Fedor Emelianenko, the greatest mixed martial artist to ever live, is set to fight tomorrow night once again. I’ve had a good time today just going back and rewatching a number of his old fights just to see what makes him so great. I fully expect him to win tomorrow night in dominant fashion, and after that a fight with Josh Barnett appears to be on the horizon. But after that, is there anything left for Fedor?
Obviously he could go to the UFC to fight Brock Lesnar, Randy Couture, Cain Velasquez, and all of their heavyweights. At this point though, you have to wonder what the motivation for him really would be. So far he has turned down larger money to keep his independence, and outside of making himself into a superstar, it’s hard to see what the incentive would be for him to join the UFC. It’s not like he needs to beat Brock Lesnar to prove he is the greatest heavyweight ever.
I’ve said before and still believe Affliction will not last the year. At that point, the question becomes what happens to the talent. Most will need to continue fighting for a living, but that is not the case for Fedor. He has the money and name to do things his way.
I am not among those that thinks the UFC’s dominance is bad for MMA, but it’s hard to deny that Fedor’s obscurity is a tragic consequence of that dominance. One of the best heavyweight fights in MMA history is happening in just a few hours, and most fans of the sport will never see it. People within the industry give me the impression that Affliction believes that the UFC 91 and 92 numbers provide a new opening to get a capital infusion to continue operations. All MMA fans should hope it is the case, because if Fedor is unwilling to fight in the UFC, Affliction is probably the only promotion that will bring us fights like this one.