http://www.esquire.com/the-side/feature/fedor-emelianenko-121807
Feature
The Red Menace
Can undefeated martial artist Fedor Emelianenko single-handedly knock out the Ultimate Fighting Championship's dominance over the emerging sport?
http://www.esquire.com/the-side/feature/fedor-emelianenko-121807
More than any of the other sweet sciences, mixed martial arts demands its practitioners learn to handle losing. None of the big names in the sport are undefeated. Few of them even boast the impressive records so common in boxing, where opponents are handpicked to ensure that the loss column remains nice and empty. Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell is 20-5, including two humiliating knockouts by Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (who has lost six times himself). Indeed, the sport's living legend, Randy "The Natural" Couture, has a decidedly un-Rocky Marciano-esque record of 16-8.
Every rule has an exception, however, and Fedor Emelianenko is it. The Russian fighter is 26-1, the only blemish due to a doctor stoppage after a technically illegal elbow strike. Relying largely on the Soviet combat system Sambo -- the Russian acronym means “self-defense without weapon” -- Fedor has the potential to be to MMA what Woods is to golf and Federer is to tennis, only more so. After all, he’s the only member of that trio who literally pummels his rivals into submission.
And now, after avenging his only defeat and destroying the competition overseas, Fedor has come to our shores and finally found a worthy opponent: The Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Last month, Fedor landed the first punch in the battle when he turned his back on Dana White and company. Ignoring the $220 million the UFC cleared from pay-per-view last year (and countless additional millions they decline to discuss), Fedor signed a contract with MMA upstart M-1 Global. Fedor instantly established M-1 Global as a credible organization and, equally importantly, denied the UFC the man considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
The decision has already caused a seismic shift in the MMA landscape. Randy Couture, for years the public face of the UFC, quit the league, citing its inability to set up a fight with Fedor as the deciding factor. (Couture's belief he was making half what Chuck Liddell earned didn’t help.) Sides have been drawn and camps are getting testy. UFC President Dana White -- who once thought highly enough of Fedor to predict, “I’ll have him someday” -- has suddenly downgraded his opinion, saying, "I think that Fedor is completely overrated."
Author called MMA a "sweet science"
That should piss someone off.
Nice to see real writers covering MMA
Haha, it's also great that they point out Dana's bullshit downgrading of Fedor now that he can't have him.
Nicely written piece.
not bad
lol to see esquire knows the petty ways of dana. very good job.
fedor is the #1 absolute fighter in the world.
suck on that dana
lol to see esquire knows the petty ways of dana. very good job.
fedor is the #1 absolute fighter in the world.
suck on that dana
Why do people continually downplay TK's win over Fedor?
He won fair and square. It's not like the fight didn't happen.
They mention that loss in the article. Please read before commenting.
very well written piece. i would really like to read the what he said about renzo, i can't imagine fedor saying something unpleasant about someone.
"in boxing, where opponents are handpicked to ensure that the loss column remains nice and empty."
Well that's exactly what's happening with Fedor. Look at the last four years of his career.
I'm a big Dana fan, but he came off like an assh@le last night on that MSNBC special.
Saying things about the #1 best pnd 4 pnd fighter in the world makes him come off as ignorant stupid.
Then he dismissed Randy's leaving as "Well, sometimes that's gonna happen, it won't be the last time."
Well whoopdeef-ingdo Dana..U shouldn't be so happy about it.
Anyone who names any heavyweight as the best P4P is smoking crack BTW.
"Why do people continually downplay TK's win over Fedor?
He won fair and square."
The cut was from an elbow. Elbows were against the rules, but a fighter needed to advance.
"why downplay TK's win over Fedor? He won fair and square."
Because the fight-ending cut was caused by an elbow and elbows were illegal.
"Well that's exactly what's happening with Fedor. Look at the last four years of his career."
lol @ this. He fought cro cop in there ya know!