Is Fedor the new Darth Vader of MMA?
Josh Barnett has to be pretty happy that Fedor Emelianenko has signed with Strikeforce instead of the UFC. Now Fedor’s the biggest villain in MMA instead of him. At least, that’s the way it seems among MMA fans, or to be more precise, among UFC fans.
There’s a column on Five Ounces of Pain about how fans (UFC fans specifically) are pissed off at Fedor. They say the world number one heavyweight is “scared and is ducking the UFC’s heavyweights,” that he has to fight in the UFC “to cement his legacy,” and that by not signing with the UFC he is “fighting scrub competition.”
The piece, by Caleb Newby, is a rebuttal to all of these statements, and a pretty good one. Boiling it down: Fedor is 30-1 and has beaten Nogueira twice, Cro Cop when he was at his peak, both Sylvia and Arlovski when it meant something and was scheduled to take on the number one contender Barnett until he failed a drug test, and just because he’s not fighting Brock Lesnar doesn’t mean he’s ducking anybody; the UFC could only enhance Fedor’s already substantial legacy (whatever the hell a fighter’s legacy is; it’s kind of nonsensical really). Newby concedes to a degree on the last point that Fedor will face weaker heavyweights but then Newby isn’t taking into consideration the new Strikeforce/DREAM alliance that strengthens their heavyweight division substantially.
2 comments
Fedor’s being a coward no matter which way you slice it. The UFC is to MMA what the NFL is to football. If you’re not in the UFC then you are in the minor leagues. His excuse of requiring the UFC to co-promote M1 is laughable. Either its his excuse, cause it sounds better than “I’m skeered of Lesnar” or its his excuse cause its his manager’s idea, and he’s afraid to stand up to his manager, cause, well, staying out of the UFC for a lifetime pro-fighter is like a pro baseball player refusing to sign with MLB. Bad move. That being said, I’d love to see this change in the future, Heard good things about Fedor, and I’d like to see him get the chance to prove it in the big leagues one of these days.
You could be right, although your baseball analogy doesn’t hold up. The reason all the best baseball players play with MLB is because they are the only game in town, that’s where the money is. Fedor can makes millions (and does) without having to fight in the UFC. He has nothing to prove as a fighter and doesn’t really need the UFC as a promotional tool or as a payday, so why play in Dana White’s sandbox if he doesn’t have to? Is he scared of Lesnar? Maybe, although I’ve never seen Fedor indicate anything close to fear ever. Let’s not overhype Lesnar like he’s the Incredible Hulk crossbred with Superman. He can and will be beat. And so will Fedor, in all likelihood. As for Fedor having to prove himself, other than Lesnar, the new kid on the heavyweight block, who hasn’t Fedor fought?
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