The Pudgy Russian Emperor

For those not in the know, check it this highlight of Fedor Emelianenko...if you don't, then you deprive your senses of majesty and a context for what I'm writing about.

There's been a lot of writing going on around the mma blogs and sites in response to hearing about Fedor splitting from his management team and being back on the market; as if he had realistically left it in the first place. The majority of fight fans have gotten really tired of the neverending charade of where Fedor is going to end up, and rightfully so. Although, in a bit of misdirected irritation, everyone seems to be attacking Fedor's mantle of the greatest modern mma fighter. To dispute this mantle is far beyond me, but every internet jock and their spotter seem to be taking Fedor to task over his less than stellar opposition over the past couple years. Granted, he hasn't exactly set the world ablaze with his more recent victories over natural middleweight Matt Lindland and superfreak Hong-Man Choi but all this talk about what necessitates a "greatest" title brings to light an interesting debate.

First, one can't simply go by records. Fedor has a highly touted record of 27 wins with only one loss...that loss coming by cut and on top of that it wasn't even under modern mma rules(Ring of Rings had no striking once the fighters hit the ground). In comparison, Randy Couture has record of 16-8 which is definitely respectable but not really indicative of his current status. Even the most objective of figures can be completely misleading, especially when it doesn't take into account the quality of opposition. When you look at quality of opposition, Fedor(coupled with his record) is without the shadow of a doubt, the greatest heavyweight fighter of all time. Pride had what is widely regarded as the greatest stable of heavyweight fighters in the world(not an easy task since their just aren't that many). During this time, he tore through every single one of them and made it look relatively easy. No opponent throughout the stretch even came close to defeating Fedor. The exceptions to that was a slam from hell courtesy of Kevin Randleman and a haymaker from Kazuyuki Fujita, to which Fedor responded with a quick submission attempt only moments later. And on top of all of this, Fedor is a small heavyweight who measures in at only 6' 0'' tall and weighs on the smaller end of the heavyweight scale at 230lbs. No other modern champion even enters the conversation at having simultaneously had such a decorated record against the greatest era of their weightclass...so far. A lot of people might call into question his questionable decision victories over Babalu and Ricardo Arona, but every fighter has questionable decision victories. This isn't meant as a cop-out but if it is a constant with most fighters then it seems unfair to hold it against him. Ultimately, it's not his record or his quality of opposition(both of which are empirically top-notch), it's how he dominated every single one of his opponents. Pure and simple.

Personally, the easiest way to determine if Fedor deserves his status of the best heavyweight fighter is what is known affectionately around the sport world as the "smell test". If you feel Fedor isn't the best heavyweight fighter in the world, then you have to be prepared to place someone ahead of him. Just say that person's name out loud and if it doesn't make you feel odd, then you're on track. I have a hard time believing anybody who says someone other than Fedor doesn't snicker to themselves. In terms of quality of recent opponents, I have a hard time holding his bad business sense against him as a fighter. Fedor, as a fighter, is not at fault for being with an incompetent management team that signed you with C-level Bodog and one-off New Year's Eve show. As far as I'm concerned he's already cemented his legacy as the greatest heavyweight fighter of all time and it's up to his opposition, not the internet fanboys and loudmouthed pundits, to prove otherwise.

Now the concept of greatest pound for pound fighter of the modern, or any other era for that matter, is a debate for another time.

And now a quote from the ever quotable Shonie Carter in regards to Forrest Griffin: "Man, he can’t bust a grape in a food fight if he had hammers in his hand." He may look goofy as hell but he makes a damn fine point.

Vicious Kneejerk: Reactions to UFC 82

Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson:

What else is there to say? Anderson Silva is simply the man at middleweight. The first round was textbook Henderson with some wild strikes and a takedown into halfguard where Hendo peppered away with punches to the cranium for the better part of the round. Henderson wins the round. The second round rolls around and it's all Silva, with pinpoint strikes that set up back control on the ground. Anderson then nailed Henderson 2 or 3 times on the side of the head with half-moon arced punches that rattled Dan. With only a dozen seconds in the round, Anderson sunk in a rear naked choke and Dan was forced to tap out. Silva wins the fight. That pretty much says all that needs to be said, Henderson won a round, but Silva won the fight. While Silva certainly isn't invincible nor the best p4p fighter in the world(still belongs to Fedor until an opponent shows otherwise), it's hard to see Anderson being beat by anyone other than himself.

Heath Herring vs. Cheick Kongo:

So much for my prediction of a standup fight, and who would've thought that it was Kongo's fault that it was a mostly ground affair. While Cheick looked vastly more improved on the ground, it wasn't enough to secure the decision victory. Looks like Cheick seems to have figured out the ground game but not how to escape from side control, where Herring was able to score 90% of his points by knees to the body. Herring ran away with decision, leaving the heavyweight division looking murkier than ever.

Alessio Sakara vs. Chris Leben:

Oh, Alessio, how I so desperately want to be a fan. While his showing wasn't terribly disappointing, he failed to implement a good gameplan. He was backed up and pushed around all of the octagon and lost any reach or technical advantage. While he was able to land some very good clean shots, Leben is just too tough and throws too hard for Sakara to handle. Who knows what the future holds for Sakara, but for Leben...it's surely more brain trauma.

Yushin Okami vs. Evan Tanner:

Man, do I feel bad for Tanner. Tanner was outstruck on his feet and knocked out by a knee that come almost at a perpendicular angle to his temple. Not sure what Tanner did to deserve a fight after a two-year hiatus against at top-5 middleweight. Looks like we have an Okami vs. Silva rematch for July, or so, in the future.

Chris Wilson vs. Jon Fitch:

Hello Chris Wilson as a new force in the welterweight divison and goodbye to Jon Fitch as a legit title contender. This match basically exposed Fitch as a wrestler with moderate striking that can easily be taken advantage of by utilizing superior striking and implementing takedown defense. Fitch walked away with his decision victory, but his hopes of beating top-tier talent at welterweight left that night as well.

Andrei Arlovski vs. Jake O'Brien:

While Arlovski impressed with his takedown defense, the prospect of his former glory still seems out of reach. And with rumors of his imminent departure from the UFC, it makes his victory that much more bittersweet.

Luigi Fiorvanti vs. Luke Cummo:

Damn you, Luigi! Not only did you rob Cummo of a victory, you also robbed my interest in watching this fight. From all the play by plays I've read, it sounded like a lay and pray fest, and that's just too depressing for me to watch.

Dustin Hazelett vs. Josh Koscheck:

Is Koscheck turning into the Chuck Liddell of the welterweight division? Some of those strikes were so wild, I was led to believe he was aiming for whatever magical fairies were giving Dustin Hazelett so much success in the first round. While I would've loved for McLovin' to have secured the victory, simply by name alone, Koscheck's wild strikes finally found a home on Hazelett's head and secured the second round tko. Man, somebody should've given McLovin' a hug after that fight.

Diego Sanchez vs. David Bielkheden:

This looked like a Diego Sanchez fight of yesteryear, with signature ground n pound, greasy hair, and thorough domination. Next time, please show his fight...please????

John Halverson vs. Jorge Gurgel:

Honestly didn't watch the fight and not sure if I should've. Gurgel's only lifeline in the UFC is consistent events in his home-state...or the fact that he won again by decision.

And as a reward for all that reading check out genghiscon.wordpress.com for a tremendous amount of quality mma highlights. Good day!