Strikeforce heavyweight standout Fabricio Werdum has anticipated facing Russian superstar Fedor Emelianenko for months - the only question was when.

And the answer kept changing.

As an expected spring showdown between the two was pushed back once, and then twice, Werdum continued training. And his frustration continued growing as the uncertainty mounted. 

Now, with only three weeks to go until the two men face-off at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum on June 26, it seems that Werdum can finally relax and focus on the task at hand.

If you can call the prospect of facing one of the biggest names in MMA relaxing.

It's easy to see that Werdum has had a lot of time to think about the fight when asked about his preparations.

"We're doing the final adjustments," Werdum told Tatame.com. "It was supposed to be in the middle of April and then I started training hard here with Rafael. We trained a lot and then the fight was postponed to May, and we kept our training, and then it was canceled again. It sucked because we have been training for a long time in the expectation of fighting and it kept on being postponed. I didn't know what to do because it changed and I was already training for this fight and don't like to stay too long without fighting. I think it's not a good thing for a fighter. I think it'd be a good thing if I could fight every three months, or four, but it's been six months since my last fight, but it was for a good motive.

"Now it's confirmed, I'll fight Fedor on the 26th and I'm really glad, especially because it's against Fedor and I have been doing this preparation for a long time. I waited for this fight my whole life. Since Pride we saw him fighting against Minotauro and we obviously were on the Brazilian side, and then my brother said that once some Brazilian would beat Fedor and he betted on me to be that guy. I told him I only had my Jiu-Jitsu, and that I had not have a good standing game, but he always believed in me, that I could improve. He kept me motivated and now we'll see. It's an opportunity I can't miss. I've been dedicating a lot of me on this preparation and I've been talking with Strikeforce's president and he is a nice guy who supported me. I'm training a lot this standing game.

"I'm very focused for this fight. I know it's a lifetime opportunity and I really respect Fedor. I have always enjoyed watch him fight. I respect him, but I'll go there to win and not only to say I fought against him. That's what I really want, to beat him. When I think about the fight, I already see myself after the fight, after winning, speaking on the microphone and thanking for all the fans and all the people who supported me and I know I will want to say, 'I'd like everyone to feel exactly how I'm feeling right now, because it's a wonderful feeling, and for a fighter to have after training so hard and getting a great result.'"

Werdum (13-4-1) has seen success against some of the top heavyweights in the sport, including victories over current Strikeforce champion Alistair Overeem as well as Fedor Emelianenko's younger brother Aleksander, both of whom he submitted.

Now Werdum thinks he has identified areas to attack in his upcoming fight against the man who has sat atop the MMA heavyweight world for...