via 3.bp.blogspot.com

So here goes - I was drinking (too much?) with my brother and we got to talk about the things that really matter in life - women ,  porn and most of all - mma . So somehow the question came - who beats who in a fight- Brock or a Silverback . The silly debate became pretty hot with my brother insisting (and still does) that Lesnar is probably as powerful as a gorilla and much better trained and conditioned for fighting .  I then retorted that a gorilla (who weighs 400 lbs) can bite and scratch , so we agreed that in the fight the gorilla will have a muzzle and gloves to prevent it from scratching to make it a fair fight .

Still , I figuered that  if chimpanzees who weigh much less than people are known to have crazy strength (the saying goes that a chimpanzee is as strong as 5 people) , what kind of strength does a giant like a gorilla must have ?

My brother retorted that Lesnar is probably as strong as at least 5 people judging by the numbers he can bench press or dead lift (he indeed is very strong , that is unquestionable) .

Forget Brock vs Fedor , I wanna see Brock go at it against a gorilla . In ancient Rome we would totally get to watch that fight  , we are living in the wrong times I'm telling you.

So who beats who in your opinion?

Don't get me wrong - I loved that fight and the whole event was awesome. Brock's ability to absorb that punishment Carwin fed him was phenomenal , it's now obvious he is very durable , tough and has a great chin on top of all his natural abilities.

His stand up still "sucks" though . It's hard to call his stand up bad after he knocked down Couture and Herring , but comparing it to the elite heavyweights - his stand up is bad . Fedor , Overeem , Carwin , Mir , Dos Santos , Arlovski , Gonzaga hell probably even Roy Nelson have all got much better stand up than Brock .Despite Carwin having 11 Ko's I don't think he's a great stand up fighter - the only real striker he's faced - Gabe Gonzaga , was pretty close to putting him away on the feet. Carwin is very good standing up but not great  - give Carwin a few more fights against great strikers and he'll lose imo . That leaves Brock at low medium level striking.

Dana White and Rogan always go on about how Brock's a huge heavyweight that moves like a welterweight - well , you don't get to see that with his punching and his defense . He's a huge man that moves like a huge man when he boxes. And I'm saying that also based on his Mir and Couture fights - he got hit a lot . His defense is bad.

So how relevant is all this if Brock can just take you down and beat you on the ground , or even submit you ? (and that submission WAS beautiful in my opinion). Well the thing is I think there are some pretty good fighters with good enough take down defense to give Brock A LOT of trouble . Velasquez for one - too bad he doesn't possesses more power in his hands. Overeem might not be that easy to take down now - and even if he is - his gas tank might be better than Carwin's . Dos Santos seems to have very decent take down defense. I think Fedor vs Brock is still a fight we'd all like to see yet it will never happen. Carwin may come better prepared next time(if there's a next time) - though I think  what we've seen is  how far his cardio can carry him - but perhaps he'd expand his energy wisely next time.

So to sum up my point is - though Lesnar is one of the greatest wrestlers to compete in mma - his takedowns aren't unbelievable. They are very good - not unbelievable. Couture stopped them mostly . Non gassed Carwin stuffed them. Lesnar can't take everybody down at will like GSP can no matter who the opponent is. Velasquez can pull the upset but I suspect his stand up isn't good enough and Brock will smother him in the clinch and if not Velasquez either Dos Santos or Overeem.

Overeem hits like a freaking mule and has better gas tank than Carwin . He can be extremely dangerous to Lesnar. Unless Lesnar improves real quick either his take downs or stand up I can see him lose to one of those guys sooner than later .

Don't get me wrong - Lesnar is an unbelievable athlete and fighter and he's tough , maybe tougher than everyone  , and perhaps even the best heavyweight in the world . I just think that having such crappy stand up and not being well rounded enough will give you a loss one day. Perhaps he'll learn how to take down guys so well and smother them on the ground we'll never even notice again how bad his stand up is . Or perhaps he'll even improve his stand up more.

But honestly I don't think he will . I think Lesnar showed some major weaknesses here and one of the guys I've listed (hoping the UFC will get Overeem eventually) should be able to pull off the 'upset' . And if they don't ? Then more power to him ! Hell I like him more than ever after the last fight . I think he's a great champion and he adds so much interest to the sport . Him coming back after a major illness , and still being so inexperienced yet getting that come back from the dead win is spectacular . I'm just not sure it will be enough against a good striker with good take down defense .

