When we last saw Fedor Emelianenko, He was getting mounted by Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva and having his face pummeled into the mat. We saw him wiggle his way out into a heel hook attempt, only to have the former EliteXC heavyweight champ Silva wave his finger in disapproval. We saw the ref stop their Strikeforce Grand Prix tilt due to the punishment Fedor's face took, his eye being swollen shut to the point that the mouse under his eye looked more like a plum growing out of the Russian's face.
We saw Fedor tearfully allude to retirement. We saw him say numerous times that it was "the last time" we'd ever see him in the arena of combat. Then, there were numerous reports of not only Fedor returning, but Fedor ignoring the suspension of the New Jersey Athletic Commission (NJSAC) and competing in a Combat Sambo competition (Fedor eventually gave into their request).
Both Scott Coker and M-1 head Vadim Finklestein said Fedor's retirement talk was based on "emotion", not actually what his plans were. Coker alluded to Fedor returning even before the landscape of Mixed Martial Arts changed (which if you remember, was when Zuffa purchased Strikeforce late last month). After Dan Henderson defeated Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante for the Strikeforce 205 lb. world title last month, He called out the "Last Emperor" for a superfight. Little was known, however, whether Fedor would accept the challenge.
A report, however, from ESPN.com/Sherdog published yesterday has confirmed that talks are indeed ongoing for a fight between the two, quite possibly on the undercard of the Dallas card on June 18th. Fedor has been said that he would welcome the fight against the former PRIDE 2 belt division champion, although when looking at the bigger picture, this fight makes little to no sense.
Why? Because a "Superfight" is defined as 2 superstars, champions of their divisions or respective sports, fight with some sort of prestige on the line. Georges St. Pierre vs Anderson Silva, or even Silva vs Jake Shields, count as a superfight, amongst others. Henderson might be the 205 lb. champion in Strikeforce, but in the UFC would probably be in the top 6 or 7 in that division, due to its depth. Fedor is nowhere near the top of the heavyweight class following consecutive losses to Fabricio Werdum and "Bigfoot". If he were in UFC, he'd be battling bottom feeders and prospects such as Brandon Schaub and Pat Barry, not Junior Dos Santos and Brock Lesnar.
In MMA circles, Henderson is indeed a name. A veteran who has fought in PRIDE and the UFC, competed for titles, and established a career as a grizzled veteran not to be taken lightly. While he held 2 titles simultaneously in PRIDE, being their last 205 and 185 lb. champion, to the casual observer, he'll be best remembered as a guy who failed to win a big fight (against both Rampage Jackson and Anderson Silva for the UFC 205 and 185 lb. titles respectively, and Jake Shields for Strikeforce's 185 lb. strap).
There are far too many questions in regards to this fight : Will it be at 205 or at heavyweight? Will the title be indeed on the line? Should Fedor lose, it will just coincide with what the majority of casual MMA fans think about him : He was always overrated. Should he win, it will do little to nothing to restore the Russians credibility, as he's only 34 years old and should be "expected" to beat a 40 year old veteran of over 30 professional fights.
I know that Coker has alluded to the Russian getting back into the Grand Prix as an alternate following his loss in February. I also know that is impossible. Fedor is the great heavyweight of his era, and prolonging his career if he were to win would only tarnish what he did at Heavyweight for so long. I know this is nostalgia talking, but the only fight that would make sense at this stage of his career is Randy Couture. That, and that alone would indeed be a Superfight, although only if Couture were to lose to Lyoto Machida in Toronto.
-In other news, BodogFight and UFC veteran Nick "The Goat" Thompson has decided to call it a career, according to MMAJunkie. The interview with the site said he decided to make use of his day job as a lawyer and spend more time with his family. Somehow, I have to think his one handled dismantling at the hands of Ben Askren had a lot to do with it too.
-Bellator ratings have rebounded from a low of 150,000 to 218,000 this past weekend, according to MMAJunkie. Guess loads of people figured they'd see another inverted triangle.
-According to ESPN.com/Sherdog, there was an argument as to whether the main event between Nick Diaz and Paul Daley was stopped prematurely. Chuck Mindenhall says absolutely. I disagree. there is a thing called "Championship Advantage" which the Champ will get beneficial treatment. For example, he mentions Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin and Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, both instances where the champ was in trouble but given time to recover. Daley didn't have a belt; Diaz swarmed him. Fight was over. Simple as that.
Questions? Comments? Get back to me, mmarmaggeddon@gmail.com
Until next time, fight fans.
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