Fedor Vs. Randy: The Fight That Would Have Been
A fight between legends Randy “the Natural” Couture and Fedor “the Last Emperor” Emelianenko is a match-up that has been speculated over and longed for by hardcore MMA fans for years now.
Around this time last year, Randy Couture was making waves as the UFC’s estranged heavyweight champion in his quest to fight Fedor. Up until Couture finally agreed to return to the Octagon and defend his title against Brock Lesnar, last fall, it seemed as if fans would be granted this wish at long last.
Lately, rumors of the match-up occurring at UFC 100, in July, have surfaced all over the net. However, these rumors are likely doomed to never materialize. Several factors have taken away from the fight which was once the most anticipated event in MMA.
Unfortunately, “the Natural” lost his title to Lesnar after a second-round technical knockout. Not only was Randy once again locked into his contract to the UFC, but he had lost his championship belt and, along with it, much of the appeal of a fight between himself and Fedor Emelianenko.
While Randy went on to lose his title in the fight with Lesnar, Fedor went on to win his second fight for Affliction in devastating fashion. His brutal first round knockout of former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski was a reminder of why he is widely considered to be the greatest heavyweight fighter in the world.
Since his fight with Arlovski, there have been all kinds of rumors spread about Fedor’s future. With one fight left on his contract with Affliction, a matchup with another former UFC heavyweight champion, Josh Barnett, seems likely.
This alone makes the idea of Fedor competing at UFC 100 at all extremely doubtful, let alone against Randy Couture. Two fights in the space of a month or so is quite a demanding feat to accomplish.
After his fight with Josh Barnett, it seems as if Affliction will have run out of worthy challengers for the man commonly referred to as “the Baddest Man on the Planet.”
If Fedor were to leave Affliction, it is likely that the only other promotion with a heavyweight division worthy of his talent is the same promotion that has tried and failed, on more than one occasion, to formulate a contract with him: the UFC.
However, even if Fedor does arrive in the UFC after his next Affliction fight, this does not mean he will be fighting Randy Couture anytime soon. In a recent interview for “The Bubba Love Sponge Show,” on Sirius Satellite Radio, UFC President Dana White had this to say about Fedor fighting in the UFC: “I’d put him in there against whoever’s the top guy at the time.”
The “top guy” in the UFC is currently Brock Lesnar, the man who took the title from the beloved former champion, Randy Couture. Lesnar will put his belt on the line in a rematch with interim UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir at UFC 98, on May 23.
If Fedor arrives in the UFC after his next bout at Affliction, it is likely he would face the winner of the rematch between Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir.
In a recent interview with Adam Baker of Dreamfighters.com, Fedor made comments both about the future of his career, and about whom he would like to fight. “I will fight again on the next Affliction card.
"Besides this, me and my management hope to get a chance to talk to Dana White in June to discuss a possible fight with Brock.”
Although there was a time when a matchup between Fedor Emelianenko and Randy Couture would indeed have been considered a super-fight, it seems that as though need for such a fight no longer exists.
