Fedor Loses To Werdum: Is The End Nigh?

The Mayan Calendar only gives until 2012 before the world ends, and if indeed we only have that long left on this Earth we will know that June 26th 2010 started off the chain of events that inevitably lead to our demise. Febricio Werdum became the first man to legitimately defeat The Last Emporer last night when he submitted Fedor just seconds into their contest. The world was shocked and the Fedor haters and UFC fanboys will undoubtedly have a field day with the talk of Fedor being overrated in the fight game. 

Fedor Taking The Manny Pacquiao Route?

(Fedor's primary political rival)

Fedor Emelianenko is allegedly going to run for a congressional seat in Russia as a "United Russia" party candidate. The press release comes via MiddleEasy who got the lowdown on the former Pride FC kingpin's possible run for office, and the even bigger news that he may retire after his Strikeforce bid is up.

The regional political council of the party "United Russia" approved the list of candidates for internal party elections - the primaries. In the list of 58 candidates. No less than 10 000 United Russia vote will determine the best, and who will receive the first place in the party list in the upcoming October elections in the Belgorod Regional Duma.

The list of early voting have 24 newcomers who have never participated in elections to the legislature. One of the achievements was the inclusion in the list not only members of United Russia, but also simply to party supporters and even non-party candidates. This is for example the managing director Combine KMA Ruda Vladimir Tom and CEO JBK-1 Yuri Selivanov. They are not only members of the party, but also by working in obldume fourth convocation, not included in the United Russia Duma faction.

Among the most notable candidates, in addition to the deputies (Anatolia Zelikow, Victor Filatov, Vadim Cage, Valeria Skruga, Ivan Kulabuhova, Vladimir Kulikovsky) - a famous athlete Fedor Emelianenko, the new director of Belarusian State Technological University Sergey Glagolev (by the way, non-partisan), director of the Institute of Public and municipal government BSU Alexander Mamatov.

Fedor vs. Brock looks even more unlikely given the Russian's penchant for things other than fighting, which he says he has never really loved. He is a fighter by trade, but a religious dude who apparently has more interest in politics and russian bath-houses than state-side MMA. Say it aint so Fedor!

M-1 Global Delays Fedor's Return, Brings More Drama

M-1 Global is a very small fight promotion with one very big star and co-owner amongst it's ranks: Fedor Emelianenko. They had Gegard Mousasi as well, but he came to his senses recently and left. M-1 Global has always seemed to think that they are worth more than they are, and because they have Fedor to bargain with they have been able to weasel into the promotional picture. Being that Fedor is part owner in the company, he has a vested interest in letting the goons run the show and do whats best for the bottom line while making ludicrous demands to be a major player in a game they have done nothing to build. All this while picking and choosing opponents for Fedor and keeping him more protected than a fighter promoted by Don King. The most recent absurdity to come from the Russian click is the re-negotiating of Fedor's contract with Strikeforce in which they have some problems with the visibility of the M-1 name. If you remember the first Affliction card that was "co-promoted" by M-1, they were unhappy about the prominence of their logo on the fight posters and made a stink about it. This situation is more of the same, and I'm guessing a bit of money was involved as well. Here is a quote from an interview with Evgeni Kogan by Dave Meltzer at yahoo sports:

“The way the show was promoted, that was an issue to us, but we don’t have an issue with Strikeforce over it,” Kogan said. “M-1 isn’t a management company for Fedor Emelianenko. We are a fight promotion. We have done matches all over the world, U.S., Asia, Europe, Japan. But the media didn’t feature the M-1 name [in coverage of the November show]. Specifically, it wasn’t Strikeforce’s fault. They honored their agreement. The way the media perceived the event was it was Strikeforce. M-1 wasn’t promoted that much. That was an issue with us.”

CBS promoted the November show more as “CBS Saturday Night Fights” as opposed to promoting the Strikeforce or M-1 Global brand names. “For us, this is a really big deal,” Kogan said. “We’re concerned about our brand. For us, it’s an important piece of the big picture.”

