It’s funny how quickly things change, less than 14 months ago Fedor Emelianenko was one of the most beloved combatants on the planet, with his near ten year unbeaten streak and humble attitude it seemed that nobody could get enough of him.
Then for the first time in his career he suffered a legitimate defeat at the hands of the submission guru Fabricio Werdum in June of last year and since then has failed to get back on the wagon suffering back-to-back losses to Antonio “Big Foot” Silva and tonight to Dan Henderson.
Emelianenko walked to the Strikeforce cage without his usual fan support from those in attendance Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois but it failed to bother the Sambo champion.
From the opening bell Fedor took the center of the cage throwing bombs at Henderson who was quick to return fire and gave as good as he got.
As we entered the final minute of the round it seemed that “The Last Emperor” had the upper hand buckling the light-heavyweight kingpin before rushing in on his fallen prey.
However, Hendo wasn’t done yet utilizing his wrestling to reverse position and get on top and land a big uppercut before following up with some grounded strikes until senior referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop the action.
Most fight fans in attendance seemed to believe that the bout was stopped early and Emelianenko agreed in his post-fight interview.
But any way you cut it; this is the third straight defeat for the former ruler of the heavyweight division and could be the last time we get to see him step into the cage.
Post-fight when asked about whether or not he would return to the cage he simply said “It’s gods will” and I believe it will be quite some time until we have a decision from him.
We have to take into consideration this was the last bout on his contract with Strikeforce and Showtime who would likely be interested in re-negotiating a deal.
It’s a common misconception that public interest in Emelianenko is at an all-time low but that couldn’t be further from the truth – If we look at the recent numbers his popularity has been higher since he lost to Werdum than before and I have no doubt that this rating will reflect that.
He’s not alone; UFC hall of famers like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell both reached their peak as performer long before they reached their peak as a draw.
The problem moving forward for the great Emelianenko is because of his name value he will only be matched up with combatants from the top of the division where he may struggle.
It has been suggested by numerous places that he should make the cut down to 205-lbs because he has never been a large heavyweight weighing around the 230-lbs mark but he has stated in the past that he has no interest in moving weight classes.
At 34 years of age and having done almost everything there is to be done in the sport I feel it is time for “The Last Emperor” to step down from his throne.
Then for the first time in his career he suffered a legitimate defeat at the hands of the submission guru Fabricio Werdum in June of last year and since then has failed to get back on the wagon suffering back-to-back losses to Antonio “Big Foot” Silva and tonight to Dan Henderson.
Emelianenko walked to the Strikeforce cage without his usual fan support from those in attendance Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois but it failed to bother the Sambo champion.
From the opening bell Fedor took the center of the cage throwing bombs at Henderson who was quick to return fire and gave as good as he got.
As we entered the final minute of the round it seemed that “The Last Emperor” had the upper hand buckling the light-heavyweight kingpin before rushing in on his fallen prey.
However, Hendo wasn’t done yet utilizing his wrestling to reverse position and get on top and land a big uppercut before following up with some grounded strikes until senior referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop the action.
Most fight fans in attendance seemed to believe that the bout was stopped early and Emelianenko agreed in his post-fight interview.
But any way you cut it; this is the third straight defeat for the former ruler of the heavyweight division and could be the last time we get to see him step into the cage.
We have to take into consideration this was the last bout on his contract with Strikeforce and Showtime who would likely be interested in re-negotiating a deal.
It’s a common misconception that public interest in Emelianenko is at an all-time low but that couldn’t be further from the truth – If we look at the recent numbers his popularity has been higher since he lost to Werdum than before and I have no doubt that this rating will reflect that.
He’s not alone; UFC hall of famers like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell both reached their peak as performer long before they reached their peak as a draw.
The problem moving forward for the great Emelianenko is because of his name value he will only be matched up with combatants from the top of the division where he may struggle.
It has been suggested by numerous places that he should make the cut down to 205-lbs because he has never been a large heavyweight weighing around the 230-lbs mark but he has stated in the past that he has no interest in moving weight classes.
At 34 years of age and having done almost everything there is to be done in the sport I feel it is time for “The Last Emperor” to step down from his throne.
