My friends will attest to this, but watching me watch Mixed Martial Arts is kind of watching Will Patton's daughter in the Disney film "Remember the Titans".
No, not that I have long blonde hair or anything. Its just that regardless of opponent, or situation, she always found a way to go all crazy on the sidelines, screaming about either a touchdown or a referee blowing a call. I will admit that this self-admitted MMArmaggedist has gotten a little edgy at times, however most of those times, the fights involve 1 man : Fedor Emelianenko.
Following last Saturday night's "Fedor vs. Henderson" main event, I was left speechless. I didn't get up. I didn't scream at the TV. I didn't even protest the "controversial" officiating. I looked blankly into the screen, shook my head, loafting on my friends couch, with sheer and a cominbation of absolute disappointment and disgust on my face.
It wasn't and had nothing to do with Dan Henderson jumping up on the cage, screaming as loud as his 40 year old lungs could, pointing to fans. What and what it had everything to do with, was the fact that while Fedor carried 27 consecutive wins into his entrance to Strikeforce, his 1-3 performance will likely assure he's nothing more than a footnote in the history of MMA.
I suppose its tragic and somewhat fitting, that after years of his managment proclaiming Fedor "The best heavyweight in the world" and the "Greatest Mixed Martial Artist, ever" by Mauro Ranallo, his career will end losing to a middle age, middle range fighter in Henderson, who, while flooring Emelianenko, was dominated by another fighter with an impressive win streak (Jake Shields).
3 fights ago, people were cheering on their feet to Emelianenko waving, smiling to the fans during the introductions before his fight with Fabricio Werdum. On Saturday, in front of a few thousand fans, we saw a mix of boos and cheers, with a "USA" and "Hendo" chant during the first minutes of the fight.
Why was this the case? While mismanagment and greed definitely play a part, we need to refer to a phrase Lyoto Machida said on Twitter recently regarding his pass on a rematch with Rashad Evans (which will be this Saturday) and the accusation that Dana White said Machida asked for "Anderson Silva" Money :
"There are 2 sides to every story"
In 2006, I watched an interview with a Canadian Sports Network where Dana White criticized Emelianenko, calling him "overrated" and "washed up", with him arguing with the interviewer when he pointed out names on Fedor's resume like Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic and Antonio Noguiera, White said he had beaten them "years ago". Right on the heels of this interview, was the announcement that Zuffa, LLC had signed both Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Cro Cop, amongst others.
I am sure this first snuff had a profound effect on Emelianenko. I don't blame Zuffa for taking a chance on Filipovic : His stand up style and numerous head kick knockouts are the things that get people's attention, fans on their feet, and showcase in highlight reels. However, White also neglected to point out that in the fight between Cro Cop and Fedor, that the Croatian spent the majority of the 20 minute contest on his back while Emelianenko pounded him with shots. So much so, that Filipovic turned down a PRIDE world heavyweight championship shot against Emelianenko to the UFC. Unfortunately, that gamble the UFC took ended in disaster, as Cro Cop took a head kick against Gabriel Gonzaga, and was never the same.
In this same time frame, Fedor would go on to defeat Middleweight Matt Lindland in a BODOGFight sponsored Pay per view (after negotiations with Jeff Monson fell through), and Hong Man Choi on New Year's Eve that year.
In 2008, the announcement that Affliction president and CEO Tom Attencio had defected from selling at Zuffa, LLC events to start his own promotion, "Affliction Entertainment", with Emelianenko the cornerstone. He bolstered his heavyweight roster by signing talent like Sylvia, Arlovski, Barnett, Yvel and others. Sylvia was a former UFC heavyweight champion, merely fighting for the title months before a July 2008 bout with Fedor (he lost to Noguiera). After Sylvia was mauled in less than 40 seconds, we were teased : Randy Couture was in the audience, with everybody thinking that fight would actually happen. They met in the ring, with Couture saying he'd "sort his issues out" with the UFC, getting the contract signed on the dotted line, with the fight happening as early as January 2009.
Again that didn't happen. And in the meantime, the UFC had announced the signings of several of their prospects, like Lesnar, Velasquez, and Carwin. Frank Mir had recovered from a car accident and was making moves towards the top of the mountain. Meanwhile, after a Knockout of Arlovski and a positive steroid test by Barnett, Emelianenko had run out of options, with "Affliction" folding and M-1 Global looking for a dance partner.