Kogan needs to remind us that M-1 is a fight promotion because of the fact that no one in the US, or any other part of the world, really cares or has any interest in knowing what they do. The shows that they put on in Russia are largely showcases for M-1 talent and the international shows are filled with fighters still working their way up the ranks.  The fact that they believe that the media should give their brand more name recognition is on a whole other level of absurdity. Mentioning that CBS should rename their "Saturday Night Fights" to accommodate the M-1 brand name gives you an idea of how delusional they really are. As long as Fedor is managed by this group his legacy will forever be tarnished and fans will not get to see Emelianenko face truly elite competition because M-1 wants to milk the cash cow as long as they can and won't risk him losing. Georges Saint Pierre, Anderson Silva, BJ Penn, hell even Brock Lesnar will be higher up on my list of top fighters until Fedor gets back to fighting the best in the world on a consistent basis. That simply will not happen with the group of people surrounding him now. I have no problem with Fedor's people getting a piece of the pie, but this is getting ridiculous.

Dana White Contradicts Himself With James Toney Deal

(With 4oz gloves on Sam Peter's head may have spun completely around) 

First of all, I am not against the idea of James Toney fighting for the UFC. Being one of the best boxers of all time does not disqualify you from MMA simply because you don't have an amateur wrestling or Jujitsu background. Toney can and more than likely will bring excitement to those who are fans of his and those people who want to see him fail in his UFC endeavors. What has got me messed up when looking at this deal is that the UFC has the most restrictive contracts in all of combat sports yet they are allowing Toney to continue boxing while under contract. A company that has slighted many a fighter by not allowing them to compete in other sports, let alone other promotions, has let a debuting fighter with no prior MMA experience do what so many others have not been able to. If you recall the original negotiations with Fedor Emelianenko The UFC was unwilling to even allow "The Last Emperor" to compete in Combat Sambo tournaments if he signed with the promotion. The company's Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva has been angling for a fight with Roy Jones Jr. for years and Dana White tells his camp to stop talking about it because he won't allow it to happen. Further contradicting his stance on who fights for the UFC, White went out of his way to accommodate Toney. Is it because of name recognition? Kimbo Slice had already had four pro MMA fights and the record for the most watched MMA fight in history, yet he was still forced to cut his teeth on The Ultimate Fighter reality show before given a shot at fighting for the UFC. I am not comparing the former street-fighter to boxing legend James Toney by any means other than to illustrate a point. If they are so willing to go out of their way for Dana's man-crush James Toney, why not show some of that respect to the loyal fighters in-house? Why not extend that type of courtesy to Fedor Emelianenko to get the Heavyweight juggernaut to the UFC? However, now that this deal has been done maybe the doors have been opened for the UFC to offer better deals to fighters like Emelianenko. Maybe the option of co-promotion has secretly slipped into the realm of possibility with the unlikely signing. Only time will tell, but in the meantime I am interested to see who Toney draws as his first fight inside the cage.

The UFC's Heavyweight Division: Very Exciting, But Still Has One Missing Link

The UFC has a crop of stars now in it's stacked heavyweight class: Brock Lesnar, a resurgent Frank Mir, Shane Carwin, Cain Velasquez, Junior Dos Santos, Rodrigo Nogueira, Stefan Struve, Gabriel Gonzaga, and a few others. Not all of those names are going to be titlists, but they are good, exciting fighters that can make some very interesting fights. There is still one thing that sticks out like a sore thumb in that line up however, and that is Fedor Emelienenko's name is absent from it. In the opionion of many, including myself, Fedor would come out on top in any one of those match ups because he is Fedor. The thing that is so frustrating for fans is that we will not get to see these fights come to fruition to be sure because of several different forces at work. First of all there is  M-1 global and all of the leeches that are surrounding Emelienenko who insist on co-promotion of a brand that has one asset that anyone is interested in, and that is Fedor. Before the announcement that Gegard Mousasi had left M-1 Global to seek alternative management you could have said that they had two valuable assets. Hopefully Mousasi leaving is a signal that Fedor may be the next follow suit and ease up on the co-promotion aspect of the negotiations (Emelianenko is apparently part owner of M-1 which may also impede any progress). The UFC has built such a strong name and fan base in the US that they have absolutely nothing to gain from co-promoting with M-1 and for them to think any differently is absurd. The second element in this volatile mix is Dana White's brash and disrespectful attitude towards Fedor and his camp. What the UFC really needs is to have Dana stick to promoting the events and stay out of the negotiating process completely. For Fedor to be in the position that he is willing to compete for the promotion I have a feeling that DW will have to be so far out of the promotion that Fedor can't even see the shiny glare from Dana's bald head. As recently as last weekend in Australia the aforementioned White stated that they are still wanting to get Fedor and that it is a possibility, but he has been dangling that carrot in front of fans for way to long for us to hold our breath. I like one match up in the stable that Fedor currently resides in and that is him vs. Alastair Overeem. Besides that fans and pundits alike are really not too thrilled about the other possibilities in the Strikeforce HW division. The only solution to this ailment is to get Fedor where he belongs, with the world's other top heavyweight talent before he gets too old and fans are left wondering what could have been.

