Aleksander Emelianenko Is The Tommy Morrison Of MMA

Aleksander Emelianenko may not be able to find work in the U.S. or Japan, but he still continues to fight in his native Russia.

As shameful as this may be, especially since he probably has hepatitis, one cannot help draw a similar parallel to the career of heavyweight boxer Tommy Morrison.

I am not the first person to make this comparison—heck I read it somewhere else. But I thought that the two fighters have suffered a similar fate; a fate that is unfortunate for the fans and even more unfortunate for the fighters.

Some younger readers may not know who Morrison is, but those readers are sure to recognize him. Morrison, who co-stared in the terrible boxing epic "Rocky V," played a young boxer seeking training from Sylvester Stallone.

Everyone knows how the movie ended, but not everyone knows how Morrison's career did.

Morrison was a boxing star in the '90s. He was a heavyweight champion who rarely lost and showed a talent that many could only wish to have.

However, Morrison's career was cut short when he tested positive for HIV. Morrison was forced to quit fighting something every fighter is afraid to have happen to them.

Morrison would go on to try to make a series of comebacks and went as far as to claim that his results of an HIV test in the '90s was false.

This, of course, did not last long, and Morrison was found to still have HIV and Hepatitis C.

Now, Morrison continues to fight here and there, but he fights in unsanctioned matches in countries that do not test for sexually transmitted diseases. Always on the verge of making a comeback, Morrison is likely to never make it back to the big show.

So, how is this story similar to the big-little brother of Fedor Emelianenko? Well last year, Aleksander tested positive for something that was never fully disclosed to the media.

His test prevented him from fighting Paul Buentello at Affliction: Day of Reckoning, and has even prevented him fighting in Japan. Being unable to fight in the U.S. and Japan has eliminated him from ever having a chance at fighting in the big shows ever again.

So what is that Emelianenko tested for?

Well it is believed he tested positive for some form of Hepatits, however which one still remains a mystery. Yet despite this extreme health risk Emelianenko still continues to fight.

He continues to fight in Russia in the M-1 organization. How is it that this man, once  a promising young heavyweight could be reduced to this level? Well, no one knows.

It is unfortunate because Emelianenko continues to fight but at the risk of his own opponents. The potential of his blood contaminating another is quite possibly an even great threat than getting into a boxing match with Morrison.

In a sport like MMA, Emelianenko is more than likely going to make skin to skin and even cut to cut contact. The moment the sport goes to the ground and Emelianenko lands on top could make the end of another young fighters career.

In a sport like boxing a fight going to the ground is almost next to impossible to happen , but a risk of contamination still exists.

Emelianenko and Morrison—two fighters cut down in their prime, yet two fighters still fighting.