I think most people are going to agree with this one , it seems pretty obvious . Although we all (well , most of us) thought that Nogueira's terrible performance against Mir was because of a "blown knee" and a staph infection(that was the common sense at the time backed by Rogan , Dana and most of the fans) , it's very clear that it was not the case . The Velasquez fight was like a fast forward of the Mir fight - Nog just looked old and pretty much helpless. He had absolutely no answer for the kicks , and he got tagged a lot with punches before the final punch landed. His famous ability to absorb punishment was non-existant . He didn't even attempt a take down and even if he did , being so slow there's no reason to think he can take down Velasquez or even Mir.

I think this just shows us that if anything , the Couture fight was the exception to the rule - and the rule is that Nog is not an elite heavyweight anymore. This just shows that Couture too , is WAY past his prime. I don't think that the Randy that beat Gonzaga a couple of years ago would have lost so decisively to this slow version of Nogueira.

Not to take anything away from Cain , this was still a great victory and I think he pretty much earned a title shot , either him or JDS.

So bottom line - I don't want to see a Nog-Mir rematch , and I think Nog should consider wrapping it up. He's been in the business for ages , went to the top , and it's all downhill from here...

One last thing - I hope this doesn't anger Nog fans too much but Nog keeps attributing his losses to injuries . He did that after his fights with Fedor and Barnett (I don't have time to look those quotes up again ). I'm not saying Noguira lied about the injuries he had before the Mir fight , but I'm saying that sometimes it's easier to blame injuries than the fact you're over the hill . No one wants to believe they're over the hill - not the fighter himself , not his camp and trainers and not the fans.

 

Brett Roger's coach said post fight that Fedor was in danger and had lost the first round . He said Fedor was lying for saying he was never in any danger. Some fans , backed by Joe Rogan's "Fedor was exposed" seem to think about the same.

Here is my humble opinion : while definitely a close round , and honest to god my Fedor-nuthuggery aside , I think Fedor won that round. Watching that fight again and again (I really like that fight) , when you know that Fedor's nose isn't in fact broken , you can see that the whole round was Fedor deciding what happens and dictating the pace. Fedor completely implemented his game plan of constantly moving forward and made Rogers backpedal  for most of the fight(I think Fedor's coaches hinted at this strategy in the fight camp video) bar a few dead clinch moments. Did Rogers land some good punches ? He surely did . But the amount of blood shouldn't be the sole criteria for damage or danger (if it was then Fedor was in MAD trouble against Matt Lindland , only that he wasn't). Fedor cuts really easily , that's just a fact . He came to that fight with wounds that didn't heal , and he bled. That jab by Rogers was solid and accurate but that's what it was - a jab. Fedor's big left hand after the clinch followed by rag-dolling Rogers and taking him down was much more impressive.

Then came the kimura attempt and subsequent armbar attempt that led Rogers to being on top of Fedor throwing some good shots (about 3 or 4 landed I think) and further bloodying Fedor. Only that Fedor succeeded to throw Rogers with the armbar attempt , and Rogers seemed fatigued or disoriented and Fedor pounced on him again with Rogers being on his back again and Fedor this time going for an arm triangle choke. To the end of the round from that point Rogers kept being on his back with Fedor still the aggressor.

I think Fedor was always in control in the first round or the fight in general. If anyone got close to finishing that fight in the first round it was Fedor with that huge left hand and sub attempts. Kudos to Rogers for being tough and messing Fedor up , but in my opinion it was Fedor all along . Blood can be deceiving sometimes. If there was someone who threw Fedor from his usual gameplan it was Arlovski (who for once made Fedor hesitate about pushing forward) not Rogers. I don't think it matters all that much who won what round when the fight had such a decisive ending(the Arlovski dominated Fedor threads made me perplexed too) , but it's just my take and my opinion that Fedor is still in the same fighting shape he has always been in. If it seemed tougher it's because Rogers is tougher , that's all. I don't really understand Rogan's comments about Fedor being exposed in the 265 division . For every win Fedor gets lately he's either fighting bums or being exposed , that's just ridiculous.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yE7LtLBO1Pc

 

This is just precious ...the real funny thing is I don't think this is a joke , if it is this guy is a hell of an actor . And it's funny either way :)

The thick skull-imbreeding theory sounds interesting though , definitely need to check on that :)

And we finally know how to pronounce Fedor's and Chuck's last names , good thing this guy is so intelligent

"...He knew he'd get the chance to change the fortunes of his family forever , for this 28 year old former project kid from the Cabrini Gree- Yooooowwwwwww !!!!!! Emelianenko hit him with the right hand and it's all over"!!!!

