Fedor Emelianenko (photo via AXS TV)

By FCF Staff

Although Fedor Emelianenko will always be regarded as one of the all time greats, debate and discussion continues as to what the legendary heavyweight could have accomplished in the UFC.

Emelianenko will be the guest in AXS TV’s “The Voice Versus Fedor”, which will air on Friday night. The show has released a sneak preview, which features Michael Schiavello asking the 37 year-old whether his legacy is tarnished, by the fact he never fought in the UFC.

“Well the UFC didn’t want me to fight there. So what could I do? We were unable to make a deal. They offered unacceptable conditions,” responded Emelianenko. “Actually, when I fought in PRIDE, we had the best fighters in the world. Back then, the UFC had a very big and serious crisis. They were going through some hard times being able to get top fighters. All the best fighters were in PRIDE. Later on, when PRIDE ceased to exist, the UFC didn’t immediately pick up speed.”

“Currently the UFC is a super organization, probably the best. There are several top fighters in every weight category. And in general, it’s hard to see the whole picture, I’d say. There are some fighters who are interesting to watch, but the rest of them, well, it’s not interesting for me.”

Although the UFC and Emelianenko’s management attempted to negotiate a deal, the Russian fighter ended up signing with Strikeforce in 2009. Emelianenko went 1-3 with the promotion, before he closed out his career in 2012 while fighting for M-1 Global.

The decorated fighter, who at one point had gone undefeated in 28 straight fights, retired with a record of 34-4.