Pot shot: “Freddie Roach is going to eat crow”: Barnett on Fedor’s striking

Published on: 22nd January, 2009

Pot shot: "Freddie Roach is going to eat crow": Barnett on Fedor's striking  | read this item

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Says Freddie Roach

Freddie Roach has made it known that he has been impressed with WAMMA Heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianeko’s stand up skills. He often says that Fedor is flat footed and that his striking is not impressive. Now Josh Barnett is saying that Freddie Roach knows Boxing stand up, not MMA stand up.

Yahoo!sports.com’s Steve Cofield spoke to Barnett in a radio interview and spoke to him about Freddy Roach’s statements on Fedor.

“As far as his striking not being impressive, I guess Freddie Roach is going to eat crow. It’s not like what Freddie Roach is used to and what he would normally step into a boxing ring and see across the way. Fedor’s striking for MMA is very precise and it’s been very successful for him.”

Barnett also commented on Roach’s statements that if you push the pace on Fedor you can beat him.

“The minute you push him, he doesn’t go back, he comes forward and he just immediately punches and tries to take you down. If he encounters trouble on the feet, he doesn’t try to stay and work his way out of that, he changes gears.”

I don’t normally express my opinion on things like this when sharing them with the fans, but I have to admit if Andrei Arlovski is following a stand up only training plan he will lose. Freddie Roach is a great Boxing trainer, but that is only one part of MMA. Fedor is not the best in the world cause he stands and waits to be hit, he is the best cause if he does get out worked on his feet, his ground game is deadlier.

I am not attempting to take sides cause I will let you know when we do our staff picks, but Roach may have set Arlovski up for failure if he has him only focused on Boxing and not grappling.

 Narcisist is the Co-owner of UR Dirt and is the designer, editor and author. URDirt.com is a MMA blog that covers the UFC, WEC, StrikeForce, DREAM and several other Mixed Martial Art promotions. Read more from this author

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