Strikeforce: Fedor Emelianenko Versus Fabricio Werdum Likely For April
Photo by Esther Lin. Copyright Strikeforce.
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker told Sherdog Saturday in San Jose, “I think Fedor will fight [in April on CBS]. Looks like he’ll fight Fabricio Werdum.”
Fighters.com Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (31-1) and ninth-ranked “Vai Cavalo” Fabricio Werdum (12-4-1) have been on a collision course since both won impressively on the original M-1 Global and Strikeforce collaboration on CBS in Chicago November 7.
But, Coker warned, “Nothing is signed. We haven’t gone through that process yet. But, Fabricio, I think, is a natural because he fought Giant Silva on CBS. I’d like to see that fight.”
The matchup leaves Strikeforce heavyweight champion “Demolition Man” Alistair Overeem (29-10) will leftovers in what will probably be his first title defense.
Coker added, “I’d like to see Alistair Overeem make his debut on CBS with somebody, maybe Silva, maybe Brett Rogers.”
Both “Bigfoot” Antonio Silva (12-2) and fifth-ranked heavyweight “Grim” Brett Rogers (10-1) are coming off losses to Werdum and Emelianenko respectively, creating an awkward situation for Strikeforce where their champion is defending his title versus fighters who’ve already lost to the top challengers who’ll be fighting each other on the same card.
Is it any worse than another UFC interim title fight between third-ranked heavyweight Frank Mir (13-4) and sixth-ranked Shane Carwin (10-0)?
Fighters.com thinks so. The longer Emelianenko doesn’t challenge for the Strikeforce title, the more devalued the title and their division becomes. It risks mirroring the convoluted and frustrating professional boxing divisions that MMA has avoided doing…until now.
For example, if Rogers challenges Overeem for the Strikeforce title and wins and Emelianenko beats Werdum, it sets up a Strikeforce title fight of little interest to anyone since Emelianenko already outclassed Rogers last November. Rogers won’t have done anything to deserve the rematch, since Overeem is ranked lower than Emelianenko, and it serves Emelianenko another matchup he’s well-prepared to win.
Emelianenko should challenge Overeem in April so that the Strikeforce heavyweight division can shake out and become clear to fans of the sport. The proposed matchups – Emelianenko-Werdum, Overeem-Rogers or Silva – just create a confusing and awkward set of possibilities.



I agree, the situation will increase confusion among the casual fans.
Alistair Overeem should be the first choice, then Werdum.
Hopefully, by then, Barnett will have gotten back into mix and then finally have that bout take place. It’s been along time coming and that fight should have happened in Pride.
They really need to work Bobbly Lashley and Roger Gracie up the ranks to make the possible Fedor fights worth while.
Werdum…Overeem….Thes guys are nobody…These are the only kinds of fights Fedor will take…He won’t come to UFC because it would end his career…..He’s AFRAID bottom line…Case in Point…Brett Rodgers? Really a 260 man with boobs WOW you are a real champion Fedor….GET REAL !
Come to UFC and get a reality check …..chicken.
hey robby,
looks like you are well prepared to face Fedor yourself if you call him chicken?
Are you serious Robby? You’re an idiot; Fedor doesn’t even come close to weighing 260, and his physique has nothing to do with anything.
On another note, I don’t think Fedor cares where he fights, and who. I feel like he doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone. He knows, and everyone else knows that he is the best. He’s already on the top of the food chain. Obviously, he’ll decide to fight where he’ll make the most money (via M1 Global).
With that said, it’s only a matter of time before Fedor loses. I highly doubt he’ll retire undefeated. He’s not getting any younger, and even though Fedor wins all the time, there are times where he looks vulnerable.
I feel that the heavier and fast wrestlers match up to Fedor very well. If anyone can beat Fedor, it’d be someone like Brock Lesnar, Shane Carwin, or Velasquez. It’s just unfortunate we won’t be able to see any of those matchups anytime soon…
Nonetheless, Robby. Fedor is not afraid of ANYBODY. Fedor shouldn’t be the one chasing after Brock and other UFC fighters. It should be the UFC heavyweight fighters that seek Fedor, if they want to be the best. Fedor is already the best. It’s not HIS job to go seek opponents who are already ranked lower than he is. Lesnar, Mir, Velasquez, Carwin.. if these guys ever want to be the best, they need to leave UFC and join Strikeforce and face Fedor.
Robby you sound like a UFC shareholder…
lol robby is urr last name white? sounds like spam from ufcs PR people, rodgers beat andre in like 2 secs
Robby is probably one of those UFC nuthugger that doesn`t know much about MMA but things he does.
Alistair Overeem is a great fighter and fights also in Japan, and very well-known there. Just because he`s not well know in North America doesn`t mean he is good. UFC has a lot of great fighters, Brock Lesnar, Frank Mir, Shane Carwin, and many others. But throw Overeem in the UFC and he`ll stand with UFC fighters and same goes with Fedor.
