It seems every article writer and blogger enjoys beating on Fedor Emelianenko’s rank of numero uno.
There seems nothing but questions and negative press over whether he currently belongs at the top. So I’m going to add my two cents (more like 75 cents) on why I just don’t buy it.
Few would argue that Fedor used to be the top heavyweight, and anyone that knows anything about the sport believes he is the greatest heavyweight of all time.
But these days, almost everyone weighing in with an opinion says he is not deserving of his current title as God of the Heavyweights. Some say he’s over the hill, and hasn’t faced any top-ranking heavyweights in the last four years. Others claim he’s dodging talent, and refused the UFC’s offer in order to protect his legacy and virtually unblemished record—in seven years, no one has stopped Fedor, except a doctor.
So let’s examine some of the arguments that Fedor doesn’t deserve his position at the top.
Dana White weighed in, saying Fedor was not even among the top five heavyweights. But as Randy Couture pointed out, Dana would be singing a different tune if Fedor had signed with the UFC. Dana White’s big mouth often gets more press than it deserves, but what does Fedor say?
“Dana talks a lot and uses words lightly. Let Randy Couture fight me. Allow this fight that everyone wants to take place. Me, Randy, and MMA fans all over the world want it. The only obstacle is Dana. People want to see this fight and I want to meet him in the ring. I have the greatest respect for Randy and have always admired him. I am also thankful that he has such a high opinion of me.”
Randy also seems anxious to fight, just not under the UFC banner. So both fighters want to meet in the ring, but only Dana stands in the way. If he thinks Fedor is overrated, and wants to shoot his mouth off, then do what it takes to back your opinion up. Let it happen with a cross-promotion fight, and let the chips fall where they may.
Dana basically called Fedor and his lawyers a bunch of unreasonable crazies. Fedor’s comments barely see the light of day, but what he has to say seems closer to the truth, given the UFC's reputation in dealing with its talent.
According to Fedor, the UFC contract states that:
"I can't leave undefeated. I can't give interviews, appear in films or advertising. I don't have the right to do anything without the UFC's agreement. I could do nothing without the OK from the UFC.
I didn't have the right to compete in combat sambo competition. It's my national sport. It's the Russian sport, which in his time our president competed in, and I no longer have the right to do so.
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There were many such clauses. The contract was 18 pages in length. It was written in such a way that I had absolutely no rights while the UFC could at any moment, if something didn't suit them, tear up the agreement. We worked with lawyers who told us that it was patently impossible to sign such a document."
Call me crazy, but I wouldn’t sign that either if I were Fedor. This also shows this was less Fedor running from real competition, and more the UFC—especially Emperor Dana—using Gestapo-type tactics on the world’s greatest fighter.
It also makes me respect Couture’s position a little more. And lastly, it makes me—a guy formerly convinced the UFC’s acquisition of Pride was great for the sport—pray another Pride rises from the ashes and humbles the UFC.
Dana is also the first to point out this is a business. Yet how can he argue a cross-promotion fight is bad business? Is it that it really is bad business—or maybe is it because the UFC monopoly would be undermined?
Make the fight happen Dana—then, if Couture doesn’t honor his contract, it’ll be on his conscience, not yours—if you have one. It’s good for business, and it’s good for the sport. Period.
So enough talk of Dana White, as now I'm feeling slimy and dirty.
I've seen many people adamant that Fedor hasn’t faced quality heavyweights in the past four years, and is currently dodging quality opponents.
(Here’s where I worry about MMA fans that were around during the PRIDE years. When Pride was around, there were MMA fans and there were UFC fans. Obviously, UFC fans had little knowledge of PRIDE fighters, who now hold two of the five UFC belts. Some have had a poor showing in the UFC, like Cro-Cop-Shogun, while others have adapted well. We shall see what 2008 brings.)
I think we've already seen evidence that Fedor is not dodging talent. So what of this notion that he hasn't been properly tested in recent years? Who is a heavyweight that we can compare Fedor’s 'questionable' rank to? The obvious answer is Randy Couture.