Of course, we all know the rest. Fingers were pointed; Dana White was talking his verbal jabs, with M-1 head Vadim Finklestein blaming the debacle on "difficult negotiations". It has been reported they turned down about US$1 million per fight with the UFC, and headed over to Strikeforce, with the stumbling block being a co-promotional deal. After consecutive losses to Werdum and Bigfoot, Finklestein said that Fedor was "allowed to determine his own fate" admist rumors of impending retirement.
So, who's to blame? Why has Fedor fallen from grace in a matter of mere moments, with people thinking he's not even worth a main event on a "Challengers" card. It can be argued that mismanagement and greed indeed played a part, there are questions remaining like : After Cro Cop fizzled out, why didn't Dana White board a plane to Moscow and head on a train to Stary Oskol, to apologize personally? Did Finklestein bargain in good faith? Why is it that Fedor seems very loyal to somebody that only wants to make him rich, but not a better fighter? Was co-promotion really worth the cost of a man's legacy?
Many questions. But still, too little answers.
-In other news, MMAJunkie reported that ESPN was the first to announce the year end UFC 140 that will take place in Canada will not be in Quebec for the first time. The winner of the event is Toronto, with the event happening at the Air Canada Centre. Remember, of course Toronto hosted this past April's UFC 129, which shattered the record for attendance in North American MMA circles with a sold out house of 55,000. They didn't even sell that many tickets for the Roberto Alomar retirement ceremony recently.
-Anderson Silva is apparently going mainstream. On the heels of signing deals with Nike and Corinthians FC, comes the announcement from ESPN.com/Sherdog that UFC 185 lb. kingpin has signed with fast food giant Burger King. Does that mean they'll start including their Kids Club meals with Round 5 collectables?
-MMAJunkie also reported that former Welterweight champ Marloes Coenen, Valenjtin Overeem and Jon Olav Einemo were handed their walking papers by Zuffa. What clearly hits here is the fact they're all from the same gym : Golden Glory in the Netherlands, which ironically enough, is where former Strikeforce kingpin Alistair Overeem also hails. Overeem if you remember, was recently released due to his reluctance to fight on September 10th in Cincinatti, Ohio citing a "toe injury". Coenen is a former champion who lost her title to Misha Tate on the "Fedor vs Henderson" undercard, with Einemo just making his Octagon debut at UFC 131 against Dave Herman, earning "Fight of the night" honors. All I'm going to say is, there's something fishy here.
-And i know this was a few days ago, but Junkie also reported that Double E Productions has purchased the rights to Rich Franklin's life story for their "American Fighter" movie. If you don't know, Franklin was a Math Teacher with a Master's degree in Education who originally competed in bar fights on the weekend. All I'm going to say is, I hope they make a sequel featuring Tom Berenger's character from that film "The Substitute". I bet Franklin would kick that pansy teacher's ass.
Questions? Comments? leave one at the bottom, or email me at mmarmaggeddon@gmail.com or follow me on twitter : twitter.com/mmarmaggedon.
Until next time, fight fans!.
Good article. You touched on many of the questions on Fedor that we have longed for answers on. Now the question is will he ever fight again? If not, how will he be remembered? He beat alot of big names back in the day. Unfortunately, this was before alot of MMA fans knew who he was. Unless you are a long time MMA fan, you'd never know what he meant to the sport and the real 'mystique' of the Last Emporer. We'll never know how he would have faired against some of the best talent in the UFC. Most disappointing to me is that the match between him and Couture never materialized. That was an epic battle that MMA was robbed of.
ReplyDeleteUFC 140. Toronto, Ontario. 2 questions.
1. Who will be on the card? It obviously won't be the same caliber as UFC 129 in the Dome (which I attended.... spectacular for the most part). I imagine they will try and put a title bout on the card. Edgar, Silva, GSP and Jones already have upcoming title bouts booked. I think that only leaves Aldo, Cruz and Valesquez who may be available.
2. How pissed are the people in Montreal that they didn't get the event?
I certainly hope that the card isn't a wash with the UFC filling the card with anybodies, as they know that the event will sell out in meer minutes. I believe that 129 was the quickest sell out and they had 55000 tickets for that event.
Keep your hands up and your chin down.
Crowe