Fedor Emelianenko's First Potential Opponents

Strikeforce hopes they can cash in on the lottery ticket that is Fedor Emelianenko after out negotiating the UFC on his services. To do that, they plan on using Fedor's fame to boost that of the rest of their franchise. This means Fedor will not get an immediate title shot against current Strkeforce Heavyweight Champion, Alistair Overeem. Instead, Fedor will be utilized on the same card as other less known fighters including Brett Rogers, Fabricio Werdum, and Overeem. Over a couple events, Strikeforce hopes that the added viewership Fedor will undoubtedly bring, will also mean a greater notoriety for their other fighters. Only after there has been some momentum on a heavyweight fight, Fedor will get his title shot.

So who then will Fedor face in the meanwhile? Strikeforce doesn't exactly have the deep roster of heavyweight fighters that the UFC does. They do however have a few guys that are just as legitimate as the other UFC contenders. Two of the leading guys Fedor may face in November are Brett Rogers and Fabricio Werdum.

Fabricio Werdum is a former UFC fighter who has faced top level talent. He has twice bested former UFC top contender Gabriel Gonzaga. He has beaten Brandon Vera, and has taken Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera and Andrei Arlovski each to a decision. Werdum has also beaten other contenders including Alistair Overeem (current Strikeforce Champ) and Fedor's brother, Aleksander Emelianenko. Werdum may be the better known fighter to UFC fans because of his short stint there.

Brett Rogers is still rather unknown. He punched his way on to the scene by stunning fight fans with a quick 22 second knockout of Andrei Arlovski in June. Beyond Arlovski however, his opponents are all relative unknowns, (with the exception of James Thompson, who is somewhat of a YouTube sensation for getting destroyed by Aleksander Emelianenko), but Rogers is the more imposing of the two fighters, and holds an undefeated record that intrigues some. Was his knockout of Andrei Arlovski (who does have a suspect chin) legit? Or a fluke? Sure Arlovski has certainly been knocked out before, but he is still a legitimate Heavyweight contender, and has the rare combination of supreme punching power, and master grappling skills.

I would prefer to see a match against Werdum, I think he is a better, more complete fighter than Rogers is at this point, but truthfully both fights intrigue me. They aren't the sexy names like Couture, Mir, Noguiera or Lesnar that the UFC has to offer, but they are worthy of similar stature as guys like Cain Velasquez, Shane Carwin, or Cheik Kongo at this point in their respective careers.

The only question would be, is Strikeforce willing to let Fedor fight two matches prior to a title match to build up the promotions overall legitimacy, and then, in his last contracted match (Fedor only signed a 3 fight deal with Strikeforce), give him a title shot, and the opportunity for Fedor to be a free agent while holding their Heavyweight Title?

Fedor signs with Strikeforce

Well, the dream of Fedor fighting the top heavyweights in the world appears to be dead for the moment. Fedor Emelianenko, and his M1 handlers have decided to sign with Strikeforce. M1 issued a statement refuting early reports of a 6 fight $30 million dollar deal offered by Dana White and the UFC. Sports Illustrated also dicredited those early reports, M1 also added that the offer from the UFC was less than what Fedor was currently making per fight.

Tough to determine what was actually offered. On the one hand, the UFC has every reason to leak a huge dollar offer to try to show their fans that they did "everything" they could to land the world's best heavyweight fighter. On the other hand, M1 would have all the motivation in the world to go public with a lower than advertised offer to explain why Fedor would choose a smaller promotion over the UFC.

Who knows, at least with Strikeforce Fedor's fights will be free to those who have Showtime. Its tough to see much opposition for him however, current heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem would seem to offer little challenge to someone of Fedor's stature. They do have Brett Rogers (of Arlovski KO fame), as well as Bob Sapp. Sapp would be a walk in the park for Fedor, but is a big name, Rogers is still rather green, but could be an interesting bout. Certainly no Lesnar, Couture, Mir, or Noguiera though.

Here is the portion of the report from Sports Illustrated (click to read full article):

"We tried everything that we could possibly do to get Fedor into the UFC, we went above and beyond," said White, who drew a line in the sand over the proposal of co-promotion. "I have been able to sign the best fighters in the world over the last 10 years into the UFC."

However, "it does not give us a chance to do what we as a company, including Fedor, are wanting to and planning to do," said the fighter's long-time manager and partner, Vadim Finkelchtein.

Rumors of a six-fight, $30 million deal from the UFC were shot down by Emelianenko's camp. Sources inside M-1 Global told SI.com that the UFC offer was for half as many fights at a rate less than what Emelianenko currently receives from his promotional company.

Emelianenko's reply to the UFC the following day didn't need translation. Addressing a small contingent of media gathered at a makeshift press conference in Anaheim, Calif., Emelianenko wore a pullover emblazoned with the EA Sports logo, a clear dismissal of White's decree that fighters wishing to compete in the UFC would refrain from signing a deal with the video game giant.

UFC 100 Results

Brock Lesnar had a good strategy going in to his fight against Frank Mir... Do not get overly aggressive, take your time, and use your size to wear out, and sap the energy out of your opponent. It worked, in round 2 of the scheduled 5 round fight, Brock had tired out Frank Mir enough, sat on him while inflicting baby punches long enough, that Frank Mir attempted to make a move, and paid the price. Lesnar capitalized with a few real damaging punches, and the fight was stopped, Lesnar unifying the 2 UFC heavyweight titles.

Lesnar came to the ring in predictable fashion. The guy has 0 personality/originality, so he went to the "tough guy" playbook, and predictably came out to "Enter Sandman" by Metalica. He strutted around, looked the part of the schoolyard bully, and after the fight, didn't disappoint those who are in to that sort of thing. As Mir's corner helped him up, Lesnar ran over, bumped Mir, and talked more trash as the crowd booed, he then proceeded to rip the event's sponsor, and tell us what he would do to his wife later in the night. Hopefully he doesn't break grandma's hips.

Dana White needs to get his pet on a leash. The guy is not house broken, he is too stupid to decipher the difference between the world of "sports entertainment" where performers sell story lines and that of real competition where athletes and world class fighters compete in tactical battle, and for the most part show sportsmanship along the way.

It appears Dana White agreed. Lesnar, in a post fight press conference, apologized to the promotion, apologized to Bud Light, and sort of apologized to Frank Mir. Like everything else about Lesnar however, talk is cheap, lets see how he behaves in the future... hopefully he will take lessons from some of the other athletes that fought on this night, guys like GSP, Dan Henderson, and even his opponent, Frank Mir, who even in defeat, and even after the spectacle Lesnar created, showed great sportsmanship, and refrained from sinking to Lesnar's level.