Strikeforce Fedor Emelianenko vs. Dan Henderson, Head To Toe Breakdown

Pride legends Dan Henderson and Fedor Emelianenko are scheduled to main event Strikeforce's upcoming event, Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson, on July 30th.

The two competitors are both legends of mixed martial arts, and fans have been hoping that their paths would cross for years.

This is a big fight for Emelianenko, as the heavyweight legend is coming off of two losses and needs a victory to remain relevant in the world of MMA.

There's less pressure on Henderson to perform well in this fight. He is the current Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion and is fighting outside of his normal weight class. His title is not on the line. No matter what the outcome, Henderson can count on his next fight being against a top guy because he'll still have his championship to defend.

However, a win over Emelianenko could do a lot for Henderson's legacy, so I'm sure he's very motivated to win this fight.

Let's take a look at how these two match up.

Experience

Both of these guys have been around for so long and been in so many wars that I'm not expecting experience to be big factor.

Henderson and Emelianenko have each faced word-class fighters throughout their careers and done well. I don't think either of them will be able to bring anything to the table that the other fighter hasn't dealt with before.

Also, Henderson should be comfortable fighting against a man of Emelianenko's size. Early in his career, Henderson fought heavyweights such as Gilbert Yvel and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, both of whom are larger than Emelianenko.

Edge: Push

Cardio

This is a standard three-round fight, so I'm not really expecting either fighter to gas out.

Both have proven on many occasions that they are capable of fighting hard for three rounds. Neither man tends to push a furious pace, so I don't suspect either will tire the other guy out.

Henderson's cardio did look a little shaky when he fought Jake Shields, but that was because he punched himself out a bit trying to finish in the first round, and it was a five-round fight.

Edge: Push

Striking

Henderson and Emelianenko have pretty similar striking in a lot of ways.

Both men are primarily punchers. You won't see either of them throwing a lot of kicks or knees.

In fact, you likely won't even see them throwing any fancy punches like spinning back-fists or superman punches.

They're very good boxers, and they tend to stick to the fundamentals.

As far as giving one guy the advantage, I think Henderson's technique is a little bit better then Emelianenko's. Henderson definitely has the better power.

Edge: Dan Henderson

Chin

Both these combatants have a remarkable ability to take punishment.

Emelianenko has been TKO'd twice in his career but one was by a cut and the other was a doctor stoppage. He has never been so out of it that he could not defend himself.

Henderson has just never been knocked out.

Henderson and Emelianenko both have granite chins. It's going to take a tremendous shot to put either of them away.

Edge: Push

Grappling

Emelianenko is a decorated Sambo practitioner, but the dominant style of grappling in mixed martial arts is wrestling.

Henderson is an Olympic caliber Greco-Roman wrestler.

Emelianenko does have the size advantage working in his favor, which is always a relevant factor when it comes to grappling, but I think Henderson's wrestling base is strong enough to negate that factor.

Ultimately, Henderson should have the grappling advantage. If he wants the fight on the feet, that's where it'll stay. If he wants on the ground, he can get it there.

Edge: Dan Henderson

Submissions

This one is a no-brainer.

Henderson has two career submission victories to his name, and one of them came via knees to the body.

Emelianenko has 16 submission victories.

If Henderson decides to take this fight to the ground, he is going to have to be very careful. Emelianenko has much better jiu-jitsu than he does. Emelianenko is also very good off his back.

Edge: Fedor Emelianeko

Winner?

This is a tricky fight to call, as I'm pretty unsure of what either fighter's game plan will be.

Right away, we definitely have to take into consideration that Henderson has looked great in his last two fights, and Emelianenko has looked not so great. It looks like Henderson still has a lot of fights left in him, but it seems Emelianenko might be close to retirement.

Henderson has a huge advantage in being able to decide where this fight takes place.

As a fighter with huge power in his hands who has never been knocked out and has been submitted by high-level jiu-jitsu guys, Henderson will probably be looking to keep this one standing.

So, I'm expecting this one to be a boxing match, essentially. If Henderson's fighting smart, he might get a takedown or two in each round to score some points but then stand back up. But that's not really his style.

Emelianenko isn't known for having the best striking defense. If he is forced to stand with Henderson for three rounds, there's a pretty good chance he'll get hit with a patented Hendo-bomb.

The striking in this one will be pretty even, but Henderson's shots will do more damage. While he may not knock Emelianenko out, he'll win rounds by landing the heavier shots and rocking Emelianenko a few times.

Winner: Dan Henderson via Third-Round TKO