Strikeforce Fedor vs. Henderson Results: Fedor Emelianenko Should Not Retire Yet

You would think that his first-round stoppage loss is "God's Will" to say Fedor Emelianenko should retire after dropping his third straight to Dan Henderson, right?

Some don't think Herb Dean's stoppage was incorrect, feeling that even if Fedor had recovered as it appeared to some, he still would not have survived Hendo's ground and pound for long, if at all.

On the other side, of course, others including myself feel that perhaps the stoppage could have been premature, as Fedor did not appear to be limp due to Hendo's right hand and he did turn into Hendo before Herb Dean stopped the fight.

However, Fedor did take some punishment from Henderson, as did Henderson in taking damage from Fedor, so the question of the stoppage serves only as an excuse, a detraction meant to undermine Henderson's impressive and somewhat foreseen win.

Yes, you'd think all that put together is the sign that maybe Fedor should call it a career, but in all honesty, if Fedor should retire, the fight and its outcome serve as a poor indicator of that fact.

Actually speaking, Fedor did look good in the fight, save for his uncontrolled tempo throughout, and Fedor did show good takedown defense as well as some of the classic striking we've come to expect from the man, but Henderson was simply the better man.

We said from the onset that there never was and never will be any shame in losing by TKO or KO to Henderson, but we cannot totally say that the win was without controversy.

Some would say there is some controversy in the stoppage, as stated before.

I cannot say that the way this fight went proves that Fedor should hang the gloves up, because of how Fedor looked and the fact that he almost did finish Henderson before getting somewhat stopped himself.

My advice to Scott Coker and Co. is this:

Give Fedor at least one more fight. Line him up against anyone you wish, and if he does lose in a much more obvious manner than he did tonight, then I will lead the parade for Fedor to retire.

Say what you will about tonight's main event, but if Fedor is going to go out, the way that some say he went out tonight cannot be "God's Will" for him to leave it all behind just yet..