If you don`t see now, you will in the future. Just wait and watch Dan Henderson, the guy that was supposedly be next in line for a title shot against Anderson Silva before Victor Belfort came in from Affliction which you probably disregarded as well when they were present. Dan Henderson not gonna have an easy time in strikeforce MiddleWieght. Just wait and see.
I appreciate you guys passion for Fedor….And one of you said it best “Fedor doesn’t care who he fights”….Hasbeens and Nobody’s…. NAME one contender he has fought in the last 3 years???? You can’t ….He is on a pedestal built from losers & nobody’s….And IF he ever decides to fight any of the Top 5 out there it’s OVER for Fedor…..
“…Case in point,” Robby you don’t have a clue as to why Fedor isn’t with the UFC, or you wouldn’t be making those goofy comments about him. CASE IN POINT, Dana White is a fucking prick that wants to own his fighters. He wants to keep them as puppets on strings and not pay them what they deserve. Fedor doesn’t want to be his slave, especially after all the crass and disrespectful things White said about him, no doubt. It is only obvious to true Fedor fans as to why he’s the greatest mma fighter on earth. All of your UFC fighters are built from losers and nobodies just as much as any other one fighter from any other organization. Fedor had to work his way up to be where he is now, unlike a lot of other fighters. When Fedor beat Arlovski, Arlovski was considered the #2 contender, and Fedor beat him, and then he beats Rogers at his own game, ending his undefeated record, don’t tell me Fedor hasn’t fought anyone, you’re stealing that line from your master, Dana White.
Robby, When I said Fedor doesn’t care who he fights, I mean that he doesn’t discriminate. He’ll fight whoever the booker matches him up with. Heck, he’ll even fight Matt Lindland (which I thought was kinda stupid).
If you look at the list of UFC HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONS since the beginning, you’ll see that Fedor beat pretty much all of them (as long as they fought outside of UFC). Andre Arlovski and Tim Sylvia literally dominated the UFC Heavyweight division from 2003-06. Fedor beat those guys in 1st round. Tim Sylvia wasn’t even able to TOUCH Fedor during their fight. Before that the champs were like Kevin Randleman and Mark Coleman. And Guess what? Fedor whooped on them as well. Nogueira (an interm heavyweight champ) got beat TWICE by Fedor. Oh and Frank Mir? That guy sucks. Randy Couture? He himself claimed that Fedor is THE BEST Heavyweight and criticized UFC for not aquiring him.
Robby you should just stay quiet.
I understand the high praise that Fedor gets…back in 2005. Since his win over Cro Cop in Pride, Fedor has beaten a bunch of guys that rank from above average to tomato cans. Wins over Zuluzinho, Mark Coleman, Matt Lindland, Hong Man Choi, Tim Sylvia, Arlovski and Rogers do not and should not carry a lot of weight. I understand the respect that Fedor gets but his last 8 opponents have not been “world class” by any means. Everybody gets caught up in “well Fedor beat this guy who beat this guy so he has to be better” like the poster who suggests Frank Mir sucks but then goes on to say that Fedor beat Big Nog twice. Ok, well Mir is the only man to stop Big Nog not Fedor so I guess Mir is better than Fedor, right? Oh and Ray Mercer beat Tim Sylvia quicker than Fedor so I guess Strikeforce should sign Mercer and have him fight Fedor for an interm tile until Overeem returns from hiding.
In the landscape of things it’s obvious the UFC has a real deep talent pool of heavyweights. Who could deny that JDS, Shane Carwin, Lesnar, Big Nog, Velaquez and Mir are not legit heavyweights and would be serious threats to anyone in the HW division regardless of promotion? In ending, to show how ridiculous this Fedor talk has become does anybody remember when during a recent Strikeforce broadcast they were interviewing Dan Henderson about coming to SF and upcoming fights and whatnot and then the attention turns to a fight with Fedor…all the while Bobby Lashley is standing opposite.
Fedor was top P4P for a while but in MMA, as in any sport, it’s all about what have you done for me lately and Fedor’s recent opposition says not a lot.
Are you serious, Matt? Let’s look at the opponents of Brock. Uhh, no one. It’s pretty much just Frank Mir and Randy Couture. Give him just 3 more fights, and let’s see if he can win. Not to say that Brock sucks, but just a handfull of fights isn’t convincing enough to be called the best.
plus, Big Nog was recovering from straph infection when he fought Mir, so I don’t really count that a win (in my book).
Sang, I never said Brock…I was simply stating that Fedor’s recent bouts since his win against Cro Cop have not been great opponents at least not good enough for people to continue to claim him as the best P4P.
Lets be real. Many people thought that Werdum lost his last fight to Silva and matching him with Fedor is not an appealing fight on any level. Werdum’s best win came against a gatekeeper heavyweight in Gabriel Gonzaga with losses to Nog, Arlovski and JDS. A win for Fedor would mean little and a lost would be earth shaking for SF as I agree with the writer that Fedor should be matched against Overeem ASAP.