MMA'S TOP 9 OF 2009

(The Prestigious "Dummy" Awards for 2009)

Opinions are like.... everyone has one and they all stink. Here is my take on some of the most exciting and talented fighters to shine in 2009.

9. Jake Shields

Aside from the much maligned performance that he won the Strikeforce Middleweight title with, Shields has been on a tear for some time now. He did however win the contest and became the Middleweight Champion against the tough vet Jason Miller. Before that dud of a fight Shields quickly submitted former Champ Robbie Lawler in an exciting fight, and the Miller fight was his first to go the distance since 2006.

8.  Brock Lesnar

Although he had just one fight this year, it was a dominating beating of the man to hand him his only defeat, Frank Mir. Lesnar also handed MMA fans one of the best post-fight speeches ever in which he proceeded to blast the UFC's biggest sponsor and disrespect his fallen opponent.  With Heavyweight contenders piling up in the UFC, hopefully Brock will be healthy and able to return to the cage ASAP.

7. Nick Diaz

Aside from Diaz's love from marijuana and his hate for the CSAC, Diaz has put on some of his most memorable performances. He completely dominated the legend Frank Shamrock and smashed the heavy handed Scott Smith all outside of his normal fighting weight as he moved up to Middleweight. Next year may be an even better one for Nick Diaz as he is set to compete for the Strikeforce Welterweight title.

6. Jon Jones

Jon "Bones" Jones is the most exciting prospect in the UFC, period. He burst on to the UFC radar after making his debut against the more experienced Andre Gusmao winning a unanimous decision. His competition didn't get any easier, but that fact was seemingly unknown to Bones. He smashed Stephan Bonner via UD, and just recently steamrolled Matt Hamill, but was unfairly disqualified due to an illegal strike way after the fight should have been stopped.

5. Gilbert Melendez

"El Nino" had a rough 2008 having racked up the two lone losses of his career to Mitsuhiro Ishida and Josh Thomson. The latter loss being the most painful because it was at the cos of his Strikeforce Lightweight strap. Melendez re-focused himself and blitzed through  Rodrigo Damm to earn the Interim belt at 155 and avenging his first professional loss to Ishida in dominant fashion. The last fight El Nino had this year was the much anticipated and long delayed re-match with "The Punk" and it turned out to be one of the best fights of the year. Melendez took the fight via UD to reclaim his spot atop the 155lb division in Strikeforce.

4. Dan Henderson

Dan started the year out with a close split decision win over rich Franklin to win the bid to be coach on TUF. "Hendo" had a tough run with a measly 1 fighter from his team on TUF make it to the finals of TUF USA vs UK. Henderson had his revenge however over the brash Micheal Bisping as he landed a hellacious right hand to put "The Count" out for the count. The former champion also signed a landmark deal with Strikeforce making him one of the biggest UFC stars to jump ship to the budding promotion. We look forward to seeing Hendo on CBS against the best middleweights Strikeforce has to offer.

3. Fedor Emelianenko

The Heavyweight fighter is still a fan-boys wet dream despite not signing with the MMA juggernaut the UFC. Fedor started the year off with a highlight reel KO of another former UFC champion in Andrei Arlovski as well as dispatching the formerly unbeaten Brett Rogers. MMA enthusiasts were treated to a trademark Fedor performance free on network television in his Strikeforce debut. Fans and pundits alike still wish for the former Pride FC star to make his long awaited debut in the UFC.

