MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko participated in an international media conference call on Thursday to discuss the upcoming, highly anticipated Strikeforce World Grand Prix - Heavyweight Tournament which begins on Saturday, Feb. 12, at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J.

In the main event, Emeliananko (31-2, 1 NC) will take on Silva (15-2) it what will represent the one of four quarterfinal fights in the three-stage, single-elimination tournament.

The famed Emeliananko, 34, will be fighting for the first time since signing a new, multi-year agreement to co-promote events along with Strikeforce.

Below are some highlights of what he had to say at the conference call:

"Nothing has changed for me (since the loss). I train just as I've trained before. It just so happened that I had made an error in the previous fight so in training I have just worked on trying not to make that same mistake again. For me nothing has changed inside of me and I still have the same beliefs. I just want to train harder for the next fight.

"I feel very good about participating in this tournament. I feel very proud to be part of the eight who have been chosen and I feel proud to be representing my country in the tournament. I'm training to win the tournament. I'm training hard and whatever happens after that is up to God, but I'm training hard and I look forward to performing.

"I'm ready and prepared to step into the cage against Fabricio (Werdum) at any time. It's something that I'd very much like to do. In regard to Antonio, he's a very tough opponent, a very dangerous opponent. We've never fought before so I'm very happy that we're getting the opportunity to fight. We've seen each other in locker rooms and he's always been very cordial and a nice person. He's very qualified and I think it's going to be a great fight. I really don't think that I should be fighting anyone else and I'm just going to fight whoever they want me to fight.

"I believe that this tournament has assembled enough quality fighters and some of the strongest and most interesting heavyweight fighters in the world so I think that in no way is this tournament any less than the ones I competed for with Pride. I believe it's just as good, if not better.

"I don't think that the years I spent in Pride can give me any type of advantage or dictate how I will perform in this tournament. Certainly experience in this tournament is something that is valuable. Nevertheless, I have to train very hard for this fight and we'll see what happens.

"I'm probably going to train in Russia. I'm more comfortable there and I like to be close to my family. It's likely I'll probably stay in Russia. But I wouldn't mind training somewhere else and with someone like Shane Carwin, who is a good fighter. But most likely I'll stay in Russia.

"Many times people have sized me up and tried to say what my strengths and weaknesses are but if they say they've found what my biggest weakness is then let them take advantage of it.

"Firstly when I train in the mountains in remote areas I train in the high altitude where it's very cold - even near freezing. It just makes the entire training process that much more difficult, which I believe is beneficial because if I can get through it then I'll be that much better for...