Fedor's Most Dangerous Opponent: His Management

I'm saying it now: the enigmatic Russian heavyweight fighting legend known as Fedor Emelianenko is in danger of becoming irrelevant.

I will give Dana White his due credit. He saw two years ago an erratic pattern of questionable decision-making from Fedor's handlers, and after talks to acquire Fedor fell through, the UFC president angered fans all over the world when he referred to the PRIDE legend as "a farce."

It turns out Dana White was right. While the UFC's heavyweight picture becomes increasingly complicated due to the incredible depth and parity in the division, Strikeforce scrounges around to find reputable advertising partners to support broadcasts of "title" fights with any name fighter who will give sign a contract with them.

Get this. Strikeforce is talking about matching Fedor - ostensibly the world's #1 pound-for-pound fighter and top heavyweight - against Fabricio Werdum, an accomplished and competitive heavyweight who most recently ground out a split decision against Antonion "Bigfoot" Silva. Meanwhile, Emelianenko's most recent victim, Brett Rogers, is fighting a puffy Dutch powerlifter and K-1 kickboxer for the frickin' belt.

I don't get it. I may be only a fan of MMA, but this doesn't make any sense. Shouldn't the #1 heavyweight be facing the world's #2 heavyweight? Werdum, who was cut by the UFC after being stopped by hammer-fisted contender Junior Dos Santos, is a good fighter, but he isn't #2 by any stretch of the imagination. His presence in the MMA Weekly world heavyweight top-10 at all might be open to debate.

Brock Lesnar...Shane Carwin...Junior Dos Santos...Cain Velasquez. These fighters all have one thing in common: (A.) they've won against top-level talent, and (B.) done so convincingly. These fighters represent the only opponents worthy of fighting for the title of "greatest heavyweight on the planet."

Sigh...I've come to the conclusion that the opponent most likely to defeat Fedor is his management. Assuming they are responsible for his latest career decisions, they are the ones who are most likely to dethrone him as the world's top heavyweight and arguable top fighter in any weight class.

I may have considered myself Fedor's greatest fan, but I'm so completely disgusted with his management right now. It doesn't matter if he's not willfully dodging the UFC's menacing talent pool, because the net effect is the same. At the end of the day, the fans don't get to see the top guy fighting the top guys, and that sucks.

The Secret to Fedor's Success: He Wins

Every sport has its singular champion, a prodigious talent who reigns supreme. And as surely as all dynasties inevitably end, every legendary champion eventually tastes defeat and is proven to be very much human.

If Fedor Emelianenko's recent one-punch knockout of Brett "The Grim" Rogers is any indication, we shouldn't hold our collective breath.

With an incredible professional record of thirty-one (31) victories, one (1) highly questionable loss and one (1) no-contest due to an accidental head-butt, the Russian heavyweight is considered the world's top heavyweight mixed martial artist and is arguably the world's top fighter in any weight class.

Fedor's style is difficult to categorize, as he rarely favors any particular style of attack. A combat sambo champion with excellent striking, wrestling and submissions, he's perhaps as well-rounded as any fighter in the world.

Fedor's preferred technique might best be described as that which ends the fight; he is just likely to end a fight with a skillfully-executed arm bar as he is to knock out his opponent with a single thunderous overhand right on the jaw. We've all seen him do it time and time again; it's never much of a surprise but nonetheless always spectacular. Consider Fedor's 36-second disposal of former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia, a much larger opponent with a sizeable reach advantage who on paper looked to be a good matchup for the Russian. Fedor stunned Sylvia connecting hard on some quick combos, sending him to the mat to cover up, where instead of continuing strikes on the ground Fedor hopped on his back and secured a windpipe choke. There can be no question about Fedor's motives, which weren't "He's hurt! Pound him out, finish him!" but rather "End the fight." (Note the lack of an exclamation mark.) The man's pulse probably never rose above 80 beats per minute.

What may distinguish Fedor Emelianenko is his understanding of the fight as a game, rather than a match against a specific fighter with specific attributes he must overcome. It's no secret that Fedor doesn't focus or otherwise modify his training camp to account for an opponents' strengths or weaknesses. His training, rather, focuses heavily physical endurance, strength, striking, balance and mental discipline under duress.

It is an approach to fighting as as problem-solving challenges rather than defeating individuals that may inform Fedor's style. It is a simple strategy; be fit, be prepared and be alert. Don't force anything; patiently exploit an opponents' first mistake and end the fight.

The manner in which he does this may vary, but almost invariably, it happens.