No Brock..No Cain..No to UFC says, Emelianenko
By: Brian Lopez-Benchimol Posted On: August 12, 2010 at 9:46pm
While most fans we’re hoping for Fedor’s inception into the UFC sometime ago, it looks like we will have to wait just a little bit longer than anticipated.
Emelianeko, legend and former Pride and WAMMA heavyweight champion, is apparently in good standings with his new home with Strikeforce.
Just two month’s removed from his first “real” loss as a professional to then heavy-underdog Fabricio Werdum, who submitted the sambo specialist with a tight, tight triangle choke, just 69 seconds into the first round, Emelianenko spoke with m-1global.com (owned by M-1 Global, Fedor’s management company) and hinted to a possible contract extension with Strikeforce.
After making his debut in devastating fashion over the hard-hitting Brett Rogers, Fedor would eventually lose to Werdum some months later, halting an impressive 27 fight win streak which dates back to 2000, when Fedor lost to Tsuyoshi Kohsaka via TKO (cut), in what was considered controversial since elbows were not allowed in the tournament format Fedor was competing in.
While many speculated when the former consensus number one heavyweight fighter would eventually make his UFC debut, where arguably the best competition exists with current heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, and challengers Cain Velasquez, Junior dos Santos, Frank Mir, and Shane Carwin exist, it appears that we will all have to wait a little bit longer.
Though his next move is still uncertain, Strikeforce is seemingly securing the heavyweight star while still under contract, extending the 33-year-old contract.
“As far and I’m concerned we should discuss the possibility of signing another contract for four to six fights”, said Emelianenko to m-1global.com.
And outside of Fedor himself, M-1 Global Director of Operations Evgeni Kogan, wants to reciprocate those same intentions.
“The relationship between ourselves, Strikeforce and Showtime is a good one,” he said. “We had a great event in June in San Jose, and we look forward to more good events with our partners.
“(M-1 Global and Strikeforce) are in talks to extend the contract for Fedor and at the same time to settle on who, when and where he is fighting next. These talks are going smoothly, and we are hopeful of a full resolution very shortly.”
While the UFC offers a bevy of dream matches for the Russian, and much stiffer competition with the aforementioned UFC fighter’s, Strikeforce does have some notables to offer.
Bret Rogers, though tough, is largely irrelevant, unfortunately, in the Strikeforce heavyweight division, following losses to Fedor and current champion Alistair Overeem.
Overeem himself would be an excellent match up, though said fiight has lost some of it’s allure following Fedor’s loss, and Alistair’s impressive run in the past couple of years in both the MMA and Kickboxing circuit.
A rematch with Werdum would be a logical choice for the promotion, in order to get the Russian back in good standings in the heavyweight division and erase the setback the Brazilian presented. However, following the fight last June, the Abu Dhabi Grappling veteran has since received surgery on a nagging elbow injury, and will be out for the rest of 2010.
So, the next logical conclusion may be Antonio “Big Foot” Silva. The American Top Team product made his debut in a losing effort to the top-5 heavyweight Werdum, when the fight went to the judges score cards.
However, “Pezao” bounced back in a big way, when he nabbed a unanimous decision over former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski last May.
I’m personally vouching for a fight with Silva, and then possibly a rematch with Werdum, where then with two “hypothetical” wins underneath his belt, Fedor might have gained some notoriety back and challenge Overeem, in what has been discussed as a possible headliner for Strikeforce’s first Pay Per View card.
So, outside of the UFC, what is the next match up that you, the fans, would like to see for Fedor?
Is everyone disappointed that the Russian may end up lock-and-sealed with Strikeforce?
Voice your opinion.
