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Sunday media slate: Rizzo remains on his winning ways

By Zach Arnold | September 2, 2007

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Lots of news and notes coming out of the Art of War III event from Dallas, TX. on Saturday. Results here and event PBP here. The event drew around 8,000 (although there is a debate about that number), which is a respectable crowd. Two ‘upsets’ at the top of the card with both Jeremy Horn and Jeff Monson losing.

Michael David Smith at the AOL Fanhouse is calling for Renato Babalu to banned from MMA.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Rich Franklin has taped a 30-minute TV pilot called “American Fighter.”

Dave Meltzer on yesterday’s New York Times article about UFC:

Then came the famed Zuffa myth about the “rule changes” like no biting, head-butting, hair pulling and eye gouging. They quoted Dana White talking about why people die in boxing all the time and not in MMA (rules and gloves allowing repeated punches to the head). The story had White claim every participant is tested for steroids before every match. That’s not even close to true. I think there has been one UFC ever (the 7/7 show in Sacramento) where every single participant on the card was tested. Two shows this year had no testing at all, but I doubt you’ll see that again because UFC was embarrassed by that fact. Most have a good number of people tested, such as Saturday’s show having 10 of the 18 tested at random including all the top guys. The story quoted the same football quotes about how if they tested like UFC, there would only be quarterbacks and kickers.

Dana White on how negotiations went with Fedor’s camp:

“I don’t like to talk about contract negotiations with the public — but it didn’t go well,” White said. “These guys are crazy.”

While White did not give details, he indicated in the forthcoming interview that the meeting was not successful.

Dana and talent relations… another example of rough times.

Apy Echteld, Fedor’s Holland manager, also indicated that things didn’t go so well at the negotiating table. There are a few of Echteld’s past enemies in Japan who are probably smiling at this right now.

Onto today’s headlines.

  1. MMA Weekly: Writing an MMA hatchet piece
  2. The Biloxi Sun Herald (MS): Alan Belcher signs new four-fight contract with UFC, will fight Kalib Starnes on 10/20 in Cincinnati
  3. UFC HP: The Assassin’s creed – be exciting
  4. UFC Junkie: Travis Wiuff defeats Sean Salmon in Las Vegas
  5. Irish Whip Fighting: UFC 75 = History
  6. Fight Report: Fulgencio Zuniga exposes Victor Oganov!
  7. Yahoo Sports (Kevin Iole): Undefeated Brandon Vera back on track
  8. The Fayetteville Observer (NC): MMA is the ultimate challenge
  9. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel: MMA gaining faithful following throughout South Florida

Topics: Boxing, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 36 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

36 Responses to “Sunday media slate: Rizzo remains on his winning ways”

  1. 45 Huddle says:

    I posted this yesterday, but it was so late, I’m uncertain many people saw it. From the Wrestling Observer:

    “Even though one of the roadblocks is Emelianenko’s management wanted more power than a normal fighter in choosing opponents, they don’t have any qualms with Couture.

    According to those who have spoken with Emelianenko and his management, as shocking as this sounds and no doubt will be heavily denied once it’s printers, the guy they wanted to avoid was Tim Sylvia, who Fedor himself said presented a bad style match-up. When Emelianenko was Pride champion in 2003, he turned down a title defense against Bob Sapp, even though most feel he’d have handled him easily.”

    Here is a discussion of it from The Underground.

    Shockingly, Anti-Zuffa.com…. er, Sherdog.com has erased at least 3 original posts with this quote. Not sure why, as none of the discussions I saw got overly foul (by Sherdog standards).

    Now, keep in mind that Fedor also turned down Antonio Silva in early 2007, instead wanting to fight Matt Lindland. Some people are saying he also turned down Jeff Monson, but I have not seen a credible source for that yet. It would not shock me, as Monson’s style is very similar to Ricardo Arona…. A fight in which most people thought Fedor lost. And instead of a Bob Sapp fight, he instead fought Fujita, Goodridge, & Nagata for the rest of that year.

    To me….. This basically kills his standing as the #1 P4P fighter in the world. It also highly jeopardizes his standing as the #1 HW in the world. He not has a history of turning down legit competition and trying to steer his career in a Rickson Gracie/Frank Shamrock sort of way. It is one thing to turn down fights on your way up to the title. For example, it is stupid to fight a GSP in your third professional fight. But once you are on top, this avoidance of top talent has to make fans wonder what kind of “fighter” we actually have at the top. He is no Matt Hughes, Chuck Liddell, or Wanderlei Silva. That is for sure.

