Shortlist for Fedor

[DixieDestroyer]

Silva, Kharitonov, Overeem Shortlisted for Fedor

Saturday, July 17, 2010
by Loretta Hunt (lhunt@sherdog.com)

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker will begin discussions with co-promotional partner M-1 Global as early as this weekend for the third and final event on their existing contract. It will be the first time the companies talk shop since Fedor Emelianenko's stunning 69-second submission defeat at the hands of Fabricio Werdum on June 26 in San Jose, Calif.

At the top of the list will be determining Emelianenko's next opponent and where the event will take place, as well as negotiations to re-up a deal to produce additional events together into 2011.

Regarding Emelianenko, Coker said he's well aware that M-1 Global has its sights set on its client Emelianenko getting an immediate rematch with Werdum, who snapped the 33-year-old Russian's unmatched 28-fight win streak amassed over nearly a decade.

Werdum has openly stated he'd grant Emelianenko the rematch and would like to see the fight promoted in Russia, where the Brazilian believes not a seat would be left empty.

Richard Wilner, Werdum's manager, said recent reports that the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt will be sidelined for the rest of 2010 to undergo elbow surgery are incorrect. In an e-mail to Sherdog.com on Friday, Wilner wrote that Werdum will meet with a physician next week to evaluate his elbow and that if he required surgery, it "would certainly be minor."Â￾

"He's back in the gym helping his teammates train for their upcoming fights. He is at the same time still celebrating his victory, enjoying his family, making appearances, teaching, etc.,"Â￾ wrote Wilner. "Fighting within the year is a possibility if the right opportunity presents itself."Â￾

Strikeforce's Coker said in the days following the June 26 event that he might be inclined to match Emelianenko against heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem, who has campaigned heavily for the fight for the last year. That field has evidently expanded.

"It doesn't have to be Overeem,"Â￾ said Coker this week. "It could be (Antonio) ‘Big Foot' Silva or maybe (Sergei) Kharitonov."Â￾

The 6-foot-4, 265-pound Silva outboxed former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski to a unanimous decision victory at Strikeforce "Heavy Artillery"Â￾ on May 15 in St. Louis. Kharitonov, the promotion's most recent heavyweight acquisition, was an active fixture of Japan's Pride Fighting Championships and dropped a first-round submission loss to Jeff Monson at Dream 8 in April 2009.

Of all the possibilities, Coker was certain who Emelianenko wouldn't meet next, though.

"It's not Fabricio Werdum,"Â￾ he said. "He already beat (Fedor). To me, it's only been a month (since the first fight). We saw the Werdum fight already. I think when they eventually hook up and fight again, it will be an amazing fight and event."Â￾

Coker knocked rumors that a proposed Overeem-Emelianenko match served to lock the Russian into a "champion's clause,"Â￾ a component of standard contracts that makes it difficult for a fighter to exit a promotion once he wins a title.

"That's not it at all,"Â￾ said Coker. "Depending on if there's any future fights, if he fights Overeem, it might not be a title fight. It doesn't have to be (for the title). If Fedor is on his last fight with us, we wouldn't make it a title fight with Alistair. But why shouldn't that fight happen regardless?"Â￾

When asked what might transpire if M-1 Global is adamant that their client only face Werdum next, Coker had a stern reply.

"I just don't think they'll have a choice,"Â￾ he said.

If the two promotions can't come to terms on a contract extension or new agreement, Coker said Strikeforce has "first rights to negotiate"Â￾ should M-1 Global and Emelianenko seek out another offer.

http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Silva-Kharitonov-Overeem-Shortlisted-for-Fedor-25734

 

[Paleocon]

Huh?

I'm not a UFC fanboy, but Strikeforce match-making is a joke. Do they even have contenders or just a bunch of guys that they match up in random fashion? From the looks of things Werdum won't get a shot at Overeem even though he earned it. The idea of Overeem v. Fedor as a non-title fight is a joke. If Fedor wins he gets no belt and Overeem is a discredited champ. If Overeem wins he probably bolts for the UFC anyway. And either way Werdum sits out because he isn't a big draw.

From the looks of it Strikeforce is trying to milk everything they can out of Fedor's final contractual fight, but they don't really want him becoming the champ in case he leaves. Messing around with things at the top messes up everything below too. If you have Overeem/Fedor then who does Werdum fight...Silva again? They already had Rogers fight Overeem after a loss to Fedor so it is obvious that they don't have any sort of order to their match-making.

 

[Howard]

Fedor should rematch Werdum and after he beats his ass go to the UFC.

 

[DixieDestroyer]

Fedor WILL win if he ever faces Werdum again. ADCC HW champ or not, only 1 time in 10 does he beat Fedor...and that already happened.

 

[whiteathlete33]

Here is an article on Fedor.