I think that was one of the funniest broadcasting moments ever :)

Talk about choosing the wrong moment to start telling stories ...not really their fault Fedor is just really fast and the fight can be over at any moment , but it still pretty damn funny ...

Well , together with Tito's "let me tell you how u feeling" and Goldberg's story about the Hughes brothers pounding each other behind the barn....

via cdn.cagepotato.com

This November will pack the best heavyweight action of 2009 without a doubt with two huge fights - Lesnar(ranked 2 in the world) vs Carwin(7th) and Fedor(1) vs Rogers(8th). Although the ranking sites unanimously crown Fedor as the number one heavyweight in the world (for over 5 years) , many fans feel Lesnar has proved to be the most dominant heavyweight. Come November we may get a definite answer case Fedor or Lesnar lose (and if they both lose expect the universe to collapse).

An interesting question is which company succeeds to market their fight as the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world. The answer seems easy , it's very natural to predict Strikeforce will fail where EliteXc and Affliction (among others) have failed. While Fedor gets a relatively high amount of attention from the media (including articles about him in mainstream media like N.Y Times) he couldn't seem to break the 100K PPV buys in Affliction , while battling it out against much bigger draws (Arlovski and Sylvia) than Rogers.

So can we expect more of the same ? A decent amount of media coverage on the Fedor vs Rogers fight with a lukewarm (at best) reaction from casual fight fans, while the UFC (as always with their big events) pass the million PPV buys?

I have no doubt UFC 106 will be huge (especially with Forrest Griffin vs Tito Ortiz now on the card last I heard) and will easily pass the million buys. But something tells me that the bigger story , for once , might be the Fedor fight on CBS. I see a lot of potential and marketability in that fight . Rogers can easily take the "Rocky" role and become the tires changing Joe given the opportunity of a life time. Fedor is the undefeated Russian fighter. You get the USA vs Russia thing (even though the cold war is over I still feel Americans can relate to that), the Rocky vs Ivan Drago in this fight(I know - Fedor looks like Drago just like my girlfriend looks like Angelina Jolie , but you get my point). I can't be the only one who sees this potential , someone out there must make an effort to market this fight, and together with the mma media and regular media coverage we might see a surprise. I'm not talking about tens of millions of viewers, but a moderate success will finally bring a true mma fighter (sorry Kimbo) to millions of 'casual' fans. This essentially is very good for the sport and good for the fans who will get to watch a very decent Strikeforce card for free. With Lesnar and Fedor winning the cry for a Fedor vs Lesnar fight will be bigger than ever and might even attract new interest and fans to the sport .

It will also be interesting to see what Strikeforce does in case Fedor loses(immediate rematch?) and whether Strikeforce can solidify itself as the number two mma promotion and the only real alternative to the UFC in the states. It's obvious Strikeforce yearn for a Fedor win , and the pressure is on Fedor to deliver - for the first time on a national network TV. You can easily say this is the most important fight for Fedor in the last 4-5 years , a loss here can truly kill his potential and the little marketability he has in the U.S, which makes it more exciting because an under pressure Fedor usually delivers (hell , Fedor has always delivered).

The UFC probably prefers Lesnar to win as he is the biggest heavyweight (or any weight) draw they have, but their marketing machine is so polished they will be able to rebound from any outcome and make a huge payday. Their only true battle is trying to hype their fight as the real heavyweight championship of the world as opposed to Strikeforce.This is important because the heavyweight division is usually the most important , and having the second best heavyweight division is unacceptable for a company like the UFC. I expect a lot of anti Fedor talk from Dana the next few weeks (as always).

 

via www.mmaconvert.com

The Fedor vs Rogers fight is stil way off , in November , but I've already stumbled upon a few comments that upset me, saying this fight is bullshit and a joke . The upsetting thing about it was that the comments came from seemingly knowledgable mma fans.

Last I checked (in Sherdog) , Rogers was ranked 7th in the world . The consensus ranking has him at number 9 (funnily enough , Arlovski is 8th !) . He is a 6"5 , 265 lbs with freak freach (84 inches) , 10-0 with all his fights ending by KO , almost all in the first round . He actually has only one 'great' win , against Arlovski - in 22 seconds (and he made that look way easier than Fedor).

