Fedor Emelianenko

[Fiendish]

No, Fedor Emelianenko is NOT a strange fetish, despite what some people think when I explain this to them.

He's the most dominant Mixed Martial Arts heavyweight champion of all time, holding PRIDE's HW title for four years, and then PRIDE got bought out by Zuffa(owners of the UFC). The UFC now has the most financially attractive contracts in the MMA world, but the least flexible. Emelianenko(Fedor, not his little brother Aleksander) is now without a MMA promotion to fight for, but he's not signing with the UFC- not right now, at least. Fedor wants the freedom to fight in Russia in Combat Sambo(Russian sport) once or twice a year, but seeing as the UFC owns all major MMA promotions, and many smaller ones, they have very exclusive contracts, loaded with fines if this happes. So now Fedor is looking at K-1 HERO'S and a few smaller orgs, but hasn't discarded the UFC offer completely, with the hopes that his reputation and actual dominance in-ring will convince the UFC to allow him the one or two Combat Sambo fights a year he wants.

It would be sad if Fedor doesn't sign with the UFC, because they ARE the biggest MMA promotion in the world right now. But I also hope he holds off a few months, until Randy Couture decides he's done(44, current HW champ, formerly of the LHW division; ONLY three-time non-consecutive UFC HW Champion; retired after 3rd fight with Liddel, came back to reclaim the HW title from Timmah), as I don't want to see Couture killed(he's getting up there, and he's a small HW... Fedor's the best, my concerns are legit)

The UFC needs to pull the stick out of their ass(no offense to those here the like sticks up their ass) and realize Fedor would be the ultimate addition to the UFC, not just the HW division, as EVERY hard-core MMA fan on the planet would watch the UFC instead of K1-, K-1 HERO'S, old PRIDE events, KoTC, SEG-era UFC(before Zuffa and Dana White)... they'd ALL be watching the UFC for sure, and probably the rest for diversity in their MMA tastes.

[Big_Joe]

Erm i'm a big fan of the UFC myself and i dont think they have any sticks in their ass. You have to have standards and if this Fedor guy can't stick to them then its ashame (if he really is as good as you describe him), but the UFC cannot any exceptions being as big as it is or more fighters would be inclined to asked for these privilages.

As for him beating Randy Couture, i do not know whether you saw him take the HW title from Tim Slyvia who is one of the biggest HW's in the UFC but if you are basing your predictions on Randy's size and age then you may be in for a suprise.

It will be interesting to see if Fedor will meet the UFC's expectations some day and prove your theories of dominations correct.

[Fiendish]

You never watch any other MMA fights, do you? Fedor was a FOUR-YEAR-STRAIGHT HW champion in PRIDE. PRIDE had the best fighters in the world until Sakakibara ran it into the ground. Then Zuffa bought it, and has slowly been siphoning off gatekeeper PRIDE fighters(Herring in particular), with one or two good fighters thus far(Rampange and CroCop), with two more BIG names(Big Nog and Shogun), and teasing us with a so-so fighter(Wanderlei).

Now, Fedor is THE addition, that perfect addition to any MMA organization. Why, you ask?

He'll draw in 90% of the Asian MMA fans. If he goes elsewhere, they'll follow. The Asian fanbase could easily double the PPV buys the UFC is currently getting.

And why does he draw crowds like that?

Because he's THE man... not A man, THE man. He's beaten everyone the UFC has already siphoned from the ruins of PRIDE(in his division, Rampage excluded), and he has SKILLS. He's got skill like you wouldn't believe. He's a powerhouse of destruction. He's lost a grand total of one time, by TKO- not even a real knockout or submission! TKO!

And he'd kill Randy. No offense, I like Randy, but Fedor would run through him. Randy's a good wrestler. That's all he is. He's got sub-par striking and almost no jujutsu skill to speak of, he's a G'n'P master, and that's all. Fedor has JJ skills, has nearly inhuman strength, and he has an awsome standup game.

Think I'm exaggerating? Go to any MMA site(NOT UFC site, a real MMA site that knows what KoTC is, that knows what RoTR is, that knows what PRIDE used to be, that can tell you why the IFL will fail, why Bodog won't last... those are the sites you need to look at), and who's the top HW fighter in the world right now? Not Randy. Randy's usually not even top five. Fedor is #1... without exception.

The UFC has a stick shoved way up it's ass- Fedor wants ONE fight a year in Sambo, it's not hard. It shouldn't be that hard to make an exception in the case of the biggest draw they could ever have. If he ends up in K-1 HERO'S or Shooto, the UFC will lose not only a GREAT Heavyweight fighter(a division the UFC is lacking in), but the potential to double their PPV buys. Now, I think any buisness that wants to suceede will make some concessions to make more, yes? That's what the UFC should be doing right now- leting him fight once a year in Sambo in order to make more money.

Not only that, but with Fedor around, CroCop will start being serious again. And with those two, the rest of the UFC HW division will have to keep up. Leading to a better division.

Like I said... don't believe me, look at any true MMA site out there. Fedor is the must-have fighter for any organization to have.