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<h1>Can Emelianenko regain his legendary aura?</h1>
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By Dave Meltzer</span>, Yahoo! Sports</span>
Feb 10, 2:42 pm EST


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It was little more than seven months ago that Fedor Emelianenko last
competed in the sport he dominated for years. The match only took 69
seconds, but they seemed like the longest in the history of mixed
martial arts.


Fabricio Werdum baited the sport's most mythical character by going
down hard from a punch that he now claims barely touched him. In his
eagerness to finish the fight, Emelianenko went to the ground after his
foe. Werdum immediately clamped on a triangle choke. Watching the replay
of the fight, you can see it was only a matter of seconds before
Emelianenko tapped. But if you were in San Jose's HP Pavilion on June
26, you would swear time was standing still.

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<div ="hd">More From Dave Meltzer</div>
<div ="bd">
<ul ="list"><li ="B">Breaking down the Strikeforce Grand Prix Feb 9, 2011<li ="B">Jones' fast track gets faster Feb 6, 2011[/list]
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Considered for so long the best pound-for-pound
fighter in mixed martial arts, the Russian veteran had come seconds away
from losing on so many occasions â€" only to reverse position and
immediately finish things â€" that almost nobody could even conceive that
he could actually lose.
<div ="inline_photo inline_photo_right" style="width: 220px;">

<div ="caption">A contemplative Fedor Emelianenko returns to the cage on Saturday night.
(Getty Images)</span> </div>
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Almost nobody but the man himself. In MMA's most stunning moment of 2010, he submitted to Werdum.


"It happened that people made me an idol,"Â￾ Emelianenko said shortly
after his first loss since 2000. "But everybody loses. I'm just a human
being. And if it's God's will next fight, I'll win."Â￾


Time hasn't stood still since, even though at times it seems
Emelianenko's return to competition was taking forever. The usual
Emelianenko contract renegotiations â€" three-way discussions involving
M-1 Global, Emelianenko's promotional arm; Showtime; and Strikeforce â€"
dragged until being finalized at the beginning of the year. His signing
coincided with the announcement of the eight-man Strikeforce Grand Prix
heavyweight tournament that begins Saturday night and will run through
most of the year.


Emelianenko's quest to regain the aura he had for several years
starts at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J. Emelianenko (32-2,
one no-contest) faces Antonio "Bigfoot"Â￾ Silva (15-2) in the three-round
main event of an all-heavyweight event on Showtime.


In Silva, Emelianenko faces a man at least four inches taller â€" and
one who will likely go into the cage close to 50 pounds heavier. Silva
is a former heavyweight champion in smaller organizations such as Cage
Rage and Cage Warriors in the United Kingdom and the defunct Elite XC in
the United States.


"Nothing has changed for me,"Â￾ Emelianenko said about life after being
exposed as a human being whose blood is actually red like the rest of
us, rather than a cyborg out of a movie. "I train just as I've trained
before. It just so happens that I had made an error in the previous
fight, so in training I have just worked on trying not to make that same
mistake again. For me, nothing has changed inside of me, and I still
have the same beliefs. I just want to train harder for the next fight."Â￾


Emelianenko's training is altogether different from that of Silva's.
Silva moved himself and his family from Brazil to the United Kingdom in
2005, and a few years later â€" after a falling-out with the Wolfslair
Team â€" moved himself and his family to sunny South Florida. There, he
joined the American Top Team. He still speaks limited English but works
with a slew of world-class fighters, many of them top-level jiu-jitsu
black belts. And he's been formally training in kickboxing over the past
three years to add to his skill set.


Emelianenko, on the other hand, has remained in his native Russia,
training with old-school methods and with the mentality of making
everything as uncomfortable as possible.


"When I train in the mountains in remote areas, I train in the high
altitude where it's very cold, even near freezing,"Â￾ he said. "It just
makes the entire training process that much more difficult, which I
believe is beneficial because if I can get through it then, I'll be that
much better for it. Another reason I do it is because nobody bothers
me. All I do up there is train, eat and sleep. And all I need to
concentrate on is the entire process of my training regimen, without any
distractions. I believe that's what allows me to be in maximum shape
leading up to a fight."Â￾


The 6-foot-4 Silva has giant-like proportions far beyond even what
his height would indicate. He has a huge head, hands and feet, stemming
from having acromegaly, a tumor in his pituitary gland that caused an
oversecretion of growth hormone. He had an operation to remove the tumor
in 2007 and still takes medication to combat the effects.


With his look, Silva at first glance comes across as one of those
giants used a gimmick attraction in major MMA events in Japan who
usually don't have much fighting skill. But Silva has a lifetime of
martial arts experience, even if he's only really been able to put it
together completely in recent years. He started karate classes at age 4
and Brazilian jiu-jitsu at 17, and he's now black-belt level in both
sports.


And yet he enters the fight as a 5-to-1 underdog.