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Comments
I feel Fedor’s time as the #1 heavyweight in the world are long gone. He hasn’t fought a top 5 heavyweight in some years. I feel Fedor is going to try to repolish his legacy at this time by running through the strikeforce division. While I do believe Fedor can do this it won’t prove anything. Werdum was cut from the UFC, and Overeem couldn’t hang either (as a light heavyweight). Fedor has not been as impressive in his last 3 match ups either. Sure he knocked out both Roger’s and Andrei, but was argueable losing both matches until he nailed the glass chin or Arlovski (Tim Silvia knocked this guy out twice), and honestly who the hell is Brett Roger’s? I’m sure Big Country Roy Nelson would demolish that guy and he is well outside a Top 5 maybe even top 10 heavyweights. Fedor has seemingly proved Dana Whites remarks about him, and many others to be sadely very true. He’s not fighting the best, and shows no desire to fight the best. Dana makes deals with every other elite fighter out there with little trouble, whats Fedor’s problem? I don’t see M1 global as much more than an excuse not to join the UFC, and his belt is worth about as much as a child’s toy in my opinion. Oh, and shouldn’t that belt belong to Werdum? Oh thats right it wasn’t up for grabs that night, what a joke. Fedor is at this point just that, a joke. His legacy is amazing but the man needs to fight the best, or not fight.
Fedor is an ambassor for the sport as well as still being young enough to be a top contender for any title, anywhere and champion again. Everyone looses sometimes, even the greatest in history of the sport, The Last Emperor. His record speaks for itself.
I’m not sure I understand all of you’re logic. Fedor is a joke, because he hasn’t fought, what you consider, top competition, and because he lost? The man has arguably never lost in his career that spans over 10 years in this sport, let alone his multiple gold medal titles in Sambo, which encompasses many aspects, if not all, in MMA. You may be saying who the hell is Brett Rogers, but the facts were that the man was undefeated, and stormed through Arlovski after Fedor had trouble with him in the early going–and Fedor beat that guy. That’s pretty good. Arlovski was widely considered the number 2 or 3 guy in the world by the time Fedor fought him, but of course that doesn’t mean anything either, right? He beat Sylvia was just left the UFC after dominating Nogueria, though in defeat. Sylvia was two fights removed as the UFC heavyweight champion, but of course that means nothing either.
While I am frustrated too by his decision to join Strikeforce to begin with—it’s ultimately all decided by his management company M-1 Global who not only represent Fedor, but are also partners with the Russian. So of course, they would have invested interest in a company who can co-promote with them, which the UFC was not willing to do. In my eyes, Fedor is still the number one heavyweight in the world. It’s not always the best guy who wins–but the person who fight’s the best.
Well let me clarify my logic a bit here. My point obviously isn’t well received by the Fedor lovers of the world. “It’s not alway’s the guy who wins-but the person that fights the best.”? Fedor isn’t fighting the best! This is a simple arguement for me. Is Fedor still the best? Maybe. Should he be considered the best at this time? Fedor has by far the most impressive record in all of MMA. He has beaten the best (when they were the best), but this is 2010 not 2005. I believe his last notable win was over Cro Cop in 2005. Cro Cop was surely the #2 heavyweight in the world at that time. He then went on to fight Mark Hunt, Matt Linland (who isn’t even a natual heavyweight), Hong Man Choy (really?), Tim Sylvia, Arlovski, and Brett Rogers (impressive win streak over who lol?). Now five years in the MMA world is a VERY long time time sir. The UFC heavyweight division at one time “sucked” to quote Dana White himself. This was very true, which is why guys like Tim Sylvia and Arlovski were the #1, 2 guys. Neither of them would be of much relavance in the UFC heavyweight division at this time. Tim Sylvia was recently knocked out by Ray Mercer for god’s sake. Absolutely NONE of his wins in the past 5 years have been over a true #1 contender. I believe Fedor is the greatest mma fighter in history at this point. I won’t take that away from him, but my point is simple he’s not fighting the best. If Fedor is STILL the best than he needs to prove it, and that won’t happen in Strikeforce. In 2005 Matt Hughes and Chuck Liddell were ranked #1 in the world for their divisions at the time. As I said this is 2010 and the entire scope of mma has dramatically changed. At this time the world of MMA heavyweights has passed Fedor by. Floyd Mayweather Jr. is undeafeated in his Boxing career, but is not ranked #1 in the world. Why? Simple, he’s not taking on the best. In the world of combat sports it’s all about “what have you done for me lately” not what you did 5 years ago. I don’t really care about the money behind the scenes as a reason to why Fedor isn’t in the UFC. If he doesn’t fight the best there isn’t a way of knowing if he is still the best.