2. Georges Saint Pierre

The Canadian Middleweight king sent BJ Penn packing his bags back to the Lightweight division with a beating the likes of which Penn has never been privy to. GSP cemented his place at the top of his division with a dominating win over muay thai powerhouse Thiago Alves. Georges earned an award for being Canadian Athlete of the year for the second year in a row.

1. Jose Aldo

With some of the most exciting finishes in the WEC, and striking prowess similar to the UFC's Brazilian Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, Aldo proved his worth with stirring wins over top contenders and Champion Mike Brown. "Junior" had four fights in the WEC in 2009 and all ended via KO/TKO as he pushed his way to the top. Aldo won the title from the ATT ace Brown with quick and accurate strikes to take his place atop the WEC's featherweight division. The 145lb firecracker is my pick for fighter of the year in 2009 and looks to have a bright 2010 ahead.

MMA WISH-LIST FOR 2010

(Holy Hell This Guy Likes Violence!)

It is that time again folks; the time that we make resolutions that we never keep, a time to gain excessive weight from holiday meals, and a time to look at bank statements and regret buying all of those gifts. This is my new year's wish list for the sport of MMA. As the old saying goes sh*t in one hand and wish in the other to see which one comes first.

FEDOR TO THE UFC:

I don't care how it happens or if we have to see an M-1 Global stamp all over the UFC broadcast to get it done, but it needs to happen and soon. This one is on every fan's wish-list every year so lets hope that this will be the magical year in which it happens. Fedor's contract with Strikeforce is only for a couple more fights, so it is within the realm of possibility. Who doesn't want to see the Russian bear come over and pound out Brock Lesnar, or face the other behemoth Shane Carwin? A resurgent Frank Mir would be an awsome match to see just how well Mir fares on the ground with Fedor, or if he can take any of Fedor's power shots before getting to the ground. MAKE IT HAPPEN DANA, FEDOR, AND M-1.

A HEALTHY BROCK LESNAR:

A Wordsworth he may not be, but Lesnar is a dominant and fascinating individual. We hope to see him well again and putting other people in the hospital: The way it shoud be. With title challengers chomping at the bit to get to Lesnar, it should be an interesting year should the Champ return to defend his belt.

BJ PENN STAY AT LIGHTWEIGHT:

There is already talk about a third match between Penn and his arch nemesis Georges Saint Pierre after Penn's dominant performances against Ken-Flo and Diego Sanchez. What needs to happen in my opinion is that Penn needs to stay at lightweight and defend his title. He could be the most dangerous person at that weight and reign for as long as he's healthy and able. His legacy is to be at lightweight and to be a long reigning champion. After a few more performances like his last one, then let's see him move up and face some challengers before getting another crack at GSP.

THE UFC ON NETWORK TV:

The door has been potentially opened for this to happen with Comcast's recent purchase of NBC. The fanfare would be immense and give the fans of this sport what the Boxing fans had with ABC's Wide World of Sports back in the day. Now with the ratings giant Kimbo Slice on the roster along with proven draws like Lesnar, GSP, and Penn the sky is the limit.

THE CONTINUED GROWTH OF STRIKEFORCE:

Scott Coker has been on a teat recently with the high profile signings of some of the sports greats like Fedor and Dan Henderson. In the states where UFC=MMA, Strikeforce could be the Mike Tyson of MMA leagues and finally make the UFC open it's doors to Co-Promotion to make the best possible match-ups.

SANCTIONING IN ALL STATES:

While the UFC's team of people have been doing a crack job of getting it done like the recent sanctioning in Boston, and the UFC's first trip to Philly, MMA has still yet to hit NY. Madison square garden is a pinnacle of fight venues in the county and would really mark the sports staying power when it does happen.

These are some of my MMA wishes for the next year in the fight world. For now we will probably get sh*t on our hands before some of these come true, but here's one guy who will keep trying no matter how much fiber I have to eat.