"I think everyone would be an underdog fighting Fedor,"Â￾ Silva said
through interpreter and manager Alex Davis as he wound down preparations
for the fight. "I like being the underdog; there's less pressure that
way.


"Fedor is a legend and to be a legend, you have to beat a legend,"Â￾
Silva added. "And I'm ready to be the best heavyweight in the world."Â￾


Silva says there is no favorite in the tournament and that all eight fighters have a shot at winning.


"I'd like to see the whole tournament in one night,"Â￾ he said. "Then we'd really see who the best man was."Â￾


Silva's two losses have come via decision to Werdum and via ref stoppage to 310-pound Samoan Eric Pele.


"The first one [to Pele] was not a real loss,"Â￾ he said. "It was an
early stoppage in a fight I was winning and I would have come back in."Â￾


Silva appeared to be hurt worse against Mike Kyle in his most recent
fight. He was knocked down and was dominated for the entire first round
before turning the tables and pounding Kyle out in the second round.


Silva's other loss â€" via decision in the match that led to Werdum
getting the bout with Emelianenko â€" was a fight in which he won the
first round but got tired faster and lost rounds two and three. He said
that loss made him better because it forced him to make sure to be in
condition for the full 15 minutes.


If Silva is to score the upset over Emelianenko, he could get a
chance to avenge that loss to Werdum â€" provided Werdum beats Strikeforce
heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem on April 9. But it's neither a
goal of his nor something he's looking forward to.


"[Werdum's] my friend,"Â￾ Silva said. "I don't want to fight him. If I
have to fight him, I will, but he will still be my friend â€" and after
the fight, we'll go out and have coffee together."Â￾

 

[moose]

good luck to fedor saturday night, he's going to need it.

 

[Thrashen]

good luck to fedor saturday night, he's going to need it.

Following the first loss of his career, Fedor somehow needs "luck"Â￾ to beat Antonio Silva? Dude, you're dreaming.

The most quality opponents of Silva's career are Arlovski (UD win) and Werdum (UD loss). He looked good in the opening round against Werdum, then promptly faded against an opponent with incredibly weak striking ability.

Make no mistake"¦a motivated Fedor will demolish any man under the sun.Edited by: Thrashen

 

[chris371]

Fedors striking has been so perfect the past few years, im counting on an early KO. His hand speed and accuracy is incredible. Still the best in MMA imo. His brother is almost equally dangerous and should be fight in strikeforce too, if it werent for his alleged Hepatitis.

 

[White Shogun]

Make no mistake"¦a motivated Fedor will demolish any man under the sun.

Then let's hope he finds something to motivate him, 'cause back-to-back losses to guys like Werdum and Big Foot Silva don't bode well for a small heavyweight who has more than 30 fights.

I'm glad his losses came in Strikeforce instead of the UFC. It would make me want to vomit to have to listen to Dana White talk sh*t about how Fedor was never any good and losing in the UFC proved it.

 

[DixieDestroyer]

Wow. I feel bad for Fedor.

He's been the greatest MMA fighter of all time. His BJJ defense has been exposed in his last 2 fights (1st round sub vs. Werdum & 2nd round domination by Silva). After the fight, Fedor made allusions to retiring. If he does NOT, I think he should cut to LHW (at 5'11), where he'd not have to deal with such a size disadvantage. Yes, he's beat giants like Sylvia, Hong-Man Choi & Semmy Schilt...BUT he's ran against better BJJ skill these last 2 fights and more size (Silva). FYI, here's the fight...


Fedor vs. "Bigfoot" Silva &lt;:-(

Edited by: DixieDestroyer

 

[Thrashen]

For the mystique surrounding Fedor's intense training rituals in remote areas of Russia, he sure was careless against Silva.

Despite the stylistic mismatch, he seemed to have no game plan, even in the opening round. He just slung wild punches, which weren't nearly as devastating as we're used to seeing. His monstrously ugly opponent had a substantial height, weight, and reach advantage"¦2-3 years ago, it wouldn't have mattered whatsoever.

Even if the referee hadn't stopped the fight due to his swollen eye, I doubt the 3rd round would have been any more fruitful for Fedor than the 1st and 2nd had been.

The loss to Werdum was certainly less demoralizing. He was caught in a very well-executed submission"¦as opposed to being pounded, taken down, and out-muscled as he was against Silva.

Perhaps these two losses will light a fire in him. Should he fight again, (finally) signing with the UFC should be a much easier process.

 

[chris371]

Fedor looked good in round one, but his overhand punches seemed less powerful than we are used to. He was on top of silva in the first, but went for a kimura instead of GnP, and lost the mounted position.

I think he looks a little less motivated now that he is financially 100 times better off than ten years ago. Plus being 50 pounds lighter is never a good thing. At LHW he would destroy people easily, but maybe hes lost some of his passion. understandable. hes had a long, brutal career.

 

[Westside]

I agree with Dixie, he should go down to light heavy weight.