The Rear Naked Column 11.04.09: A Fedor in the Cap

Posted by Samer Kadi on 11.04.2009

On Saturday November 7th, Fedor Emelianenko steps inside the cage as the overwhelming favorite when he takes on undefeated heavyweight Bret Rogers. Join 411’s Samer Kadi as he breaks down the potential repercussions of the bout as well as its effect on Fedor’s career, his legacy, and his status as the world’s top heavyweight.

On a memorable night in Yokohama Japan, the Fedor Emelianenko legend was born.

After witnessing Anderson Silva and Dan Henderson score knockout victories, Kazushi Sakuraba fall to a storm of upkicks at the feet of "Elvis" Schembri, and Wanderlei Silva and Quinton Jackson engaging in a heated confrontation that would mark the beginning of their epic rivalry, the crowd in the Yokohama Arena had already seen what can only be described as an eventful, memorable night.

In the main event, unstoppable Brazilian submission machine Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira was set to defend his PRIDE heavyweight title against an unassuming Russian by the name of Fedor Emelianenko, two fights removed from his PRIDE debut. A ground and pound specialist who's most comfortable from the top position, Fedor's style was believed to be tailor-made for the Brazilian's onslaught of submissions from the bottom.

In what would become the defining moment of his career, Fedor turned in a frightening display of ground and pound brutality, battering his Brazilian adversary for three rounds to capture the PRIDE heavyweight title, catapulting himself into the top of the heavyweight rankings, a spot he hasn't vacated since.



Six years later, Emelianenko is set to make his debut with rising American MMA promotion Strikeforce. Welcoming him inside the cage is undefeated heavyweight Bret Rogers, a dangerous fighter with solid striking and heavy hands who's coming off an 18 seconds destruction of former UFC heavyweight champion (and Emelianenko's most recent opponent) Andrei Arlvoski.



While undeniably talented, absolutely motivated and extremely hungry, Rogers remains an unproven commodity. With only two of his fights going past the first round and none of them past the 2 minute mark of the second, there's little to discuss when it comes to Brett Rogers' all around game. A wrestling background and powerful striking aside, Rogers has yet to be tested. When asked about his Jiu-Jitsu level recently, Rogers answered with a very revealing, albeit tongue-in-cheek: "Man… I don't know".

But this isn't an attempt to solidify Fedor's case as the heavy favorite, nor reaffirm Rogers' status as the big underdog, as I believe both those statements are fully grasped and accepted among fans and "experts" alike.

The real question is however, what does Fedor accomplish by beating a fighter who for all intents and purposes, is a semi-rookie in the sport?

This is not a hit on Strikeforce's matchmaking. On the contrary, I believe this was a very sound decision from a business point of view, and one that makes the most sense. With champion Alistair Overeem too busy fighting cans or competing in K-1 (where he's taking on admittedly solid competition), what other grounds were there for "The Last Emperor" to conquer?

Brett Rogers is actually one of the company's top stars. Being undefeated and coming off a monumental win over Arlovski, Rogers walks in with a huge wave of momentum behind him. From Strikeforce's pesrpective, a win for Rogers would solidify him as one of the world's elite heavyweights and perhaps THE company's top star, while a win for Fedor would justify the hype and serve as a perfect showcase fight for the American audience, which for the most part remains unfamiliar with Emelianenko.

But if you're Fedor, what does this fight really do for your career? This is a case of high risk low reward if I ever saw one. Now naturally, Emelianenko will always have more to lose than his opponent. He's the best in the world, and will always be the favorite until someone finally delivers the goods and manages to do the unthinkable.

However, despite being the favorite against Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlvoski, a victory went a long way in solidifying his spot as the world's premier heavyweight given the previous achievements of both fighters and their status as former UFC champions. A victory over Brett Rogers, no matter how impressive, will be met with little backlash due to its expected nature.



Is this really fair? No, not by a long shot. A fighter, no matter how good he's become, still has to step inside the ring and get the job done, which is something Fedor has been doing outstandingly for his entire career. Nobody can stay on top forever, and the fact that Emelianenko has been able to do it for so long says everything. Every fight he wins is an achievement on its own (Unless it's against Zulu or Hong Man Choi). With a near perfect professional record scarred by one blemish that many feel should not exist, Fedor has little to prove for the remainder of his career. And while a defeat is inevitable, Fedor's legacy is well and truly established and is immune to being changed by a single fight outcome.

The fight with Rogers certainly presents more risks than rewards. However, the exposure to a new audience can't be overlooked. With MMA's popularity rapidly decreasing in Japan, and despite real signs of life in Europe, America remains the epicenter of Mixed Martial Arts at the moment. It's where the real money is being made and where the best fighters in the world are competing. The Affliction shows have hardly done wonders to boost Fedor's drawing power, but national television is a different beast. With the fight taking place on CBS, it basically guarantees that more people in America will be watching this than any other Fedor fight in history. It won't be an easy task. After all, Strikeforce owns virtually none of Fedor's fight footage, and it would take quite the verbal felatio to convince the viewer that "this Russian dude you've never heard of is the baddest man on the planet".

This is where it becomes evident how hard it is to really compete with the UFC. Not only do they own most of the major MMA video libraries and thus the footage for almost every former PRIDE or UFC fighter, they also have a very efficient hype machine functioning underneath them. Let's jump into the hypothetical world, and pretend Fedor was making his UFC debut this Saturday instead of Strikeforce. Let's also assume the UFC did not grant him an immediate title shot and in his first bout, he is matched up against Shane Carwin. First of all, the UFC would hype the hell out of Fedor, and they would do so by having the privilege of showing footage of him destroying pretty much everyone in PRIDE. Now Shane Carwin, who in real life will be fighting for the UFC title in a couple of months, is in many ways similar to Brett Rogers (not necessarily in skillset). He's an undefeated heavyweight who mainly fought and destroyed nobodies inside the first round until his big victory over Gabriel Gonzaga. The UFC has done such a good job of convincing us that Shane Carwin is the next big thing that we almost don't think about the level of competition he's faced anymore. Don't get me wrong, Carwin might be that good (I believe he is), but like Rogers, he's unproven. If Fedor were to take on Carwin on his UFC debut, everybody would indeed view Carwin as a big test for "The Last Emperor" (again, they might be right, but that's not the point I'm trying to make).

Regardless of the numbers emerging after Saturday's show, Fedor's legacy as one of the sport's greatest – if not the – fighters ever will remain intact. But a solid, rating boosting run stateside would certainly add another feather in the Emelianenko cap.

Hopefully, when it's all said and done, Fedor would join the UFC and look to add the ultimate (no pun intended) feather in his cap by fighting for the UFC heavyweight title. It would be a real shame if the world's greatest ever mixed martial artist never sets foot in the world's greatest ever mixed martial arts organization. And let's face it, at 33 years of age, Fedor doesn't have much time to reach staredom in the USA. So as much as I want to see Strikeforce succeed, the UFC remains his big – and perhaps only – chance .