Fedor Emelianenko breaks down the key aspects he’ll focus on when preparing for Ryan Bader.

Last night (Oct. 13), Emelianenko clashed with Chael Sonnen in a semifinal bout in the Bellator Heavyweight World Grand Prix. “The Last Emperor” earned a first-round TKO victory to advance to the finals. He will meet Ryan Bader on Jan. 26 inside The Forum in Inglewood, California.

Emelianenko spoke to reporters during the Bellator 208 post-fight press conference. “The Last Emperor” said that his team will work to address Bader’s strongest attributes:

“We take into consideration the specialities and the features of all the opponents we meet. We’re preparing for this fight, and we’re taking into considerations the very strong sides of Chael. The same will happen, actually, for the preparation for the fight for Bader. Me and my team will make the next conclusions. Certainly there will be a lot of attention given to all the work on the ground, on the canvas.”

Bader punched his ticket to the finals by turning in a dominant performance against Matt Mitrione. “Darth” earned a unanimous decision victory over Mitrione. Bader knocked out “King Mo” Muhammed Lawal to get to the semifinals, while Emelianenko dusted Frank Mir. Bader is undefeated inside the Bellator cage, while Emelianenko is 2-1 under the promotion.