Fedor Writes Open Letter to UFC President Dana White

Fedor Emelianenko is ready to fight Randy Couture, and says Dana White should shut up and let the match happen.

Top-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko (27-1-0) has heard enough from Dana White.

Since singing with M-1 Global, Fedor has faced the constant scrutiny of the UFC president, who has lashed out at the Russian fighter many times in the media, accusing him of ducking tough competition and taking easy fights instead.

Now, Fedor has released a statement of his own.

"Numerous times have I read mister White’s statements on Internet concerning myself," he writes on the M-1 website. "In my opinion, allowing yourself to say those things is not a sign of a gentleman or a grown man at all! If he candidly wants to prove himself right then let my fight with Randy happen or let me face the reigning UFC champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. In the future I wouldn’t want to hear those statements in my address ever again and I won’t tolerate that."

With Couture tied up in a legal battle with UFC owners and unable to compete, Emelianenko beat 7-foot 2-inch, 350-pound Korean Giant Hong Man Choi (1-1-0) on New Year's Eve in Japan.

"My last fight in Japan proved that I’m ready to fight anybody with any height advantage, skillset or experience," Fedor explains. "I have fought and still wish to fight the best athletes. The Randy fight is my goal number one right now, he’s a great fighter and this is a very unfortunate situation when too strict and one-sided UFC contracts don’t let this fight happen."

Emelianenko ends the letter with a direct challenge

"The whole world is eager to see me fight your champions," he says. "People don’t want to listen to your press-conferences. I’m signed with M-1 Global and this promotion is ready to organize such fights under our banner or in co-promoted events."

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