Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson, Complete Breakdown and Comparisons

At this moment in time, we are at a crossroads in the sport of MMA. The legends that longtime fans grew up watching are starting to retire and new blood is starting to rise to the occasion.

You see people showing all of their love and support for these young guys and it is almost like in their eyes, the legends never existed because they were before their time.

2011 has been an exciting year for the sport, with great fights, and new champions, the sport as a whole is really starting to blow up in the mainstream culture.

July 30 will be a treat for the “original” fans of the sport when Fedor Emelianenko and Dan Henderson square off in Chicago in a Heavyweight attraction under the Strikeforce banner.

Many fans personally have no interest in this fight, while the older fans cannot wait. To most this is just another fight, but to the originals this is the biggest fight in the history of the sport.

Dan Henderson is a very talented wrestler with heavy hands. He is the current Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion and has also held belts in Pride FC (welterweight, and middleweight) as well as a tournament title in the UFC.

Post-Pride Henderson had an unsuccessful run with the UFC, which eventually led him to sign with Strikeforce where he fought Jake Shields for the Middleweight Championship in a losing effort.

He was then granted a shot with the heavy-handed Brazilian Rafael Cavalcante and defeated him by knockout, winning the Light Heavyweight Championship.

With the Light Heavyweight division lacking depth, and the top contender spot up in question due to the Keith Jardine vs Gegard Mousasi fight that went to a draw, Henderson now gets the chance to face off with the greatest fighter in MMA history, Fedor Emelianenko.

Fedor Emelianenko has had the most successful career in MMA history. Many people say that he isn’t the best because he hasn’t fought anyone, when in all honesty that is far from being accurate. Holding wins over Nogueira, Cro Cop, Arona, Sylvia, Arlovski, and others, Fedor has solidified himself as the greatest of all time at the current moment.

He is an extremely well rounded fighter that has found himself on the side of bad luck as of late. He became too excited against Werdum and was baited into his trap, and then was just out-sized against Big Foot Silva when they fought. His style was hard to figure out and the only thing that has proven to defeat him is size and submission defense.

He has very fast hands and can knock you out at any given moment, and he also has great arm locks. He is well versed in Sambo and Judo, which makes for an interesting match up against a wrestler of Henderson’s caliber.

Both men have accomplished so much, but who possesses the true advantage in this fight? 

Mental

The mental aspect of a fight is truly the most important part of the game. Both Henderson and Emelianenko are very mentally tough. You never see either get easily rattled, even though at certain points in both fighters careers there have been moments where it was truly tested.

The one time that Dan Henderson's mind was tested was when he had the biggest fight of his career when he faced Anderson Silva. He looked great until caught, but you could just see the frustration on his face, almost the same as when he faced Quinton Jackson.

In those fights, though, he never really lost his focus. All of his years of competition has truly molded himself to stay mentally tough, which is a must when facing Fedor Emelianenko.

Fedor Emelianenko may truly be the most mentally tough fighter in MMA history. His fight with Fabricio Werdum was one of the rare times in his career in which you witness him show excitement. Here is the look of all of Fedor's emotions. 

This fight with Henderson, just like Henderson, he must keep a mentally tough mindset like he always does. Lucky for Fedor is the fact that his mind may be his greatest feature in his arsenal.

This is a fight in which whoever breaks first could lose. Will either fighter mentally break in this fight? Odds are, no. Both know the importance to this fight, and it would truly take alot to break either.

So, who has the advantage in the mental department? Both are great, but you have to give the "slight" edge to Fedor Emelianenko.

Stand Up

Both men are virtually identical when it comes to their stand up. Both strike a lot alike, but use their striking for different outcomes. 

In most cases for Fedor, his striking sets up for the fight to be taken to the ground where he would line up a type of arm lock on an opponent. Sometimes though, it will set him up for a finish. He has extremely quick hands, and his accuracy is very good also.

Fedor in 90 percent of his fights is the smaller competitor and his chin has taken some hard strikes from some very powerful men, but only one time in his career has he appeared to be in danger on the feet and that was against Kazuyuki Fujita at Pride 26 back in 2003, but he rebounded and ended up winning the fight by way of rear naked choke.

In his last fight he lost due to a doctor's stoppage, but he was taking some very hard shots from a most likely 280-pound man (weight going into the fight). So the chin of Fedor is very solid.