Dumb-Out Radio Volume One

DumbOut Radio Episode 1 by dumb-out

Dumb-Out.net radio episode one includes topics such as Fedor's Strikeforce debut, David Haye's fight with the giant, our picks for the Manny Pacquiao/Miguel Cotto fight, and more. Check out the first installment of our bi-weekly radio show and enjoy!

Fedor Smashes Rogers at Strikeforce Saturday Night Fights

A moral victory for Brett Rogers was all he was able to win against "The Last Emperor" in their Heavyweight bout on CBS Saturday Night Fights. Rogers was able to have moderate success in the opening stanza as he bloodied Fedor's nose with a stiff jab to open the cut.  In round two Fedor knocked down Rogers with a hard looping overhand punch that sent Brett's eyes rolling back in his head as Fedor pounded him out to get the TKO. Rogers did land some hard punches on the ground in the first, and was able to negate any submission attempts by the Russian cyborg.  Fedor found himself in a little bit of trouble, but overcame adversity as he always does to get the win. 

Main Card
Febricio Werdum def. Antonio Silva via unanimous decision
Gegard Mousasi Def. Sokoudjou via TKO Round 2
Jake Shields Def. Jason Miller via unanimous decision
Fedor Emelianenko Def. Brett Rogers via TKO Round 2


Preliminary Card
Marlos Coenen def. Roxanne Modafferi via submission (armbar) - Round 1
Jeff Curran def. Dustin Neace via submission (injury) - Round 1
Shamar Bailey def. John Kolosci via unanimous decision 
Nate Moore def. Louis Taylor via submission (strikes) - Round 2
Christian Uflacker def. Jonatas Novaes via unanimous decision

Fight Picks: Fedor vs Rogers

MAIN CARD

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers
Can Rogers overcome the Fed-Aura of Fedor and pull of the upset?  He unquestionably has heavy hands which gives him a punchers chance, but I see Fedor as too tall a task for Rogers. Fedor takes this one via submission as soon as he wakes from his pre-fight nap.
 
Jason "Mayhem" Miller vs. Jake Shields (for vacant Strikeforce middleweight title)
Jake Shields has been able to impose his will on everyone he has faced since 2004 because of his normally superior Jiu Jitsu.  In this fight he is not going to have as much of an edge on the ground, as Miller is no slouch on the mat.  I give this one to "Mayhem" via UD.

Gegard Mousasi vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (non-title match)
I see no other ending to this than Gegard's hand raised after the stoppage.  Mousasi via KO early on. 

Antonio Silva vs. Fabricio Werdum
This is the toughest test Antonia Silva has faced yet, but I beleive his ground prowess will nullify Werdum's Jiu Jitsu and give him the win via TKO.

PRELIMINARY CARD

Marloes Coenen vs. Roxanne Modafferi (CBS reserve fight)
Coenen was being touted as the next in line for Cyborg's 145lb title fight, but she gets a tough vet in Roxanne Modafferi. This is the second fight between the two in which Modafferi took the first via controversial decision.  Still, I see the Golden Glory standout Coenen overcome on the matt by Roxanne as she takes this one via submission. 

Jeff Curran vs. Dustin Neace
Jeff Curran comes in for his first post-WEC bout to take on Dustin Neace who has recorded almost as many losses as wins in his fight career so far, and has not faced the kind of opposition Curran is accustomed to.
Curran via TKO. 

Shamar Bailey vs. John Kolosci
Former TUF contestant John Kolosci rides a three-fight win streak into this contest against the explosive, but untested Shamar Bailey. I'm going to go with Kolosci via decision. 

Deray Davis vs. Mark Miller
Miller via TKO
Nate Moore vs. Louis Taylor
Taylor via K.O
Jonatas Novaes vs. Christian Uflacker
Noveas via submission


Strikeforce Fedor vs Rogers airs this Saturday on CBS

Some Hype Videos To Get Ready For November 7th!

Fedor HL that shows us why he is the best in the world.


Some KO highlights from "The Grim"




Gegard Mousasi highlight


Sokoudjou KOing Lil Nog


Fabricio Werdum highlight


Jake Shields HL

FIGHT CAMP 360: FEDOR VS. ROGERS TO AIR NOV 3RD

The acclaimed series fight camp 360 which we saw debut at the onset of the Super Six tournament on Showtime will turn to MMA for it's next installment.