The thing that baffles me is that Shane Carwin and Rogers have almost identical records - with about 9-10 KO wins over lesser competition and one 'huge' win . Only that Shane really looked vulnerable against Gonzaga , his defense didn't work and he was repeatedly battered on the face before being taken down. Yes - he was tough and he landed a huge bomb that ended the fight - but my point is  that NO ONE is calling the Lesnar-Carwin fight a joke or a farce, while Shane hasn't been looking more impressive than Rogers.

I think this is partly due to Dana White's anti-Fedor campaign , which yielded some results , and also partly due to fan resentment over Fedor going to StrikeForce and not to the UFC.

Also - Fedor completely destroying Sylvia and the unfortunate subsequent Mercer fight led people to believe Fedor is only fighting cans , while in reality Tim was top 5 day of his Fedor fight . Andrei was ranked 2nd I believe . And now Rogers is ranked 7th. He is no number two , I admit (I definitely feel Lesnar is rightly at number 2) , but calling this fight bullshit ? One dude actually hinted that if Fedor beat Schilt then he'll have no problems with Rogers . Really?? No disrespect to Schilt but the guy had a much more successful kickboxing career , in mma he lost to people like Funaki and Gilbert Yvel. He is so tall and lean that taking him down was easy for most mma fighters.

Rogers is built nothing like Schilt - he's much shorter and saying he's bulky is understatement of the year - the guy is huge. He has fast hands , huge reach , great KO power and he's coming to fight . If Fedor does end up embarrassing him that's more due to Fedor being that good than Rogers being that bad . If Rogers can keep it standing for a while Fedor can be in quite a pickle - I don't know about Rogers' chin but it's ought to be better than Arlovski's.

Is Fedor the favorite here ? Sure is , he's the number 1 heavyweight in the world for a reason . But that doesn't make Rogers a can. Actually , I think the Rogers fight is the most interesting fight that StrikeForce can give Fedor (well , maybe Overeem too) and personally I'm hyped . If marketed correctly this bout has huge potential (that's a big "if" I've heard).

 

A lot of people , including UFC president Dana White , were pressuring Chuck Liddell to hang his gloves and retire after losing 4 out of his last 5 fights, 3 out of those were by brutal KOs handed to him by Evans , Shogun and Rampage. Fans don't want to see Chuck , one of the greatest champions ever , humiliating himself in the octagon and even possibly risking his health.

One has to wonder if Wanderlei Silva's case is any different. Wanderlei lost 5 out of his last 6 , getting brutally knocked out by Rampage, Henderson and Cro Cop. Both Chuck and Wanderlei faced elite competition , yet both of them lost again and again.Coincidentally Chuck's biggest win the last two years was against Wanderlei. Wanderlei's win was a 36 seconds slaughter of Jardine - which showed Wanderlei can still throw , but that was never the question . We know Wanderlei can still strike but it's his chin , instincts and brain that we're worried about. Also - fans don't want to see him tarnish one of the most impressive legacies for any fighter , ever.

The comparison between Chuck and Wanderlei holds in my opinion because both fighters were once great champions who are now risking their legacy. While Chuck is much older , it seems that much like Chuck Wanderlei's chin and instincts aren't what they used to be.And Above all you have to ask how many times can a fighter lose before the fans lose interest or worse - start to feel sorry for him. One more loss and Wanderlei will be 1-7. True , he faced the best , but one more loss shows he just isn't an elite fighter anymore and shouldn't get elite level opponents.Yet the UFC continue to use his popularity and give him tough opponents to sell PPVs.

One has to ask - will the fans still want to see Wanderlei after another loss? A faithful fan is a faithful fan , but watching your guy get destroyed time and again can't be easy. True - against Franklin Wanderlei didn't look that bad so there's still hope.

I  think the UFC needs to consider giving Wanderlei an 'easy' fight if they want to keep using him as a PPV attraction. In the end of the day - nobody likes a loser . Being an entertaining fighter is very important but winning is even more. The UFC can try to use him as an improved Chris Leben - a guy who gives a great war every fight and brings interest to every card he fights in , but they have to lower the level of opponents he's facing. Because it seems Wanderlei can't hang with the best anymore. Maybe after a couple of wins Wanderlei can get a tough opponent again and who knows - make one last run at the title , but untill then we need to see him winning again.