Oh and for the record it isn’t who I consider to be top heavyweights. Take a look at the rankings in the world from top sources my friend. I didn’t just make a list up myself here. Oh but I’m sure the opinions of SherDog and multiple other sources never really mean much do they?
@at Bryan Heathcote i find it funny when people try to say Fedor was getting beat up or something in the Rogers and Arlovski fight. Rogers only landed 5 clean shots when he was on top of Fedor.. all Rogers did was open up a cut on Fedors nose ( which he got from his brother in training). Arlovski didn’t land a single power shot only jabs and legkicks.. so what if he was winning on points from his love taps. 4 of Fedors last opponents where ranked as top ten on many sites even on ZuffaDog. It’s funny how Dana downplays anyone not currently in the UFC yet HYPES up losers like Frank Mir. Also Rogers destroyed Arlovski who Knocked Roy Nelson out cold. Dana’s Super heavyweight division is currently full of young guys who haven’t even fought EACHOTHER yet, and old times who’s losses to the youngsters is the only thing that ties em all together. Also Wurdum left the ufc he was not cut and he had a good run in the ufc. Keep eating up Zuffa BS if u want.
All irrelavant in the scope of things. Werdum did NOT have a good run in the ufc, and you are right he wasn’t cut. He left due to pay but he left after losing to Dos Sontos, and he won 2 of his 4 fights in his so called “good run”. Apparently a lot of people are eating up the “Zuffa BS”, even this web site has fedor ranked at #6, lol. I don’t put him that low, but I find it quite funny. So you can keep up the Fedor worship all you want. I will say it again HE IS NOT FIGHTING THE BEST. Oh and Dana White is the last person I base my opinion on, he would claim Fedor isn’t the best of all time. I would have to say Fedor is the GOAT in mma due to his legacy. But no-one can call him the top heavyweight at this present moment. Can he regain that status? Sure, but at this moment he no longer has it. So you can eat up all the M1 global BS all you want.
@Bryan Heathcote
So you are so absolutely right man.
Fedor is one of the best p4p. UFC really doesn’t have that many challenges for him. Lesnar is not a real threat, I dont care what anyone says. IF a big lumbering idiot like Carwin can tag Lesnar, Fedor will spank him. The only fights I would like to see are Dos Santos vs Fedor, or Valasquez vs. Fedor. Those would be great. Outside of that, I don’t see anything wrong with what Fedor is doing. He’ll have his rematch with Werdum. He’ll probably fight Silva. And ultimately we’ll see him fight Overeem. So why the trend of writing him off? I can’t fault Fedor for wanting to get paid, or being loyal to M-1 and working hard to expand his stake in that. Why should Fedor forfeit his business interests to those of Zuffa? Whether its Strikeforce or Dream, or some other organization, we will once again get to see Fedor do what he does best, so just be patient. UFC is really over-hyped in the HW division anyway you look at it, we aren’t missing much. And come to think about it, Dos Santos probably wouldn’t have beaten a cro cop of a few years ago (pre gonzaga) anyway, so we aren’t missing much at all in the UFC. If you doubt my Cro Cop statement, rewatch the fight and scratch your head like I did at the lack of combination’s thrown by Mirko or kick attempts. The Cro Cop of a few years ago would leg kicked the shit out of Dos Santos and finished him up in the 3rd with a left kick to the melon.
@cpaqs
LOL, Shane Carwin would destroy ANYONE in the heavyweight division, no one exept Brock can handle his bull rush in the beginning (honestly the best 1st round MMA fighter ever). I see him fighting Brock again very soon. Now as far as Fedor goes, someone has already stated it here already… He is not fighting in the UFC, which has all the top ranked heavyweights. He has beaten many great fighters, but that was then, and this is now. To be the best, you must fight the best. And Carwin and Fedor would be a good match up, better then a Fedor Lesnar fight, because although Fedor does have a chance, I think Lesnar would make him his bitch. Laugh at it, but Lesnar is the UNDISPUTED #1 HEAVYWEIGHT OF THE WORLD! The man is a genetic freak, someone that good of an athlete could do anything they want to, they are just that good.