Henderson is a wrestler who has great striking. It isn't technical at all, but very powerful and effective.

Most of his career wins have come by way of knockout, and he has knocked out many great fighters, including one of the greatest knockouts in UFC history at UFC 100 against Michael Bisping which can be viewed here.

He is good at pacing himself and mixing his punches up. He has KO'd many people, but all of them were either Light Heavyweight fighters or Middleweight fighters. Henderson has a solid chin.

His last fight in which he won the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight title, he was dropped by Cavalcante, and was one of the rare moments in his career that that has happened, and may have been the first time.

Cavalcante has very heavy hands, though. Knocking Henderson out is almost impossible, and the same goes for Fedor. Both have great chins.

Both men have power, both strike alike. Fedor has fought the stronger people, but Henderson has more KO/TKO's on his resume.

Fedor has the advantage on the feet only because of the fighters that he has faced, and what he has done to them on the feet.

That being said, Henderson could just as well have the advantage, they are almost identical in this department.

Judo/Sambo vs. Greco-Roman Wrestling

The ground game is a huge puzzle for this fight. Dan Henderson is the wrestler, while Fedor Emelianenko is the Judo/Sambo practitioner. Henderson has great take downs, but Fedor has a great sense of balance. Where does the advantage fall on this one?

Dan Henderson is an accomplished wrestler, but while being known for his wrestling, he is now being known more for his heavy hands. To be such a great wrestler, you truly do not see him use his wrestling unless he has no choice.

Henderson has the ability to wrestle you like Chael Sonnen would, and the ability to knock you out at any given moment. This fight would be the ideal fight for Henderson to use his wrestling, if Fedor's standup was too much for him.

Fedor Emelianenko possesses very good Judo and Sambo. He can toss, or sweep you and he has very above average balance. The way to get him to the ground is to over power him. His speed helps in deciding where the fight will go once it is on the ground. 

Both men's skillsets almost cancel each other out, but in all honesty you have to favor Henderson in this department. Fedor has the advantage if he trys to go for arm locks, but Henderson could truly control him on the ground and pull out the decision. So while overall it is close, Henderson has the advantage.

Over the Years Comparison: 1997-1999

Fedor Emelianenko: 0-0 in MMA. Competed in Judo and Sambo competitions. 5 third place finishes, 1 second place finish and was winner 3 different times.

Dan Henderson: 6-0 in MMA. 2-0 in the UFC, winning the UFC 17 Middleweight tournament. Entered Rings 1999 tournament. 

Notable wins: Allan Goes, Carlos Newton, and Hiromitsu Kanehara.

Over the Years Comparison: 2000-2003

Fedor Emelianenko: 17-1 in MMA. 5-0 in Pride. Won Rings Absolute Class Tournament. Won the Pride Heavyweight Championship.

Notable Wins: Ricardo Arona, Renato Sobral, Semmy Schilt, Heath Herring, Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera, Kazuyuki Fujita, and Gary Goodridge.

Dan Henderson: 8-3 in MMA. 5-3 in Pride. Won the Rings: King of Kings 1999 tournament.

Notable wins: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Murilo Rua, Murilo Bustamante, and Renzo Gracie. 

Over the Years Comparison: 2004-2008

Fedor Emelianenko: 12-0, 1 NC in MMA. 9-0 1NC in Pride. Won Pride 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix. Unified Pride Heavyweight Belts. Made three Pride Heavyweight title defenses. Won WAMMA Heavyweight Championship.

Notable Wins: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mark Coleman (x2), Kevin Randleman, Mirko Cro Cop, Matt Lindland, Mark Hunt, Tim Sylvia.

Dan Henderson: 9-4 in MMA. 8-2 in Pride. 1-2 in the UFC. Won Pride Welterweight Grand Prix. Won Pride Welterweight Championship. Won Pride Middleweight Championship. Fought for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Fought for the UFC Middleweight Championship.

Notable wins: Kazuhiro Nakamura, Ryo Chonan, Murilo Bustamante, Vitor Belfort, Wanderlei Silva, and Rousimar Palhares. 

Over the Years Comparison: 2009-Current

Fedor Emelianenko: 2-2 in MMA. 1-2 in Strikeforce. Defended the WAMMA Heavyweight Championship (x2). 

