As we all prepare for one of the most legendary fights that has ever been signed in the sport of mixed martial arts, there have been several different story lines included. We have Fedor Emelianenko, a man that is considered by many to be the greatest heavyweight in the history of the business. In Fedor, there are two VERY STRONG sides either for or against the legacy and ability of this great warrior. In Dan Henderson, he is a man that has fought quite a lot at 185lbs as a middleweight, currently holds the Strikeforce light heavyweight championship, and is now fighting at heavyweight against maybe the best to ever fight in that weight class.
Anyone that has been a fan of this sport for a decent amount of time is completely geeked about the possibility of this fight, but the difference in opinions sure are already all over the internet. For many, Fedor is the greatest of all time and just met a small bump in the road as competition is very solid these days in the division. For others, Fedor Emelianenko is highly overrated and we are just seeing that proven now that he is fighting in America. In this article, you will hear a few facts as well as my own personal opinion in this matter. This is the type of topic that has a firm believer on either side almost pulling out their own hair as they attempt to understand the logic of the other side to no avail.
With that being said, let me say this...I think that Fedor Emelianenko is indeed the best heavyweight of all time and that is with no disrespect intended to either Antonio Noguiera nor Dan Severn. I also think that Dan Henderson is one of the best all around fighters in the history of the sport. I actually feel like he is better than the legendary hero, Randy Couture. With all of that said, it bothers me to hear people bash either one of these fighters. I hear people say that Fedor Emelianenko is overrated and has fought nothing but cans his entire career and to be honest, it makes me sick to my stomach. It definitely bothers me when people say that a fighter is overrated for the most part because beating up thirty men in the cage in a row is definitely an amazing feet regardless of whom the thirty men are.
With that said, the thirty men that Fedor beat were indeed NOT cans in this sport. He beat several former UFC heavyweight champions as well as many other top heavyweights in the business. Fedor has beaten Renato Sobral, Heath Herring, Antonio Nogueira, Gary Goodridge, Mark Coleman, Kevin Randleman, Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, Mirko Cro Cop, Matt Lindland, Tim Sylvia, Andrei Arlovski, and Brett Rogers. Now, I believe I counted a total of 6 former UFC champions on that list and the legendary Mirko Cro Cop as well. These fighters were no wear near cans and it saddens me that people consider this list a list of cans considering quite a few of them are LEGENDS in this sport. Fedor not only beat these guys, but DOMINATED for many, many years.
Fedor only has gotten his ass kicked really one time and that was Antonio Silva. We all know that in the fight with Fabricio Werdum, he just jumped into the wrong man's guard. Its not like Werdum just went out there and beat Fedor's ass and you all know it. I think that after 35 fights and only one ass whippin, its obvious that Fedor is an elite fighter. Fedor's submission game was rarely off par leading to a mistake like that as he himself has 16 submissions to his credit. Fedor simply fucked up against Werdum and that was obvious to most of us. Now, I admit that Big Foot killed him out there, but I think many of us expected Fedor to come back. Big Foot was the better man on that day, but that does not mean that Fedor can no longer fight.
Lets be real, Fedor Emelianenko is only 34 years old, which is not the end of the world. Dan Henderson is 40 years old, which immediately makes Fedor the young guy here. Fedor is no longer in his prime, no, but he is not as “old” and “washed” up as everyone thinks. I refuse to believe a man with his ability and dominance is washed up in one year like that at the young age of 34 years old. Granted, that's not career infancy, but its also not retirement age either. I think that Fedor spoiled us and now that he has proven to be human, we wanna kill off his legacy. I do NOT like that mind set as I believe that it is disrespectful to this man that still fights for our entertainment and to feed his family. I hate the way fans and media are so quick to “retire” these fighters for them. There are plenty of people Fedor can still fight and make a living fighting. Let's let that man decide when he is done living his legacy for our entertainment.
Fedor has however, put himself in a HORRIBLE situation here where its a lose-lose issue. Despite Dan Henderson's ability and legacy himself, beating him is not a win for Fedor. If Fedor beats Dan, all of the haters will say that he only won because Dan is a blown up middleweight and that Fedor couldn't beat someone his own size. If Fedor loses, everyone will SURELY say that he has lost it and truly cannot do this work anymore. I think that Fedor losing would end his legacy with the fans for good unfortunately that are not die-hards. A loss here would make Fedor's American record 3-3 and immediately get the “overrated accusations” back going full force. The thought of this damn near gives us Fedor supporters nightmares because we just “know inside” that Fedor was never overrated. I would hate to see a scenario where it looks like we were wrong.
Now, can Dan Henderson beat Fedor Emelianenko? As much as I hate to admit it, yes, he can. Dan Henderson is GOOD ENOUGH to beat anyone in the business and I think he has proven that time and time again. Even though I think that Fedor will get a second or third round submission in this fight, Henderson could easily be seen grinding out a decision with his takedown points. Do I think Henderson has the ability to knock out Fedor? No, I have to say that I just do not see that happening. Fedor has NEVER been knocked out in his entire career and I see no reason to believe that this wrestler is going to change that. Yes, I admit that Dan Henderson has a great right hand, but knocking out a heavyweight that has never been knocked out seems absurd to me.
Everyone seems to think that Henderson can do it, but I just do NOT see their logic. Listen, Fedor has survived Cro Cop's striking, Tim Sylvia, Andrei Arlovski, and Brett Roger's striking as well. Hell, Big Foot Silva didn't knock him out either. These are some HUGE men with some HUGE striking ability and they could NOT get the job done. Who has Henderson really knocked out? Michael Bisping? Renato Sobral, and Wanderlei Silva. I think we have all seen that Sobral and Silva can be knocked out by much smaller guys. Bisping was the one man that really impressed me in terms of a knockout from Henderson. My point is that Henderson is not knocking all these people out that people assume he is. He is solid and may be able to pull off a wrestling based decision win, but knocking out the man that can't be knocked out just doesn't seem like logic.
Now, can Fedor submit Dan Henderson? Well, lets really look at this and admit that Fedor has submitted the likes of Coleman, Randleman, Lindland, and others. Fedor has the ability to tap a man out as all three of them men were VERY successful in the UFC. Dan Henderson showed us in the Anderson Silva fight that he can be submitted by a man with solid submission ability. Henderson was submitted by Antonio Noguiera, whom was never able to submit Fedor despite being the best jiu-jitsu man in the division. Did I forget to mention that he was submitted by the other Noguiera too? Granted, all three men that subbed Henderson trains at Blackhouse, but Fedor's submission game is elite as well. I also wanted to say that Fedor's striking is also very solid, so its foolish to just assume that Hendo can beat him standing up.
I do admit that Fedor might be able to take him down and earn some points. However, its not like Fedor does NOT have any takedown defense. I know that this writing seems very much so pro-Fedor, but Im just trying to look at some facts. I do think that Dan Henderson is a great fighter and this will be a great fight. I just cannot pick him to beat a heavyweight as dominant as Fedor Emelianenko. With records of 27-8 (Hendo) and 31-3 (Fedor), this is obviously one of the better fights in the history of the sport. Both men have won SEVERAL world championships in several different organizations. I am as excited as it gets for this fight as I know many others are out there.
My real question after this fight is.......Will either man be in Strikeforce after this fight regardless of result here?
This is officially Dan Henderson's last fight on his contract. Word has it that it is also Fedor's last fight on the contract. Are both men UFC bound? If Fedor loses, is he going to retire? Will Dan Henderson be back to defend the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship? I do know that the storylines are insane for this fight and the future of both of these two men seem to be as unknown as ever.
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