As far as Mir goes…he won against Nog and that’s that. Many fighters have injuries going into a fight but that’s part of the profession. In addition, Lesnar’s win against Mir at UFC 100 should not be discounted as Lesnar did not just beat Mir he destroyed him. Lesnar may not be the best heavyweight out there (time will tell) but he will have some tough fights ahead of him as Nog, Velaquez, Carwin, JDS, Mir and other talented heavyweights are gunning for his title. That type of competition is far superior to what SF can offer Fedor…proof in point is the fact that Dan Henderson is talked about as a possible future opponent for Fedor. Matt Lindland anyone?
I agree with most of what you had to say Matt, but I was never talking about p4p. In the heavyweight division, I do agree that Fedor hasn’t’ been fighting the top contenders, but he is nonetheless by far the best the world has to offer in the heavyweight division. The talent pool is not very deep in the heavyweight division, and having someone with little experience as Brock Lesnar to be #2 best heavyweight is proof.
On another note,
Fedor is naturally ~230lb. Lyoto Machida and Anderson Silva weigh about that much naturally, I think. If Fedor fought these guys at natural weight, I dont’ think Machida and Silva stands a chance.
I’m about sick of the morons who keep talking about the “cans” Fedor has fought in recent years. Show me one UFC fighter that would have been really worthwhile for Fedor to fight that would change your opinion on the matter. Fact is UFC nuthuggers will always be what they are and they live and thrive off of the imaginary results of fights that never happened.
In 2003 and 2006 Tim Sylvia was UFC champion, we already know what Fedor did to him. 2004 saw Frank Mir as champion but showed a loss to Vera in 2006, who subsequently claimed Fedor to be in a whole different class than other fighters, which leads me to believe Fedor would have beaten Mir back then as well as now (even with his “new” body). 2007 had Randy Couture as Champion but there isn’t a great arguement to be made that Couture would ever have had a chance at beating Fedor, especially being ten years older and Fedor at the top of his athleticness. 2008, Noguiera was champion yet barely a shadow of his former greatness that Fedor beat twice. 2009 saw Mir as champion with a win over Nogueira who in recent years has had the look of someone who has taken too many punches in their career (most likely the ones he took from Fedor). 2009 also saw Lesnar as champion… who did he defeat on his way to becoming champion? Min soo? an old Randy Couture? washed up Herring? Frank Mir? sounds like a bunch of cans to me that weren’t any more worth fighting for Fedor than those who were put in front of him.
And since when do the best at anything have to go searching for opponents to prove themselves against… if you want to be the best, you go to the best and respectfully kick their ass… that’s what Fedor did and if any of these UFC heavyweights want to cry about Fedor ducking competition, than perhaps they should seek out the best (kudos to Couture for trying to do so), even if that means going somewhere other than the UFC
Fedor haters can say what they want about who he’s been fighting in recent years but fact is he hasn’t missed anything by not fighting in the UFC. The only worthwhile fight that never happened was Fedor – Barnett and that sure the hell wasn’t Fedor’s fault. If you want to hate for the sake of hating, do so, trying to reason it to the rest of us just shows show uneducated you really are.
It doesn’t matter how many more champions Fedor beats, you will always have his Yankee detractors (no disrespect to Americans, just your annoying ones tend to be really loud) that can’t get their mind around the fact that Fedor is the best Heavyweight. They are enamored with the UFC and its marketing, and its all they know. All these babies from the UFC orphanage just can’t get the UFC PR nipple out of there mouths.
Fedor will beat Verdum, Overeem, Barnett. Add that to Nogueriax2, a younger roided Colemanx2, Randalman, Arlovski, Sylvia, Herring and many more, what else do you need? How many other Heavyweights have a record like that? Oh well, what can you do. I’m sure if he had a NCAA wrestling background he’d get mad love from the North American haters, and they’d stop ranking him below guys with less then 10 pro fights like Lesnar, Dos Santos etc.
Perhaps the casual fan thinks of MMA as a recreational activity that doesn’t improve with experience and training. Perhaps the casual fan thinks that because they too can throw a punch that they have the game figured out, and clearly Fedor is all hype because he hasn’t tasted the might of Carwin lol Jesus, the UFC fanboys need to stop jacking to Roided up wrestlers and remove the blinders..that rant was for Robby the twit that posted earlier.
It’s fine as a fan if you don’t enjoy Fedor as a fighter, that’s your right of course. But there are certain facts that can’t be challenged in MMA, and one of those is that Fedor is one of the best MMA fighters of all time, if not the best. That may change down the road, but right now hes the Hank Aaron/Pete Rose/Nolan Ryan/Ricky Henderson of MMA.
Granted, that picture of him is awful!! lol Even a doughy Fedor kicks ass. Imagine if he still took these clowns serious. I doubt he trained specifically for Rogers at all, or for that matter longer then 2 weeks. That was a terribly easy fight.