What's Next For Fedor Emelianenko After His Fight With Fabricio Werdum?

No. 1 world heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko will defend his obscure WAMMA title against Fabricio Werdum in the main event of Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum live on Showtime tomorrow night.

While Werdum is certainly a quality opponent — ranked No. 8 on Bleacher Report's heavyweight rankings — a Fedor win is practically assumed.

This is not to discredit Werdum, it is just a testament to how talented Emelianenko has proven to be.

If Fedor does in fact win tomorrow night, a much anticipated showdown with Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem is likely in play.

Since blowing out Brett Rogers in the first round last month, Overeem has made his desire to face Fedor public knowledge. It would arguably be the biggest fight Strikeforce has to offer.

While Overeem has never fought a heavyweight of Fedor's caliber, many consider Alistair one of the biggest threats to ending the Russian's 10 year win streak.

Fedor has two fights left on his contract with Strikeforce at the moment. After fighting Werdum, and the potential fight with Overeem, Fedor would have at least two major options.

However, his decision will likely depend on the result of a match with Overeem.

If Fedor were to win against Overeem, the chances of him signing with the UFC would be slightly better than if he lost. After disposing of Overeem, what challenges would be left for him in Strikeforce?

They could possibly organize a fight with Josh Barnett, which has been attempted many times over the last five years. Barnett would have a hard time gaining a license in the US, due to testing positive for performance enhancers on multiple occasions. That could prove to be difficult option for Strikeforce.

Other than that, there aren't many threats for Emelianenko outside the UFC.

If Fedor were to lose to Overeem, he would likely re-sign with Strikeforce and work his way back to a rematch.

There would be many more options for him if he was coming off a loss. Antonio Silva would be an attractive opponent for Fedor on the comeback trail.

Strikeforce has also confirmed that Sergei Kharitonov has signed to their promotion, and that is a fight that many have shown interest in seeing over the years. Jeff Monson is a possibility as well.

No matter the outcome of Fedor's fight with Overeem, make no mistake, Fedor will fight whoever is put in front of him.

In 2008, Affliction clothing, along with numerous business partners, started their own MMA promotion, basically centered around potential fights matching Fedor with Randy Couture and Josh Barnett.

At the time, these fighters were the top three heavyweights in the world. They were also the two most requested match-ups for Fedor.

After a year-long legal battle between Couture and the UFC, Couture was unable to meet Fedor in the ring, and subsequently signed a new contract with the UFC. That fight was off.

In the summer of 2009, Fedor and Barnett were set to meet in the main event of Affliction's third show. Less than a week before the date, Barnett tested positive for performance enhancers, and the show was canceled, forcing Affliction to call it quits on MMA promotions.

If those fights had happened, the UFC heavyweight division would not be where it is today. Couture would have walked away from the UFC without losing his title, and nobody could complain about Fedor's competition if he had managed to best the No. 2 heavyweight in Josh Barnett.

Nonetheless, new opponents seem to surface every year and Fedor must fight them to “prove himself” — as if he has anything left to prove — and has yet to refuse any of them.

I mean, who was clamoring for a fight between Fedor and Overeem just a year ago?

The biggest fight that could be made in 2008 was Fedor vs. Couture, and now the revisionists would consider that a mismatch in Fedor's favor.

Alistair Overeem's best heavyweight victory is over the same Brett Rogers that Fedor knocked out just seven months prior, but American fans are still convinced that Fedor wants nothing to do with him.

I find it very hard to believe that with one fight left on his contract, Fedor would not be fighting for the Strikeforce heavyweight title.

What comes next for Fedor?

The same things he always provides: more excitement, more drama, and more great fights.