  2. Zeppelin says:

    I could see why a fighter would want to avoid a fight with Sylvia and its not because of fear or a perceived threat. Its also a possibility that they see a potential “buzzkill” of a fight where due to Sylvia’s overly cautious style it becomes a overall boring match and kills an incoming fighter’s popularity. For example, you could say neither Verdum or Arlovski benefited from their match earlier this year.

    Then again, you could also say a fight with Zulu doesn’t scream barnburner, unless you expect the opponent to just wail away from bell to bell.

  3. Fluyid says:

    Absolutely NO WAY there were anywhere near 8,000 there at Art of War last night. Not even close! From a group of guys I was was with and/or spoke with at the event, estimates ranged between 2,200 and 3,500. Granted that is very unscientific, but it is definitely much closer to the truth than that claimed 8,000.

  4. 45 Huddle says:

    I’m listening to Fight Opinion Radio, and I have to laugh at Luke Thomas saying: “Babalu only broke one rule… Rule #28…. blah, blah, blah….”. And to be fair, the rest of the panel got it completely wrong as well.

    A minor league baseball player recently charged the mound with a bat. He only broke one rule that I am aware… JUST A RULE… Yet he is banned from baseball. And he completely ignores the fact that Babalu admitted to holding the choke.

    And don’t blame the UFC for this standard. This is a typical American Sport Standard. Athletes are constantly suspended for HGH and steroid use. And in every sport, these athletes are NOT removed from the league after one offense. However, athletes who gamble on baseball (Rose) can’t get into the Hall of Fame. Athletes, like the minor leaguer who tried to intentionally hurt a pitcher with a bat, was thrown out for life. What Dana White implemented in firing Renato Babalu is status quo by American Sport Standards…. It is what the fans expect for actions like this. If the fans demanded fighters be thrown out of sports for life for one drug test violation, then you would likely see that as well.

    If you want to blame anybody… Blame the past 10 years of American sports for implementing this type of standard.

  5. Bryan says:

    45 Hurdle——

    You’ve first got to establish that Fedor has a history of avoiding fighters. The speculation of a pro wrestling journalist whose early MMA coverage included speculating on how it could be a work and excitedly claiming that legitimate fights were works doesn’t suffice, especially since you know, he’s speculating!

    This is not pro wrestling, so I’m not going to suspend my disbelief so that I can believe Meltzer has contacts within the Red Devil fight team. After what the UFC did to Wanderlai Silva (Remember the UFC.com article about him being scared of Chuck and the UFC giving Chuck an easy fight as a reward for being so tough) I can believe that a UFC guy leaked reports of Fedor being scared of Sylvia to Meltzer and other outlets—-it seems to be how the UFC is do business with fighters these days. If they can’t deal with you through legitimate negotiations they use the media to call into questions your manhood to get you to sign.

    Fedor made the comments about Sylvia being a tough fight and a great champion when Sylvia was the champion, he was being diplomatic. The connection made is a logical leap and one that I don’t think doesn’t makes sense.

    Lex Luthor has publically stated that Fedor would get an immediate title shot. Sylvia had his weaknesses exposed and got punked out by a middle aged man in his last fight and the UFC’s Heavyweight division is no longer full of scrubs, so he’ll not be near the title any time soon. And hello, his weakness were exposed. Sylvia has no legit boxing skills and is terribly confused by head fakes and combinations. Couture basically provided a road map on how to defeat Sylvia.

    As far as Bob Sapp goes, I don’t there was every any serious consideration for that fight. After Fedor won the title, Sapp congratulated him and challenged him for the title and Fedor jokingly said, “Sure, just let me gain 150 pounds first” or something to that effect. And shortly after that, I think Sapp was exclusively K1.

    Even pretending for a moment that your assertions about Fedor avoiding bad style match ups was true what types of style match ups would he be avoiding? Does he not want to fight freakishly tall strikers? He fought Semmy Schlitt, so that can’t be it. Big strong guys with lots of strking power? Nope, he just fought Mark Hunt at the beginning of the year. Just dangerous strikers? Nope, he fought Cro Cop.

    In multiple interviews Fedor has said that the he feels the best fighters are Cro Cop, Big Nog, Silva and Couture—save for Silva and Couture he’s fought and beat the guys he feels are the best and wants to fight the other one in his weight class. But I’m sure that while he’s more than while he’s more than willing to fight A level talent, he’s shaking with fear at the prospect of fighting a guy that hasn’t really beaten any A level talent.

    Oh wait, no I’m not because that argument makes no sense and reeks of the UFC’s hardball tactics.

    But you’re right about one thing, