Fedor Emelianenko: A victim of his own glittering legacy

Ever since Fedor “won” his fight against Maldonado at the Eurasia Fight Night 50, I’ve seen a lot of self – proclaimed MMA reporters trashing Fedor’s legacy. “He should quit”. “He should leave before he tarnishes his own legacy”.

Fedor’s contribution to the sport is undeniable and unassailable. What made it even more absurd is the fact that the same people welcomed Brock Lesnar back, or hyped CM Punk’s debut fight.

When you call yourself a reporter, it is understood that you take all the factors into consideration, and come up with a reasonable, objective argument. Those who are calling for Fedor’s head are the same people who’re getting hyped to see Lesnar taking on Mark Hunt at UFC 200.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of Lesnar. He has monstrous power, and his ground and pound was impressive – 5 years ago.

Watching Hunt face Big Foot Silva at UFC 193 in person proved two things – watching a fight live gives you a whole new perspective, and impressess upon you the fact that Hunt is probably the best knockout artist in the UFC’s heavyweight division.

With Conor getting the boot, UFC needed a ‘big name’ that would bring excitement and guarantee big PPV numbers. For months, Dana kept talking about bringing that big name, and it turned out to be Lesnar.

Dana once said that while MMA is a sport, if so, UFC can be considered to be in the sports entertainment business. The fighters need to promote themselves, and what they do outside the Octagon is just as important as what they do inside it.

After all, you need big gates and merchandise sales to make any substantial amount in the UFC. So why do people have this double standard when it comes to the fighters in the UFC, and others who’ve never fought for the company?

Fedor’s legacy remains untainted

Maldonado, in hindsight, wasn’t as easy a match-up for Fedor as some may have thought him to be

Let’s look at a few facts. While Fedor’s victory against Fabio has been a topic of discussion, Fabio has one of the best chins in the business. His fight with Teixeira proved just how resilient Maldonado is, who took the fight on short notice.

Fabio is highly underrated, and people often keep forgetting that he took various fights on short notice. The fact that people overlook Fabio’s impressive boxing and concentrate on trashing Fedor is astonishing.

Is Fedor the same fighter he was before he retired? Even before he called it a day, he knew he wasn’t the same fighter he was 4 years ago. In his prime, there was no one who could match Fedor. There is a reason why Fedor, about 8 years past his prime, is still one of the most popular fighters on the planet.

Can you put him in a fight against someone like Stipe? No. But pitting him against Fabio was always going to be a gamble too.

His return fight was against Singh Jaideep, a kickboxer with no real MMA pedigree, and Fedor schooled him with his ground and pound. However, he was facing a much more skilled, experienced and resilient fighter in Maldonado, which for a fighter who has been away from the sport for 3 – 4 years was going to be a tough task.

Fedor who fought in PRIDE would’ve put on a show, but at 39 years old, Fedor Emelianenko was given a very tough out.

Fedor’s resilience, and a tip of the hat from Dana

Dan White stuck up for Fedor, or at least his enduring marketability

For years, Dana and Fedor’s manager have been going back and forth about Fedor fighting in the UFC. Fedor’s dominance came not just because of his skill, but because of his resilience. Against the likes of Cro Cop and Randleman, Fedor came back from unfavorable situations to win his fights dominantly.

PRIDE was extremely notorious for not testing the fighters for TRTs and PEDs, but Fedor continued to dominate his opponents.

Dana White recently spoke about the Fedor – Maldonado fight, and had some positive things to say about Fedor.

“They were going to let him die before they stopped that fight, you know that? But a testament to how tough, durable and mentally strong Fedor is, man. He was out. He was out. Literally, when he got back up … when a guy is on crazy legs the way that he was on crazy legs, and it’s not like he was on crazy legs and able to avoid punches after that.

He continued to get hit with bombs by Maldonado and he made it through it.

But I’ll tell you this - those refs were willing to let him die before they stopped that fight, number one. And number two, Fedor’s got a chin and he’s a tough guy. We’ve been negotiating for many, many, many years. I’ll tell you this - Fight Pass did very well with that fight, so people do still want to watch Fedor.”

I’ve heard people talking about PRIDE’s numbers with Fedor as their poster boy, but one needs to understand that in terms of promoting the fights and dragging good numbers, UFC wasn’t doing that well in the beginning of 2000s either.

The sport has evolved, and Fedor’s fight in the UFC do great numbers too. If promoted right, he could rival any heavyweight in the UFC in terms of getting eyeballs and doing good numbers – either on PPV or on Fox.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but saying Fedor should quit just because he was matched up against a top fighter makes as little sense, as calling for Punk’s head in case he loses his first fight.