“someone that good of an athlete could do anything they want to” “the man is a genetic freak”. genetic freak YES, that good of an athlete? no. other then lesnars size hes got nothing on fedor, if lesnar had fedors skill with HIS SIZE…. yea i don’t have to tell you lesnars skill would be more noticable than anyones. fedor would slap that freak. and whys ufc HW division soo good? btw werdum wasn’t cut he left after his contract was done and yes his last ufc fight was a loss but it was against dos santos whos next fight will be for ufc HW title shot.
THIS BUSINESS THING NEEDS TO END. i’M TALKING ABOUT M1-GLOBAL’S RELATIONSHIP WITH FEDOR. YES I UNDERSTAND FEDOR GETS A BIG CUT FROM THE BUSINESS POINT OF VIEW BUT,… FEDOR’S LEGACY IS FAR BEHOND BUSINESS NOW. IT’S TIME FOR HIM TO STEP IN LIKE A REAL MAN THAT WE ALL KNOW HE COULD BE AND SAY TO HIS BUSINESS PARTNERS,- HEY GUYS, STEP THE F..K BACK AND SHUT THE F..K UP. GET ME INTO THE UFC ASAP NO MATTER WHAT AND LET ME HANDLE MY REAL BUSINESS THERE. LET ME PROVE TO MY LOYAL FANS THAT I WILL BEAT ANYONE IN THE UFC. I AM NOT GETTING ANY YOUNGER AND I NEED TO DO THIS WHILE IT’S STILL IN ME. FEDOR, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE STOP MESSING AROUND WITH THOSE BUSINESS GUYS. THEY ARE NOT FIGHTERS AND THEY ARE NOT YOUR TRUE FANS. WE ARE THE ONES WHO REPLAY YOUR FIGHTS NONSTOP AND DREAM OF FIGHTS THAT YOU SHOULD FIGHT. GET IN THE UFC AND FIGHT FOR FREE IF YOU CAN. AFTERALL, IS IT REALLY FOR THE MONEY?? GET IN THE UFC AND SHUT DANA WHITE UP AND RETIRE AS NOT ONLY THE BEST EVER WIN OR LOSE, BUT ALSO AS A MAN WHO CONTROLLED HIS OWN DESTINY. PLEASE FEDOR, GET IN THE UFC FAST BEFORE STRIKEFORCE AND M1-GLOBAL RUIN YOUR REP.
I’m sorry, what I meant was no heavyweight fighters in strikeforce is good enough to beat any top seven inUFC. Never mind Brock. Strikeforce guys are clearly guys who fight there long enough to become good enough to fight in the UFC. Anyone who can’t understand that just will never, period.
@cpaqs
I think you missed my point here. I don’t write Fedor off, I say he needs to fight the best, and I’m sorry but the UFC Heavyweight division is much better than the rest of the landscape. It hasn’t always just been the UFC’s heavyweight division that has sucked it’s been a problem in MMA since it’s inception. The Heavyweight division in all of mma is beginning to improve. It just so happens and not suprisingly so that the UFC has the best. Once again I think most if not all major analysts would agree with me here. The guy that wrote this is a very obvious Fedor lover and biased in his opinion. I’ve followed fighters my whole life, and it’s not hard to be biased for the guy you’ve been cheering on for many years. I did the same thing with Roy Jones Jr., lol. Once again it’s all about what have you done for me lately in the fight game, and lately Fedor’s only done a whole lot of pissing fans and promoters off. Not really something you should be doing as the proclaimed best heavyweight in the world when most people don’t believe your fighting the best. I root for guys that care about their legacy, and I don’t feel Fedor cares much about his at this point. He isn’t doing much to help it…