It's become very popular to say that Fedor hasn't beaten anyone , at least not in the last 5 years . I mean , Tim Sylvia just got destroyed by a 48 year old fat boxer , they say , and Andrei Arlovski just got crushed in 22 seconds by Brett Rogers.

So , take away these two wins , and who else are you left with ? Matt Lindland , Hong Man Choi and Mark Hunt. That's the basic argument.

The problem I'm having with this argument is that Tim Sylvia is Randy Couture's biggest win in the heavyweight division. It was also (as Randy said) his biggest win , ever . So if Tim Sylvia is a can , who the hell did Randy beat in the heavyweight division? Gonzaga? Gonzaga went 2-4 after Randy getting KOed and TKOed by Carwin and Werdum , with Werdum being released by the UFC. So dismissing Sylvia as a can takes away Randy's biggest accomplishment and also makes Lesnar a questionable champion since his biggest win is still Randy (no offense Mir fans).

Calling Arlvoski a can is also ridiculous. He made a huge mistake against Brett and got caught , nothing that never happened to other fighters before , like Randy for example. I agree , Anderi shouldn't have been ranked number 2 before the Fedor fight but he's definitely a top 5 or top 10 fighter. I actually think Andrei poses huge problems for guys like Mir and Randy because he has very good take down defense and great hands.

Andrei and Sylvia were 2 huge wins for Fedor . Even though they had horrible performances afterwards. The way Fedor beat Sylvia was spectacular. Against Andrei Fedor struggled more - but found his opening (as he always has) and crushed Andrei in spectacular fashion . You can't just dismiss those two performances, and believe me if Fedor was in the UFC Dana would be drooling over the replays and giving praise and hype for Fedor .

I'm not going to list every opponent Fedor has faced and claim they were stellar , obviously Zulu was a lame matchup, but it was something the Japanese fans apparently wanted to see. Fedor practically cleaned the Pride heavyweight division (except for Barnett and Sergei) so he got a few funny matchups.

His decision not to join the UFC angered a lot of fans , and I agree - facing the best guys isn't his first priority right now. But there's still a huge difference between being disappointed with his decision and taking away everything he did in mma. I too was disappointed (though I pretty much knew he won't go to the UFC) but I still say that untill someone beats him , Fedor is still number 1 in the heavyweight division - at least record-wise . And how he matches up with Lesnar ? Who the hell knows , untill we see it we don't know crap.

I'd like to see Brock winning 4-5 big fights before we start calling him the best. Untill then - Fedor has proved himself.

If you're like me then you're probably wondering what Fedor is going to do next now that Affliction went down.However ,  if you're mature enough to just wait and see how things fold without trying to guess what will happen then you can stop reading (and seriously , what are you going in the mma community anyway this is what we like to do..).

I am going to completely rule out that Fedor will fight in Japan . Yes , the Japanese fans know him and some of them like him (Fedor was actually much less liked than Cro Cop and possibly even Barnett and Nogueira) , but we all sense that in the last phase of his career Fedor and his management are trying to break into the american market which is now the biggest in the world .

Therefore , only two options remains - the UFC and StrikeForce .

What hasn't been said already about Fedor fighting in the UFC - how many tears were shed and angry words written?  Some like to blame Dana White and his arrogant and disrespectful way of negotiating with a fighter who should get the respect of a handful of champions . Others would blame Fedor's management and their perpetual demand for co-promotion . I don't think there are 'good guys' and 'bad guys' in this story , just people trying to promote their interests the best they can . Fedor is tied to M-1 by ways of friendship (to longtime friend and business associate Vadim Finkelschtein) and by financial interests . I don't know the exact details but I can only guess that Fedor has some shares in M-1 and probably sees his future in M-1 as a promoter when he finally retires . Therefore one can conclude that Fedor's relationship with M-1 is very important to him and of course to M-1 who other than Mousasi don't own any star-caliber fighters . Fedor , almost entirely by himself made M-1's name if not famous then at least semi-known in the mma world . That is why the co-promotion demand is perpetual and one can esaily understand why M-1 insists on it - without Fedor they will go many steps back as a promotion . The only thing that can make M-1 (and Fedor) yield is serious , serious money - which I doubt the UFC will be willing to pay .

