathy towards him. We tried to sign him to the UFC, but that didn't happen. What is, is, ”White said at a press conference.