10 Reasons To Accept Fedor Fighting Fabricio Werdum

Fedor Emelianenko has been the No. 1 heavyweight since he dominated then Pride champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in 2003.

He remains one of the best fighters in the world and has never suffered a legitimate defeat.

He also holds the distinction as the best fighter in the world who refuses to sign with the UFC.

Some fans find this confusing and tend to fall back on criticizing him, making up for their inability to understand why someone would want to be in control of their own career, rather than sign their likeness over to a fickle corporation.

This Saturday, Fedor will face former Pride and UFC standout Fabricio Werdum in the main event of Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum.

Like anything involving Fedor, the match-up has drawn the critics out of their beds, all the way to the other side of their mother's upstairs bedroom, where the computer allows them to voice their shortsighted opinions.

In spite of them, I'll lean in a more optimistic direction, and list 10 reasons why nobody should complain about this match-up.

Werdum is in the top ten

Virtually every MMA website's top 10 heavyweight rankings include Fabricio Werdum. Strikeforce's champion Alistair Overeem had yet to even face a single top 10 heavyweight before his recent first-round blow-out of Brett Rogers.

And even that was the same Brett Rogers that Fedor knocked out last November.

Give credit to Fedor for fighting an established and talented veteran.

Werdum beat Overeem

In May of 2006, Werdum met future Strikeforce heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem at Pride: Total Elimination Absolute, and won in the second round via submission.

If Overeem truly is the world beater that everyone seems to think he is, why was he finished by a guy that Fedor shouldn't be wasting time with?

The answer is that they are all talented fighters, and a match-up between any of them is certainly worth watching.

Best ground fighter since Nogueira

The three biggest wins of Fedor's career are his unanimous decision win against Mirko Cro Cop in 2005, and his pair of decision wins against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

Since his 2004 decision win against Nogueira, Fedor has not fought an opponent with anywhere near the level of his ground game.

That is, until now.

Fabricio Werdum is a two-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion, a two-time ADCC world heavyweight champion, and a European Jiu-Jitsu champion. He also holds black belts in Jiu-Jitsu and Judo, along with capturing seven of his 13 wins by submission.

Werdum will obviously show Fedor something he hasn't seen in the last six years.

Who else?

With Fedor's decision to fight outside of the UFC, and the UFC's refusal to let any of their fighters battle someone that is not signed to the promotion, there are only a few high-level heavyweight fights available.

Everyone would have preferred Alistair Overeem, but I don't think that was an option for Fedor anyway.

Alistair just recently fought Brett Rogers and, despite his claims, I don't believe Overeem was ever pursuing a fight with Fedor before now.

If you want to get on the subject of hand-picking opponents, Overeem was offered a fight with Andrei Arlovski last December, and instead preferred a fight with Kazuyuki Fujita — who Fedor knocked out in 2003.

Strikeforce is building up their stable of fighters. Let's not forget that they are an upstart promotion.

In my opinion, this is the best fight Fedor could have made.

Werdum's resume

While he may not be the biggest name, Werdum has faced his fair share of top competition.

Among his list of victims are Gabriel Gonzaga (twice), Aleksander Emelianenko, Brandon Vera, Antonio Silva, and the aforementioned Alistair Overeem.

Now that is a lot more than you can say for many of the top heavyweights in the UFC.

Werdum live against any heavyweight

Personally, I give Werdum a chance against any heavyweight in the world. His top notch ground game and experience could certainly give the UFC heavyweight champion fits.

If Werdum is taken down, he does not just give up. He constantly works to secure a submission, or get back to his feet. I would never count him out of a fight, especially considering the lack of experience at the top of the UFC rankings.

At least Fedor is fighting

There was a period after Pride collapsed that Fedor's future was unclear. He had been fighting on a semi-regular basis in Pride. And with it gone, the desire to see the No. 1 fighter in action grew.

At least now we get to see him in action, rather than just recount the last ten years of his accomplishments.

Let a fight with Overeem marinate

If a match with Overeem is truly what everyone wants to see, then why rush it?

Let them both fight quality opponents first. And if both win, the fight for the belt will be twice as big. I know after seeing Overeem thrash Rogers last month, I'm way more excited to see the two tangle.

Strikeforce only has so many quality match-ups at the moment, and this is one of them. There is no reason to throw this one out just because one other fight is possibly bigger.

If Fedor comes out the victor, a fight with Overeem will be huge. And that's how I'd prefer it.

Free on Showtime

With every month having a 50 dollar UFC pay-per-view, it is a gift to watch this level of MMA for free.

Ok, well Showtime has a monthly fee. But combined with all the MMA, boxing, and random movies it features, the 10 dollars is well worth it. Usually, you can work out a deal with your provider to get the first six months discounted anyway.

If you can handle paying the UFC 50 dollars a month (if not twice a month), then this is practically free.

It will be a great fight

For all those who discredit each of Fedor's wins, they can not deny that each of them was filled with drama and excitement. When does Fedor ever put on a bad show?

Whether he finishes his opponent in 30 seconds, or figures them out from bell to bell, Fedor always gives the fans their money's worth. I don't see this fight being any different.

Maybe Fedor will show Anderson Silva how to work a Jiu-Jitsu fighter while still entertaining the fans.