Another important factor we need to keep in mind is that in the UFC Fedor will be 'unprotected' - he may lose to Brock , and then get another tough fight (Shane Carwin for example) and lose that one too - and in the harsh reality of mma fighting he's now 'washed up'  (much like what happened to Cro Cop). After milking the money on the Brock-Fedor fight , the UFC will just use Fedor as they see fit . In M-1 however , Fedor will be protected - case he loses a fight rest assured he will get an easy opponent after the loss. This is very critical for a fighter's market value and career.

So why StrikeForce ? Rumors have it that StrikeForce offers Fedor between 500-700 a fight and complete freedom of co-promotion and fighting anywhere he wants . If the rumors are true StrikeForce is very serious and the initial money offer can only climb and climb in negotiatons . The UFC will never want to co-promote for obvious reasons , and in terms of compensating M-1 they will be willing to go only that far. Dana will probably try to give StrikeForce a fight but will eventually "lose" because of the co-promotion issue. And lets keep in mind that Fedor still has at least two more years of fighting (if he wants it) . He can always re-negotiate with the UFC , only that then probably as the  StrikeForce champion and much more familiar to american audience . We might see Fedor ending his career in the UFC when he exhausted all other options and when M-1 knows they can bank the final and best payday out of him . But until then - we might enjoy watching Fedor fighting Overeem , Werdum or Rogers on american T.V ...not that bad in my humble opinion.

Mir made some ridiculous statements regarding Brock lately , going so far as to say Brock's ground and pound in the first fight didn't do any damage .That's a funny thing to say because I thought the fight was 5 seconds away from being stopped with Mir losing by TKO , I don't think I even have to explain this , anyone who has seen the fight knows exactly what I'm talking about.

Mir also said that he feels he'll have the advantage in the stand up - while not as ridiculous as the first statement I still strongly disagree . I think Mir's only chance to win this fight is by submission . Lesnar's most obvious weakness in my eyes is his cardio (watch the Couture fight again to see what I'm talking about) but I'm not even sure Mir will have the advantage in this department . Sure , Mir looked fresh against Nog , but  Nog didn't do much more than being a punching bag in that fight .  Mir's fight against Nog should be taken with a grain of salt in any case - Nog was very close to being finished by Herring whose striking is mediocre at best , and his Sylvia fight was also very close to being a loss . Yes , yes , I know Nog made a career of surviving onslaughts and then pulling off a submission but maybe that's the problem , maybe he took too much damage (but that's for another post).

So does Mir really believe what he's saying ? Maybe he does. Maybe he knows damn well that his best (and probably only) chance will be a submission but he wants Brock to worry about the stand up. Maybe it's just mind games that he's playing with Lesnar - but to me it all seems like  Mir is the too confident guy who's hiding something - usually fear and insecurity . I think it's only human to be afraid of Lesnar , he literally has the strength to cause irreversible damage to someone's health.

I think Lesnar should be the favorite here , he had a whole year to train armbar and knee bar defense. Mir won't be able to tire Brock out like Randy did (well , until he got caught) , and I can even see Brock catching Mir with a RNC because Mir might give his back at some point with no better option left . I know that just because Brock trained jiujitzu defense doesn't mean he'll be able to implement it during fight time -  with real pressure and real punches , but nevertheless , I think Brock will be able to escape Mir's armbars by sheer force alone , and if he's smart and patient with his punches he might not even need to escape anything. I know the comparison is ridiculous but Brock's wrestling and athleticism advantage in this division may remind us of GSP's dominance in welter weight.

Considering Brock can choose where this fight goes whenever he wants (Mir's wrestling was non existent in their first fight) , and Mir not being known for his toughness and ability to survive a lot of damage , I have no choice but to bet my virtual money on Brock.

I know this last sentence might upset some people but I would defintiely give Lyoto Machida a much better chance at beating Brock than Frank Mir . Considering that Machida expressed interest in that fight , and if Lesnar beats Mir and then the next contender (Carwin?) and Machida passes Shogun and (Rampage?) that fight might be a reality one day. We'll see . For now , I'll give Mir the benefit of the doubt .It goes without saying I'm totally rooting for Mir. Like Forrest Griffin said - Brock is the kind of guy who's so athletic and strong he was never ever the underdog his whole life . I never root for guys like that . I'd root for the underdog everyday , even if the underdog tries to act like such a confident macho the way Mir does.

