Fedor Knocks Out Ishii at Dream [Video]

Perhaps the demise of Fedor was overstated. People freaked out because he got caught by Werdum, steamrolled by Big Foot Silva and KO’d by Hendo. Bad losses? Yes. Still a viable heavyweight MMA fighter? Definitely.

I’d take Fedor over Werdum in a rematch, and he had Hendo rocked in their fight. Do I think he can come into the UFC and immediately contend? Probably not. But I still think there are plenty of fights for Fedor in the UFC.

Fedor took care of business for the second straight time with an impressive win over Olympic Judo gold medalist Satoshi Ishii at DREAM’s New Year’s Eve event in Japan. Here is the video.

Five UFC Fights For Fedor

The rumors about Fedor coming to the UFC are likely exaggerated. But it’s still intriguing to most fight fans, even after his three straight defeats. Fedor recently notched his first win in over two years by beating Jeff Monson. If you don’t think that Fedor is still UFC-worthy, tell that to Monson. According to Monson, Fedor broke his femur and ruptured his patella tendon. Ask Dan Henderson. Fedor rocked Hendo before he was caught by that uppercut.

Would he come into the UFC and be a contender? Not necessarily. But there are still some fights that would make sense, make the UFC money and thrill fans. Here are 5 of them.

Fedor vs. Fabricio Werdum

I would bet a HUGE chunk of coin that Fedor would win in a rematch with Werdum. There’s no way he would approach Werdum the same way he did when he was submitted by him in June of 2010. Fedor would pummel him in the standup. Werdum would have to come back to the UFC, but with Strikeforce seemingly dead that shouldn’t pose any problem.

Fedor vs. Brock Lesnar

Conventional wisdom — and I’m not saying I agree — is that Lesnar will lose to Overeem at UFC 141. How absolutely insane would it be for Fedor to sign with the UFC and step into the Octagon against Lesnar for his first fight? The people at TopBet Sportsbook would have their heads, servers and bankrolls explode. You don’t think that would set some PPV records?

Fedor vs. Overeem

Let’s say that Brock Lesnar beats Overeem. The exact same scenario from above could take place with Overeem, especially since he would not be ready for a title shot, or even the top contender at that point. These two should have fought many years ago. I still believe that people are overrating Overeem. An all-out brawl with Fedor? Yes, please!

Fedor vs. Cro Cop

Cro Cop keeps mentioning retirement but you can bet your life he’d love a rematch with Fedor — and so would the fans. Cro Cop had Fedor reeling in the first round of their 2005 PRIDE battle, but Fedor came back to win the bout by unanimous decision. They are both still willing to brawl and a rematch would be epic, even at their advanced age.

Fedor vs. Roy Nelson

I like this match stylistically. They both like to throw bombs and they both have different types of ground games. Fedor is more ground and pound while Nelson is a BJJ black belt. They would no doubt throw down in the center of the Octagon, but when Nelson gets rocked or runs low on gas he likes to shoot on his opponents. The fight would then get to the ground with either Fedor taking the top and pounding away or Big Country working subs until he catches Fedor or the fight gets back to standing.

FEDOR VS. HENDO: JULY 30 IN CHICAGO

Jonathan Snowden tweeted and ESPN reporter Josh Gross confirmed that Dan Henderson will fight Fedor Emelianenko on July 30th at the Sears Centre in suburban Chicago, Illinois.

Strikeforce and Fedor came to that venue in November of 2009, and it is the scene of Fedor’s last win. He defeated Brett Rogers by TKO in round 2. Rogers was undefeated at the time.

Reports vary on what the weight limit will be for the fight. Some have reported that it will take place at heavyweight, or a catch weight of 220 but billed as a heavyweight bout.

Henderson recently won the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight title by defeating Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante in March.

 

ANTONIO SILVA DOMINATES FEDOR [VIDEO]

Antonio “Big Foot” Silva might have beat Fedor into retirement last night. It was a dominant performance by Silva, who showed class and respect in victory.

“I want to thank for you for your support,’’ said Fedor (31-3, 1 NC), a class act and sportsman win or lose. “Something was wrong from the beginning. I didn’t adjust. Maybe it is time to leave.’’

Gus Johnson asked if this was the last time he would fight, Fedor said, “Yes, maybe this is last time, maybe it’s high time (to retire). I had a great, beautiful sporting life. Yes, maybe it’s time. Thank you very much for the support. Thank God for everything.’’