Notable Wins: Brett Rogers, and Andrei Arlovski.

Dan Henderson: 4-1 in MMA. 2-0 in the UFC. 2-1 in Strikeforce. Won Knockout of the year for his KO win over Michael Bisping at UFC 100. Won the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship.

Notable Wins: Rich Franklin, Michael Bisping, Renato Sobral, and Rafael Cavalcante.

Accomplishments

FEDOR EMELIANENKO:

Fighting Network RINGS

• RINGS Openweight Championship (1 Time, Last)
• 2001 RINGS Heavyweight Class Tournament Winner
• 2002 RINGS Absolute Class Tournament Winner   

PRIDE Fighting Championships

• PRIDE World Heavyweight Championship (One time; Last)
• PRIDE 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion

World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts

• WAMMA World Heavyweight Championship (One time; First; Last)

• Black Belt Magazine
  • 2004 NHB Fighter of the Year

• Sherdog
  • 2009 Knockout of the Year vs Andrei Arlovski

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • 2005 Most Outstanding Fighter

18x medalist in Judo (11 Gold, 7 Bronze)

17x medalist in Sambo (12 Gold, 1 Silver, and 4 Bronze)

Had a 27-fight unbeaten streak, though some will claim 31.

DAN HENDERSON

• Strikeforce
  • Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship (One time; Current)
  • Oldest fighter to win a title in Strikeforce history (40 years, 194 days)

• PRIDE Fighting Championships
  • PRIDE World Middleweight Championship (One time; Last)
  • PRIDE World Welterweight Championship (One time; First; Last)
  • 2005 PRIDE Welterweight Grand Prix Champion

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • UFC 17 Middleweight Tournament Winner
  • Fight of the Night (One time)
  • Knockout of the Night (One time)

• Fighting Network RINGS
  • RINGS King of Kings 1999 Tournament Winner

• Brazil Open Fight
  • Brazil Open 1997 Lightweight Tournament Winner

• Black Belt Magazine
  • 2007 MMA Fighter of the Year 

• World MMA Awards
  • 2009 Knockout of the Year vs. Michael Bisping on July 11

• Inside Fights
  • 2009 Knockout of the Year vs. Michael Bisping on July 11

• FIGHT! Magazine
• 2009 Knockout of the Year vs. Michael Bisping on July 11       

6x Greco Roman Medalist (1 Gold, 3 Silver, and 2 Bronze)

2x US Olympian (1992 and 1996)

Overall Comparison

Fedor Emelianenko

6 Feet tall

234 Pounds

74 inch reach

31-3 1 NC

Wins: 8 by KO, 16 by Submission, and 7 by decision

Dan Henderson

5 Feet 11 inches

206 Pounds

74 inch reach

27-8

Wins: 12 by KO, 2 by Submission, and 13 by decision

65.5% chance that this fight will end by way of knock out or submission.

34.5% chance that this fight will go to decision.  

Fight Prediction

This fight could go one of about seven different ways. Personally, this fight could be a finish for either but in all truths picking a winner, let alone a method of victory is tough.

Expect for the start of the fight to be partially slow, where both men are feeling each other out. After about a minute both will start to pick up, but usually Fedor doesn't start to pick up until late first round or early second round. 

Expect clinch work. Both men will land heavy shots. Expect Henderson to use his wrestling to score points. This fight should be overall back and forth and stylistically, Dan Henderson should actually win this fight.

He should be able to take Fedor down and have his way with him. Could we see an armbar victory for Fedor? Absolutely.

In order for Fedor to stay in the fight, he needs to keep distance and time his punches perfectly. Throw Henderson off and that will greatly influence the outcome.

If Fedor can defend the takedowns, then he truly has the advantage on the feet. His chin is great, and when he lands a shot, his opponent should become wobbly. 

Overall, this will be back and forth. To call an official winner is hard. Henderson has the momentum, but Fedor is in a fight for his life. A loss would most likely mean retirement for Fedor, while a win may mean the same but could also mean an extension to his career. 

In this fight, I will take Fedor Emelianenko by way of decision. His balance could really throw Henderson off, and he will be too much on the feet. Personally, there would be no surprise if this fight was even a split decision. 

No matter who wins, this has the potential to be the fight of the year. Be sure to watch live July 30 on Showtime.