 

Before I start my argument I want to say that Fedor Emelianenko is the fighter who got me interested in mma in the first place . It was about 5 years ago and I didn't know what mma , Pride or the UFC were untill somehow I stumbled upon a Fedor fight on Youtube  and from that moment on I started to love that sport and also that man , Fedor - for his humility , his simplicity , his 'tires' (I really like his average Joe appearance) , and his unbelievable relentlessness and badassedness in the ring. Fedor probably remains my favorite fighter to this day (though I really didn't like his 'orthodox fans' remark he made lately but that's a different story).

Fedor was the Pride heavyweight champion for numerous years and still remains basically undefeated after 30 fights , yet I'm still going to argue that we don't know how good he is NOW . Back in his Pride domination days one could not argue he wasn't the best heavyweight in the world since all the UFC had were fighters such as Sylvia (whom Fedor now destroyed) , Rodriguez and Barnett who moved to Pride anyway and took beatings from Cro Cop. But nowdays ? Nowdays the sport took a huge shift - the competition got ten times fiercer , the sport has bigger paydays involved and more recognition which causes better athletes to try their luck in mma - and yes I'm sorry but I'll have to use Brock Lesnar as an example for that .

We've seen mma legends like Matt Hughes , Mirko Cro Cop , Chuck Liddell , Wanderlei Silva,  Nogueira  and others lose time after to time to younger , hungrier , better athletes . They all had excuses for their losses and who knows maybe those excuses are legit but generally I think people were overlooking the obvious - the competition got better , and fast .

Now , before you get upset , I'm not in a million years comparing Fedor to Chuck Liddell - while Chuck is possibly brain damaged and should (arguably) retire  Fedor is still in his prime and recently had two very nice wins over UFC former champions. All I am saying is that the competition got better , way better , even in the relatively weak UFC heavyweight division .  I am saying that Barnett is a good fighter but he struggled with  guys like Monson or Yvel and I think Lesnar would've taken Monson or Yvel down and beat them in two minutes - as for Sylvia and Arlovski they are both good and legit fighters but they were released from the UFC for a reason - both weren't top of the heap.

I'm saying that Fedor was undoubtedly the best heavyweight in the world , probaly the best p4p in the world , but that times changed . We've seen Pride legends take serious beatings in the UFC and question marks have to be raised. And I think what no one can argue about is that after Barnett - if Fedor wants to compete at the highest level he has to come to the UFC. Otherwise - we'll need to call him the FORMER best heavyweight in the world.  You can't have your cake and eat it. So it all comes down to what Fedor wants to do with his career - does he want to continue to challange himself and prove that he's the number one heavyweight in the world or will he settle to earn a few more bucks in Japan against guys like Monson and Overeem(Overeem probably being the last interesting fight he has outside the UFC). One has to wonder if Fedor is somewhat protective of his flawless record - I don't care what any rankings say does anyone really believe Barnett has a better shot at Fedor than Lesnar , Mir or Carwin ? (I might have to eat my hat if Barnett wins...).

So times changed , and despite fellows like Rogers or Overeem in other orgs the competition is now in the UFC. It remains to be seen if the Last Emperor will make one last go to re-prove that he's the best . My personal prediction - Fedor had enough -  him and his managment will find something they don't like in the new UFC contract , take a few more fights in Japan and call it a career (and a pretty good career). I hope I'm wrong though....

I see some fighters who I feel have no business fighting at their current weight class - they can be much more successful going down one weight class and gaining a significant size advantage -

1)Cro Cop - obviously the man isn't what he used to be for whatever reason , but at his size it's ridiculous to think he can't make LHW . He's a small hw , if a beast like James Irvin can make weight so can Cro Cop . Seeing him get taken down like that by Overeem , what can I tell ya , if Cro Cop wants to make one last go with his career it might be wise to do it in LHW

2)Chris Leben - Chris is really quite a small middle weight and he's carrying some fat on him . With a correct diet making WW should be no problem , he's really not much bigger than guys like Fitch , Kos or GSP . With his chin and KO power he can give problems to anyone , but in middleweight he's a gate keeper at best.

3)Kiril Sidilnikov(baby Fedor) - obviously the guy is so young (20 years old) and has lots of time still , but he's frame isn't for heavyweight . He's short and not very built , he's just fat . Lose that fat and go down to LHW or even MW , u have no business fighting a Buentello...