In the past four years, Randy has four wins and three losses—two to Liddell, and one to Vitor Belfort. His wins consist of a revenge win against Belfort, Mike Van Arsdale, and his spectacular wins over Gonzaga and Sylvia.
No one can deny that Couture fears no man, and will fight anything you put in front of him. He often pulls off the impossible. But his record in the last four years is far from perfect, and the level of quality of his opponents is also somewhat questionable.
We still don’t know if Gonzaga is deserving of his rank, since his incredible win over Cro-Cop (a Cro-Cop hardly worthy of the name) literally launched him up the ladder. And Sylvia seemed begging for someone to step in and exploit his boring-ass defensive game plan.
But props to Couture for solid wins over both. Make no mistake, I place Couture easily in the top three heavyweights on Earth right now. But we are not examining whether Couture deserves respect—so let’s look at Fedor’s record in the past four years.
As you probably know, Fedor is undefeated in the last four years. He has 11 wins and one no-contest. But what kind of quality are these opponents?
He defeated Kevin Randleman, who although probably not being top-ten caliber, dropped Fedor on his head in highlight fashion and the man barely blinked. He has a pair of wins over Mark Coleman. Nogueira, Cro-Cop, Mark Hunt and Lindland—to name the big names of his four-year winning streak.
Now, maybe the Lindland fight was a bit of a joke with such a large weight discrepancy. Randleman is also perhaps not worth mentioning, and we could get into nitpicking wars over Coleman and Hunt. But three of these gents have one thing in common that is important to consider when looking at Couture vs Emelianenko.
Alongside his victories over everyone he’s ever faced, he has victories over these very decent wrestlers, among others. It is also certainly worth noting here that Couture defeated Randleman at UFC 28 in 2000.
Couture, however, lost to Josh Barnett at UFC 36 in 2002, another wrestler. And Barnett lost to Cro-Cop three times, and he carries a win and a loss to Nogueira. Fedor has a win over Cro-Cop and two over Nogueira—with, of course, losses to neither.
Confused yet? All of this serves as evidence that, if nothing else, Fedor is deserving of his rank over Couture. Not to mention overall records of 27-1 for Fedor and 16-8 for Couture. In my humble opinion, Fedor should be placed directly at the top of the world’s heavyweights.
Oddly enough, I've even recently seen Fedor's age pop up as an argument against his status at the top. But Fedor is some 13 years Couture's junior, and few would attempt to argue that he does not belong at or near the top of the ladder.
In the end, however, I think I would predict this fight differently depending on where it took place. In the UFC Cage, I would have to give a slight edge to Couture, given certain Pride fighter’s struggle in the octagon. Couture would be right at home in the cage, where Fedor would most certaily be out of his element. Not to mention the differences in rules. But in the Pride-style Ring, I would give it to Fedor, hands down.
In closing, Dana White can shove his "not in the top five" comment directly up his ass.
And that’s my long-winded rant...
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8 months ago
finally a pride fan that has an educated opinion. while you serve a decent "protect-fedor-at-all-cost" attitude, it stands to show that pride and ufc are different organizations. pride has rules that the ufc does not, for example soccer kicks to the head are allowed to a downed opponent in pride. elbow strikes are allowed in ufc, there is a rope ring instead of a cage. it is difficult to compare the two, because if fedor came to ufc, randy would hand him his ruskie ass on leather bound platter. conversely, if randy went to the dirty ring of pride, fedor would give him way too many problems. you can use all the stats in the world to back up your point of who is a better fighter, but this is a case of apples and oranges. Keep in mind Rua, Filipovic, Sokoudjou, Wanderlei Silva, all were touted as being "unstoppable" in the ufc. sure, some of these are examples in a different weight class, but the results are usually the same. also keep in mind the drug screening in japan and here in the good 'ol U.S. of A are different. and by different i meaning japan has little to none, where as we have some to enough, which makes a big difference in a fighters stamina. good article, you seem well educated on the sport. nice to see fans like THIS speak up.
8 months ago
Geroge, what is with the "dirty ring of Pride" comment? Many people argue that elbows are "dirty", as they do little actual damage, and just serve to cut the opponent.
Sure, Cro Cop was a disappointment in the octagon, but Shogun, Sokoudjou, and Silva have all only had one fight in the octagon. Their loss could have easily been jitters, underestimation of their opponents, or they hadn't made a smooth transition to the new rules. I'm not trying to defend their losses, but you can't really give a serious opinion on a fighter based on their first fight.
I'd have to give the advantage to the fighter with the crowd support. Fedor would be shown a large amount of animosity if he were to fight Couture in North America, whereas Couture wouldn't exactly be used to being booed if the fight were in Japan.
Regardless, the fight will take place with a ring, and Randy will have more than enough time to prepare for it.
from 8 months ago
the term dirty boxing came from the sport of boxing, which is in a roped ring. elbows are the third, possibly the second most effective weapon a human body has. all the fighters i mentioned either held belts or were in serious title contention in pride, so jitters, underestimation, and transitional excuses might work for ametures, but not professionals. and yeah, fair judgment is given at the first fight they have. as far as crowd favorite, as you can tell by all the articles, rumors, and "deals in the works" there is no true crowd favorite. both are loved and respected not only by fans but by each other.
from 8 months ago
My bad about the dirty ring, hahaha. If we're talking about what is an effective weapon, then why aren't stomps allowed? In most instances where an elbow can be thrown, a punch could have also been used. It makes sense to have stomps in a fight. In the UFC, when 1 person is standing and the other is on the ground, it usually ends up in the fight getting stood up unnecessarily. If stomps were allowed, there would be far less "down-time" in the fights.
8 months ago
I know I shouldn't put this name in with fedor and randy but what do you think about Kimbo Slice?
from 8 months ago
No, Kimbo doesn't belong in this discussion. But what do I think of him? I think he will be an exciting fighter to watch, even if he never ranks. Nothin like a good ol street fighter. I'm looking forward to the Tank Abbott fight.
The one I have my eye on is Brock Lesnar. He's what, 265 of pure wrestling muscle? If he takes this sport seriously, you're looking at a force in the years to come.
8 months ago
"I know I shouldn't put this name in with fedor and randy..."
Enough said my friend.
8 months ago
Kimbo has the potential to be a decent fighter, but I highly doubt he'll ever come anywhere near any sort of title shot. He has a powerful punch, but his "improved" ground game will still be nowhere near a serious mma fighter.
8 months ago
I enjoyed your article and agree especially with the last two paragraphs. Hopefully this fight will occur within our lifetime.
from 8 months ago
Or perhaps, in their lifetime would be a better way of putting it.
8 months ago
Actually, the fight is reported to be taking place in October.
8 months ago
How can you mention Coutures loss to Barnett in a serious fashion when barnett tested positive for steriods imediatley after the fight, or talk about Pride being comparable to the UFCs competitive standards when there ws no athletic commission in Japan?
from 8 months ago
I talk about Pride being comparable to the UFC'c standards because two out of the five belts have been taken from the UFC by Pride Fighters. Is that not enough for you? Wait till the end of 08, I'd say no fewer than three of the five will be in Pride-Fighter's hands. In any event, those two belts show zero sign of being taken from any UFC fighter in the near future. So I really don't undertand how you can say Pride's competitive standards weren't up to par. In very short order, Pride fighters are showing just how good they are, and we're going to see the likes of Cro-Cop and Shogun again, I promise. So, I'm not sure how we can question the best Pride fighter (Fedor), since people who where not in his league currently hold two UFC titles.
As per Barnett/Couture goes, it's on the record, it's worth mentioning.
from 8 months ago
Saying that two of the 5 belts have been taken by Pride fighters is somewhat of a stretch. Sure, Rampage has the LHW belt, but calling Anderson Silva a Pride fighter? You could just as easily call him a Cage Rage fighter.
Regardless though, Big Nog will be holding the Heavyweight belt soon enough.
from 8 months ago
Sure Silva fought in C.R., but he's best known from Pride, and he probably has more fights in Pride than Cage Rage. But point taken as it was the last organization he was with before going to the UFC if I recall. In any event, he was a Pride fighter for some five or so fights, and he now owns the UFC belt. Not only that, you're going to have Henderson taking the number two spot in that division.
from 8 months ago
Haha and Henderson has a good shot at beating Silva anyways.