STRIKEFORCE ANNOUNCES BEST OF 2010 WINNERS

Strikeforce announced the winners in the voting for their Best of 2010.

BEST KNOCKOUT:

Paul Daley KOs Scott Smith

2:09 of Round 1

December 4, 2010 at Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu

BEST SUBMISSION:

Fabricio Werdum submits Fedor Emelianenko

1:09 of Round 1

June 26, 2010 at Strikeforce & M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Werdum

RISING STAR:

Tyron Woodley

BEST UPSET:

Fabricio Werdum submits Fedor Emelianenko

1:09 of Round 1

June 26, 2010 at Strikeforce & M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Werdum

BEST FEMALE FIGHTER:

Cris “Cyborg” Santos

BEST MALE FIGHTER:

Nick Diaz

BEST FIGHT 2010:

Nick Diaz vs. KJ Noons

October 9, 2010 at Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Noons II

BEST OF STRIKEFORCE 2010

Strikeforce is asking fans to vote for the “Best of Strikeforce 2010″. Clicking on the pic below will take you to their website and you can cast your votes there. Our selections are posted below.

Here are our picks that we also posted for our friends at Sports Untapped:

Knockout of the Year: Robbie Lawler KOs Matt Lindland. Tempted to pick Kaufman, but all 4 are worthy candidates.

Submission of the Year: Marloes Coenen submitting Sarah Kaufman was indeed huge, but nothing beats Fabricio Werdum getting Fedor to tap.

Rising Star of the Year: It’s hard not to be completely impressed with Ovince St. Preux.

Upset of the Year: Werdum again for defeating Fedor.

Female Fighter of the Year: Props to Marloes and Miesha, but Cris Cyborg is the pick here.

Male Fighter of the Year: Nick Diaz for his impressive wins against Zaromskis and Noons. Somebody please make the Mayhem/Diaz fight a go.

Fight of the Year: Billy Evangelista vs. Waachiim Spirit Wolf was one for the ages. That was some old school, gladiator stuff there.

SHOWTIME GIVES PEEK INTO FEDOR & WERDUM TRAINING SESSIONS

Strikeforce and M-1 Global teaming up for another co-promoted event.  “Strikeforce and M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Werdum” is this Saturday in San Jose, CA.  Showtime has another preview video featuring main event fighters Fedor Emelianenko and Fabricio Werdum.
Read more

NEW FEDOR STRIKEFORCE PROMO

Fedor is back fighting Fabricio Werdum on June 26th at HP Pavilion in San Jose.

2009 MMA FIGHTER OF THE YEAR

There are a lot of big names being nominated for MMA Fighter of the Year, but in the end, I think it’s a fairly easy call. I made my decision based on a few factors: quantity of fights, quality of opponents, type of fights (title bouts weigh more) and overall dominance. First, the runners-up…

B.J. Penn

No fighter looked more dominant than “The Prodigy” did in his wins against Diego Sanchez and Kenny Florian. But Penn was throttled soundly by GSP back in January.

Fedor Emelianenko

Fedor fought only twice and won both times. He beat Arlovski and Rogers, but it’s not enough for FOY.

Gegard Mousasi

Mousasi will get a lot of mentions for FOY, but his 2008 was actually more impressive than his 2009. He beat Mark Hunt, who was on a 4-fight losing streak. He needed just one minute to KO Babalu. And he finished the year with a TKO win over Sokoudjou here in Chicago.

Anderson Silva

“The Spider” probably was the most bored fighter of the year. The Forrest Griffin fight was nonsense and Thales Leites is no longer in the UFC. The UFC needs to challenge him more in 2010.

Georges St. Pierre

GSP dominated B.J. Penn and Thiago Alves, but it’s not enough for the FOY.

Lyoto Machida

Machida beat Thiago Silva, then Rashad Evans for the LHW belt. But it is the opinion of many that Shogun Rua should be the champion after their UFC 104 fight. I agree. So I can’t give Machida FOY.

There’s just one man left that could be the “FOY”. Read more

STRIKEFORCE: POST-FIGHT VIDEO

Post-fight comments from the fighters at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates.

Scott Coker on the event:

Fabricio Werdum wants to fight Fedor next:


Mayhem talks about his performance and Jake Shields talks about the RNC that almost ended the fight:

Scott Coker says Strikeforce will be back in Chicago:


Brett Rogers on a rematch with Fedor:

RVCA Fedor Emelianenko Strikeforce T-Shirt

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