(no subject)
Once again, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has failed to nab the biggest free agent fighter in the world, Fedor Emelianenko. Fedor is the best heavyweight fighter in the world, and second in most pound-for-pound rankings behind Georges St. Pierre, only because the level of competition faced by St. Pierre was significantly greater. Fedor has a 30-1 record, with that one loss coming from an illegal blow that should have ruled the fight a no-contest had the referee seen it.
For years fans had been clamoring for Emelianenko-Couture, back when the Natural was the UFC Heavyweight Champ. When Pride FC was bought by the UFC, the UFC acquired most of the best Pride had to offer. Wanderlei. Hendo. Shogun. There are a scant few that were left unsigned, most notably Fedor and Shinya Aoki, but Fedor is and has always been the top prize.
He is a phenomenal fighter, with knockout power that can quickly turn the tide of a fight towards his favor. While his standup lacks technical skills, his power and ground skills, borne from years of sambo training and competition, can be matched by few. Perhaps his greatest advantage, the one that cemented his legend, is that he cannot be hurt. Against Andrei Arlovski, he took his shots, waited for Arlovski to make a mistake, and won that fight with one well-placed knockout punch.Back in Pride, Kevin Randleman picked up Fedor and dropped him on the top of his head. Fedor simply stood up, took Randleman to the ground, and submitted him with a straight armbar.
The UFC has solidified its reputation as the best MMA organization in the world, where the best fighters compete in matches the fans want to see. They have tried their best to give Fedor the best deal possible, paying him a large amount of money, allowing him to compete in sambo, and even going so far as to allow him to advertise M-1, a rival MMA company, on his shorts and banner. It was a deal that was fair, and profitable, and only a fool would not accept it.
Call Fedor Emelianenko a fool, because he did not accept the deal, opting to stay loyal to M-1 Global. M-1's counter offer, and thier goal, is co-promotion with the UFC, and it is something the UFC will not accept under anyy circumstances. That is like a major sports league doing all the work and sharing half of its earnings with a shadowy, third-rate organization. M-1 has some talent, but it is not as deep as the UFC's at this point, and they do not have the marketing power that the UFC has right now.
The current owners of the UFC took a huge risk when they bought the company, and were bleeding money for the first few years. They singlehandedly elevated the UFC to the phenomenon it is now, and established mixed martial arts as a legitimate and exciting sport. No loner was the UFC about violence or determining the best martial art, it was about competition, the best fighters coming in to see where they stack with each other, in perhaps the purest form of legal unarmed combat we'll ever see. The UFC became a success on its own, and it will continue to grow on its own, with or without Fedor Emelianenko.
Fedor needs the UFC. There is nowhere else for him to fight and legitimately test himself. Not Japan, not Russia, nowhere. The longer Fedor avoids signing with the UFC, the more damaged his reputation as the best fighter in the world becomes. I am diosappointed that I will not see Fodor vs Lesnar or Couture, but I will get over it.
And I will look forward to what the UFC now has.
A fully healed Tito Ortiz, rumored to face Mark Coleman.
A revitalized Vitor Belfort, scheduled to fight Rich Franklin at 195 lbs.
A significant boost in their heavyweight division, including Ben Rothwell.
Out of the three, Belfort-Franklin is the soonest to come, and I can't wait for that one.
For years fans had been clamoring for Emelianenko-Couture, back when the Natural was the UFC Heavyweight Champ. When Pride FC was bought by the UFC, the UFC acquired most of the best Pride had to offer. Wanderlei. Hendo. Shogun. There are a scant few that were left unsigned, most notably Fedor and Shinya Aoki, but Fedor is and has always been the top prize.
He is a phenomenal fighter, with knockout power that can quickly turn the tide of a fight towards his favor. While his standup lacks technical skills, his power and ground skills, borne from years of sambo training and competition, can be matched by few. Perhaps his greatest advantage, the one that cemented his legend, is that he cannot be hurt. Against Andrei Arlovski, he took his shots, waited for Arlovski to make a mistake, and won that fight with one well-placed knockout punch.Back in Pride, Kevin Randleman picked up Fedor and dropped him on the top of his head. Fedor simply stood up, took Randleman to the ground, and submitted him with a straight armbar.
The UFC has solidified its reputation as the best MMA organization in the world, where the best fighters compete in matches the fans want to see. They have tried their best to give Fedor the best deal possible, paying him a large amount of money, allowing him to compete in sambo, and even going so far as to allow him to advertise M-1, a rival MMA company, on his shorts and banner. It was a deal that was fair, and profitable, and only a fool would not accept it.
Call Fedor Emelianenko a fool, because he did not accept the deal, opting to stay loyal to M-1 Global. M-1's counter offer, and thier goal, is co-promotion with the UFC, and it is something the UFC will not accept under anyy circumstances. That is like a major sports league doing all the work and sharing half of its earnings with a shadowy, third-rate organization. M-1 has some talent, but it is not as deep as the UFC's at this point, and they do not have the marketing power that the UFC has right now.
The current owners of the UFC took a huge risk when they bought the company, and were bleeding money for the first few years. They singlehandedly elevated the UFC to the phenomenon it is now, and established mixed martial arts as a legitimate and exciting sport. No loner was the UFC about violence or determining the best martial art, it was about competition, the best fighters coming in to see where they stack with each other, in perhaps the purest form of legal unarmed combat we'll ever see. The UFC became a success on its own, and it will continue to grow on its own, with or without Fedor Emelianenko.
Fedor needs the UFC. There is nowhere else for him to fight and legitimately test himself. Not Japan, not Russia, nowhere. The longer Fedor avoids signing with the UFC, the more damaged his reputation as the best fighter in the world becomes. I am diosappointed that I will not see Fodor vs Lesnar or Couture, but I will get over it.
And I will look forward to what the UFC now has.
A fully healed Tito Ortiz, rumored to face Mark Coleman.
A revitalized Vitor Belfort, scheduled to fight Rich Franklin at 195 lbs.
A significant boost in their heavyweight division, including Ben Rothwell.
Out of the three, Belfort-Franklin is the soonest to come, and I can't wait for that one.