Fight Camp 360°: Fedor vs. Rogers will feature unrestricted access to one of the most enigmatic professional athletes of today, Fedor Emelianenko and his next opponent, the undefeated Brett Rogers,as they prepare to headline "Strikeforce/M-1 Global Saturday Night Fights" to be broadcast LIVE on Saturday, Nov. 7 (9:00 PM, ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Fight Camp 360°: Fedor vs. Rogers will premiere on Showtime® on Tuesday, Nov. 3 at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT. The CBS Television Network will also make the show available to its 203 affiliated stations for broadcast in advance of the fight.

Fedor Vs. Rogers Set For This Fall

Strikeforce promoter Scott Coker announced today that Fedor will make his promotional debut against undefeated banger Brett "The Grim" Rogers. Rogers is coming off a big win against Andrei Arlovski, while Fedor Emelianenko's last win was also against Arlovski at Affliction's Day of Reckoning. Roger's experience level is minuscule compared Fedor's, but he also possesses the great equalizer in that he has very heavy hands. It will be interesting to see if Strikeforce can continually find quality opposition for Fedor in it's slim roster of Heavyweights.

Strike-farce

Dana White puts Strikeforce on Blast for signing Fedor.

"It will put them out of business," White commented about what Fedor's signing with do for Strikeforce. "These guys have no money and they have no distribution. Four (expletive) people watch Showtime. Their last fight they put on, do you know how many people watched that fight? 245,000 people watched that fight."

"I guarantee you the deal he got at Strikeforce isn't even in the (expletive) universe of what he got (from the UFC)," White stated. "The deal he got at Strikeforce probably isn't even the deal he had at Affliction. They have no money."

"They have no fighters, they have nobody for him to fight," White said about competition for Fedor. "They're a small time show; they're trying to act like they have something. Cung Le hasn't defended his title since like 1997, Josh Thomson hasn't defended his title in something like two years, (Alistair Overeem) hasn't defended his title in two years. Strike-farce. It's a joke. It's a tiny little regional show with nobody in it."

Big Up MMAweekly.com

Video of said comments:

Fedor Rebukes UFC offer rumors

(From Strikeforce conference call)

During the Strikeforce conference call Fedor Emelienko stated that the numbers that are floating around the internet are far from the actual numbers offered by the UFC. He also stated that the UFC doesn't treat fighters like human beings, and that he does not care for their attitude towards the fighters. He also address the discontent with the fans in not signing with the UFC saying that he does not keep up with the rumors, he also stated that if the numbers that were portrayed online were an accurate representation that he would have signed with the UFC. His manager Vadim also commented on Fedor's status staying that Fedor's name is bigger than that of the UFC outside of America, and that he would bring fame to them by signing with Dana and company. Fedor again was asked about the backlash from fans in the US and the anger directed at him for not signing with UFC and denying fans of a Brock Lesner fight. He stated that he was very sorry that he dissapointed anyone of his fans, but that he also thinks he deserves some respect for his personal interests.

The Big Sausage gets first crack at Fedor!!

Source

Randy must be a bit irked by this development eh!

Fedor Watch: Elite XC Offers Deal

According to Nokaut.com The Last Emporer has been offered a deal with EliteXC. MMAJunkie also reports some of the alleged details of the deal, and it includes mad money!

Fedor Farts On M-1

The word around town is that Fedor never actually signed a contract with upstart promotion M-1 Global only a letter of intent. LOLs aside, this means that as soon as the last emprorer returns his 1.5 Mil signing bonus he willbe free to roam. According to Sherdog his primary suitor would be the Affliction/Golden Boy love child.


Sherdog Article

The Fedor-athon part duex!

Rumors that we can only prey are truth are currently circulating about Fedor Emelianenko becoming a free agent once again. Fedor's agent reported that Fedor should be separated from the promotion by next week. This has the MMA fanboys in a frenzy, with that thought of a Fedor Vs. Couture in the UFC dreammatchup possibly coming to fruition. In a perfect world Randy and Fedor get what they want from the UFC and make this match happen by years end.