dbreiden83080
02-24-2010, 12:01 AM
Pretty good read here..
UFC 110 announced the arrival of heavyweight Cain Velasquez. He’s been on everyone’s radar, but I don’t think anyone thought he would be capable of knocking out legend Antonio Nogueira on the feet.
The UFC’s heavyweight division is officially stockpiled and with fresh young talent that seems to have no trouble taking out the traditional divisional favorites. But there is still one guy that eludes them: Fedor Emelianenko.
Fedor is everyone’s number one heavyweight, and for good reason. His domination in Pride, and undefeated streak are the stuff of legend. But with Strikeforce’s shallow pool of fighters, for how long can Fedor hang on to the number one spot?
Velasquez and Frank Mir both did what Fedor never could: finish Antonio Nogueira. And I know most fans think Nogueira is finished, but he’s still relatively young and he’s never had better stand-up in his career. Could it be that guys like Mir and Velasquez are that good?
This time next year, the heavyweight division will be sorted out as Brock Lesnar puts his title on the line against the winner of Shane Carwin/Frank Mir, or perhaps Cain Velasquez. And I can’t forget about the ridiculous stand-up of Junior Dos Santos.
Does the man that goes through this gauntlet deserve to unseat Fedor Emelianenko?
Also by this time next year Fedor will have fought a possible top ten heavyweight in Fabricio Werdum, and then there is an outside chance that he will face another possible top ten guy in Alistair Overeem (although Overeem’s reluctance to fight in the U.S. makes this fight a potential longshot).
At some point strength of schedule has to count for something and if someone runs through the UFC’s now-stacked heavyweight division, then I have no problem ranking that fighter number one in the world. I can’t imagine that Fedor will lose any sleep over this, but if he does, then he can join Gegard Mousasi in thanking his friends at M-1 Global for nothing.
http://blog.mlive.com/its-just-sports/2010/02/fedor_emelianenko_may_not_be_t.html
UFC 110 announced the arrival of heavyweight Cain Velasquez. He’s been on everyone’s radar, but I don’t think anyone thought he would be capable of knocking out legend Antonio Nogueira on the feet.
The UFC’s heavyweight division is officially stockpiled and with fresh young talent that seems to have no trouble taking out the traditional divisional favorites. But there is still one guy that eludes them: Fedor Emelianenko.
Fedor is everyone’s number one heavyweight, and for good reason. His domination in Pride, and undefeated streak are the stuff of legend. But with Strikeforce’s shallow pool of fighters, for how long can Fedor hang on to the number one spot?
Velasquez and Frank Mir both did what Fedor never could: finish Antonio Nogueira. And I know most fans think Nogueira is finished, but he’s still relatively young and he’s never had better stand-up in his career. Could it be that guys like Mir and Velasquez are that good?
This time next year, the heavyweight division will be sorted out as Brock Lesnar puts his title on the line against the winner of Shane Carwin/Frank Mir, or perhaps Cain Velasquez. And I can’t forget about the ridiculous stand-up of Junior Dos Santos.
Does the man that goes through this gauntlet deserve to unseat Fedor Emelianenko?
Also by this time next year Fedor will have fought a possible top ten heavyweight in Fabricio Werdum, and then there is an outside chance that he will face another possible top ten guy in Alistair Overeem (although Overeem’s reluctance to fight in the U.S. makes this fight a potential longshot).
At some point strength of schedule has to count for something and if someone runs through the UFC’s now-stacked heavyweight division, then I have no problem ranking that fighter number one in the world. I can’t imagine that Fedor will lose any sleep over this, but if he does, then he can join Gegard Mousasi in thanking his friends at M-1 Global for nothing.
http://blog.mlive.com/its-just-sports/2010/02/fedor_emelianenko_may_not_be_t.html