Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
StumbleFedor Emelianenko proves to be human after all
Russian heavyweght suffers first loss in 10 years to Fabricio Werdum
Fedor Emelianenko reacts after being submitted by Fabricio Werdum in the first round of their Strikeforce bout Saturday at the HP Pavillion in San Jose, Calif.
Sunday, June 27, 2010 | 1:23 a.m.
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Over the last 10 years, Fedor Emelianenko has ruled the sport of mixed martial arts.
He amassed its largest and most passionate following and during a stretch that lasted 28 professional fights, he didn’t suffer a single loss.
But when the MMA legend fell into a deep triangle choke Saturday against an opponent with a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, he did what any other man would do.
He tapped — and reminded even his most passionate fans that, yes, he is human after all.
“It happened so that I was maybe kind of an idol,” said Emelianenko, after suffering a first-round submission loss to Fabricio Werdum. “Everybody loses. That happens.
“I’m a normal human being, as all of us.”
The HP Pavilion fell into a state of shock Saturday, as 12,698 fans witnessed Emelianenko’s (31-2) first loss since Oct. 23, 2005.
Even as Werdum (14-4-1) released the hold and jumped to his triumphant seat at the top of the cage, it seemed as if the majority in attendance still weren’t processing what had just happened.
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, who guesses he’s promoted more than 200 fights between MMA and kickboxing, said Saturday is a moment that will stay with him for a long time.
“I’ve seen a lot of fights, and this is something that will be stuck in my mind,” Coker said. “I couldn’t believe it when Fedor went to tap. I said, ‘Holy crap, he’s going to tap! Is this real?’”
The official submission came just 69 seconds into the fight. With an open right hand, Emelianenko tapped the thigh of Werdum, freeing himself from possibly much more than simply the pressure on his neck.
Following arguably the greatest run of any fighter in MMA history, Emelianenko actually apologized for letting those who believed in him down — a pretty good indication that expectations on the fighter had become unrealistically high.
“It’s not just the media and fans, it’s also myself,” admitted Coker. “This guy has been elevated to a platform where he has to deliver. Let’s say he even won the fight but looked bad doing it, people would say he’s a bum.
“He’s the greatest MMA fighter of all time. So he’s got a lot of pressure.”
As inhuman as Emelianenko had been made out to be, it may have turned out that Werdum’s greatest strength was simply treating him like one.
After surrounding himself with an enormous group of family and friends that genuinely believed in him, Werdum treated his fight with Emelianenko like any other.
He trained hard but also played a lot of Xbox.
“I never fear for a fight, because I like to fight. It is my life,” Werdum said. “I looked at Fedor and I was calm and confident. I like joking; it’s my strength. I don’t like staying in my room alone. Being with my friends and playing Xbox is good for me.”
The suddenly mortal Emelianenko’s future in MMA remains up in the air at this point.
It’s clear that his representatives at M-1 Global, as well as Strikeforce officials, intend for him to complete the last fight on his three-fight contract — although the two sides have had anything but a happy union since Emelianenko signed last year.
It’s not unlikely that M-1 Global would demand that Strikeforce grant an immediate rematch with Werdum, who is also potentially in line for a heavyweight title shot against Alistair Overeem.
When asked if Coker would grant such a request, the CEO replied, "Probably."
“That’s probably one of the biggest fights and a megafight we should promote,” Coker said. “But I also think that Fabricio vs. Alistair is something Alistair is going to want. I have to sit down and see what M-1 wants to do.”
Coker also added that an Emelianenko vs. Werdum rematch might justify the first pay-per-view in Strikeforce company history. It could also serve as a headlining fight for another CBS card.
“I think that should be a pay-per-view fight,” Coker said. “This is a fight fans will want to see. (Fedor) is still the king. The great thing about CBS is that you can do five pay-per-views and it can be one CBS broadcast as far as viewership numbers. I think that fight could garner 5 to 6 million viewers on CBS.”
Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or brett.okamoto@lasvegassun.com.
Discussion: comments so far…
Comments are moderated by Las Vegas Sun editors. Our goal is not to limit the discussion, but rather to elevate it. Comments should be relevant and contain no abusive language. Comments that are off-topic, vulgar, profane or include personal attacks will be removed. Full comments policy. Additionally, we now display comments from trusted commenters by default. Those wishing to become a trusted commenter need to verify their identity or sign in with Facebook Connect to tie their Facebook account to their Las Vegas Sun account. For more on this change, read our story about how it works and why we did it.
Only trusted comments are displayed on this page. Untrusted comments have expired from this story.
No trusted comments have been posted.
Post a comment
Brock Lesnar retires after first-round TKO defeat against Alistair Overeem
| Date | Event | Headlining Match | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 3 | Boxing: ESPN2 Friday Night Fights | Edison Miranda vs. Isaac Chilemba | Las Vegas: Texas Station's Dallas Events Center |
| February 4 | UFC 143 | Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit | Las Vegas: Mandalay Bay Events Center |
| February 15 | UFC on FUEL TV 1 | Diego Sanchez vs. Jake Ellenberger | Omaha, Neb. |
| February 16 | SCC 4 | Kendall Grove vs. Jay Silva | Las Vegas: Orleans Arena |
| February 25 | UFC 144 | Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson | Saitama, Japan |
The Sun
Locally owned and independent for more than 50 years.
Good. Finally. Now hopefully people will stop raving about Fedor.
He was dominant 4 years ago. However, while he's been trying to run promotions and fights, he's been passed up. How many fight does he have in the last 3 years? 4?
Fedor is done. Enough of him. Bye bye.
I didn't realize that you are allowed to almost choke someone to death with a leg scissor around their neck. Fedor's head turned red as a beet before they stopped it. Can't wait until someone has their second vertabra snapped, and they die in the ring, just like being hung in the Old West.
Nice "sport". Dana White would be proud. What's next-fencing without masks?
It isn't a bone crushing move. It cuts blood circulation off to the brain. Do you watch football? Basketball? Baseball? Life? There are injuries everywhere. Don't like the sport don't watch it.
When Fedor was in that move he had 3 outs, the ref, the tap or pass out. No where in there would have died.
it's called a triangle choke and you don't have to watch it, hater. where are all the "lesnar is ducking fedor" idiots now?
Fedor has actually fought a pretty standard amount in the last four years.
Fabricio Werdum
Brett Rogers
Andrei Arlovski
Tim Sylvia
Hong-Man Choi
Matt Lindland
Mark Hunt
Mark Coleman
Werdum did what he could to win and a win is a win; however, the rematch will be a huge money maker and Fedor will certainly win. Coker is already talking about the possibilities of Fedor's last fight.
Looking forward to Carwin vs. Lesnar. Carwin is one of the most likely candidates to get the job done. But, you never know when you'll be on your way to another victory and you get choked out. That's the glory of the sport.
4 fights since July 19, 2008.
Beat Tim Sylvia, who is washed up.
Beat Andrei Arlovski, who should absolutely retire NOW.
Beat Brett Rogers, but probably should have lost and got his nose smashed.
Lost to Fabricio Werdum.
Don't get me wrong, Fedor was great and still has a real hard punch, but he needs to fight more. Period.
waynebullet - Fedor actually had 4 outs, the 3 you posted and the other was to take his right foot and stepover Werdum's head which would have gotten him out of the choke. whichever arm is being held in the triangle choke then you always step in the opposite direction to get out. i really couldnt believe that fedor did not attempt to do this, i think he was actually shocked and didnt even think about this.
Rigged!
peace out
even the strikeforce CEO pretty much admitted that they fed werdum to fedor, what a joke organization.