7 months ago
I remember reading in the article or was it the comment about Shogun, Cro-cop, And sliva and Sokoudjou welll ill give you the problem why i believe these figthers have lost.
1. Shogun- This young man was ranked number 1 light heavyweight in the world at the age of 25, wins a pride gp against very very good opp, gets to his head gonig to the ufc Rampage wins the title hes fighting a somewhat of a nobody thats only known in the states and doesnt train and get choked out my verdict stupidity dont underestimate anybody
2.Cro cop- This is a man that has had some of the toughest fights ive ever seen someone have. From K1 to Pride if you wtach youll see after all these fights it wore him down and come ufc time he wasnt the same man time to retire already. My Verdict Burnout figther but a legend at that
3.Silva- Well he has had some really really burtal fights hes 31 hes gotten beaten time and time again and he has foughten the best there is to offer. Then he leaves chutebox gets this crazy workout scedual and boxing coach..... If you watch silva you would probally know most of his succes came from not boxing but pushing action with Fist knees and kicks he basically took two of his weapons away when leaving chute box and in my opinion if the fights werent based on rounds and the whole fight he would have won that fight with chuck but since it was rounds i have it to chuck.. My verdict never should have left chute box...
4.Sokoudjou- Powerful, some talent, and well jsut got lucky in pride i feel. Put up against a decent opp and lost. My verdict is Lost because he isnt really that good
from 7 months ago
Chris, pretty sound stuff. I really don't understand how people reacted to Shogun's loss. It was more than a little clear he was out of shape for that fight. Didn't take his opponent seriously, didn't train, and probably ran into a little octagon willies.
Cro-Cop is also misunderstood. He was fighting in the UFC with nose issues. They made it so he couldn't breathe properly. He gassed a bit too because of this. He also broke a rib with Kongo in the first round. He also didn't take the UFC very seriously. Didn't train, didn't learn how defend against elbows.
Both Shogun and Cro-Cop defeated themselves. Cro-Cop has another five fights before retirement. I think you'll see the old Cro-cop back before the end. He's out to prove something now, and he's had nose surgery.
Shogun, as you pointed out, has a long carrer ahead. He'll be back bustin heads soon enough.
I think these losses will be good for both of them. Nothing motivates like getting your ass kicked.
7 months ago
Entirely off-topic, but I've recently started an MMA blog that many of you will likely be interested in.
http://empiremma.blogspot.com/
It just shows mma videos, and soon there will be discussion topics added.
So sign up. :P
7 months ago
Albeit Dana White has brought the sport into the mainstream and done some good things for MMA.
But Dana needs to retire NOW. He is a modern day Don King. He needs to be taken down a few notches.
7 months ago
Great article. What it boils down to is Dana White has nothing to lose and everything to gain by letting this fight happen. If he doesn't, the fans will be denied this superfight and they will be PISSED forever wondering "what if." Pissing off your fan base is NOT GOOD BUSINESS, especially when there are rival promotions coming up and UFC contracts expiring. And it will be the end of Randy Couture's career. If Dana says yes, the UFC makes a huge payday, the fans win, history is made, and a legit heavyweight champ gets crowned. One cross promotion fight is not going to sink the UFC and they will still be the dominant organization. There is much more to lose by not letting this fight happen.
7 months ago
u guys all talk about crocop bignog fedor and silva and do on...let me give u a little hint here...put all the fighters in the world at the same weight (everyone with the same size) the best out there guranteed is GEORGE ST-PIERRE..
from 7 months ago
actually it would be anderson silva. georges is athletic, but the technical striking and fighting prowess from anderson is unparalleled.
from 7 months ago
George St Pierre is my favourite fighter. And there is certainly room for argument that he's the best pound-for-pound fighter on Earth right now. St Pierre and Anderson Silva are probably the two tops, with Fedor in the top three I'd say. George is correct, I believe, that Anderson is a better striker, but that doesn't necessarilly translate into him being a better fighter. St Pierre domonates even the best on the ground. In a pound for pound match, I might give it to St Pierre. He's just that good. It's close though. It is possible that in the future St Pierre will move up to Middleweight and fight Silva, so we might yet see this fight.
from 7 months ago
** Oops, that's Georges St Pierre...
7 months ago
How can Fedor not be #1 when he'd be favored against anyone? Doesnt make sense.
These people who say it are understandably angry the best fighter, MMA's Mike Tyson, is not fighting the best so they lash out emotionally. I blame both UFC and Fedor for failing to compromise..the whole episode has turned me off MMA for a awile.
7 months ago
"Yet how can he argue a cross-promotion fight is bad business? Is it that it really is bad business—or maybe is it because the UFC monopoly would be undermined?"
They are not mutually exclusive, bad for business or UFC's monopoly undermined. They are one in the same don't you think? Anything that undermines UFC monopoly is by definition: bad for business.
And Dana knows Fedor would punk Randy hard showing his HW division to be a joke. Say you really believe Dana is speaking his mind about Fedor being a has been and he loses to Randy. This is ecven bad for UFC since they will have to share the profits of the fight and get M1's name out there in millions of homes.
from 7 months ago
The UFC has done cross-promotional fights with Pride before. So why not do a cross-promotional fight that could possibly be the biggest fight in MMA history, period. The only big problem I see for the UFC by making this deal is if Randy loses, then they have to admit that the best heavyweight isn't in the UFC. But if Dana is going to run his mouth saying Fedor isn't in the top five, then have the balls to back it up. Only way to do that is to put them in the ring.
7 months ago
The UFC would never sign this fight as a cross promotion without "gestapo" type options on both Fedor & Randy.
First of all...try not using Nazi references for everything you do not disagree with. It's so stupid & way over done that it discredits you where probably not necessary.
Second..to say that this is Dana's fault and he should just make the fight happen under Randy & Fedor's terms is...at best...naive.
Why on earth would he get two heavyweights (one who has already shown he has no problem walking out on his contract with the heavyweight title) to fight for the title as the supposed #1 & # 2 heavyweights when both would have the option to walk away after the fight. What kind of idiotic nonsense is that? Then the UFC would be saying they did not have options on either of the top two heavyweights after the fight and...I could just imagine the advertisement for the next heavyweights that fight on the main event for a UFC card. Why on earth would he destroy his own business and the value of that title?
What I do agree with you on is that Fedor is still #1 heavyweight & probably is the best/most dominant heavy of all times. It's a shame the fight won't come off but that's the way it is.
7 months ago
Fedor = Big Fish small pond. The problem I have with the ranking of Fedor so high is something you touched on briefly in your article. Fedor has clearly been dominate in the world of Pride, but the world of Pride consisted of a few superstars and alot, I repeat alot of B-class fighters. On average the fighters of the UFC cross-train more than the fighters of Pride. In Pride you still have fighters that are "strikers" and "grapplers". So what you witness in Fedor is a top notch fighter beating and controlling a organization of fighters that simply are not as talented or well rounded as him, put him in the Octagon where the fighters are much more well-rounded and you will see more losses on his record. It's the same as if Randy Couture, Gabriel Gonzaga or some other well ranked fighter stepped down to a smaller fight production and beat the crap out of fighters that were simply not in their caliber. I would like to see Fedor fight someone like Gabriel Gonzaga, Tim Silva heck even Andre Arlovski then talk. I think the UFC is where Fedor truly fits in, he would definetly climb the ladder of the heavyweights put he would have some pitfalls too. Fedor in UfC = Big Fish Big pond.
4 months ago
DUDE no can touch fedor why would he want to fight randy he sucks look at his record and compare it to Fedors its nothing. The only good fighter randy beat was Liddell. Fedor has no more opponents left to beat that are worthy so everyone can stop bitching about this impossible fight that will never happen
4 months ago
Lets simplify. Fedor vs Cotour needs to happen, and happen soon. If it doesnt, then its Dana White's sorry, greedy ass who is to blame. Lets linch him! Just kidding.
about 1 month ago
Well, I think last night about clears it up!! Hahahaha. Disposes of Silvia in 43 seconds. Oh yee of little faith.
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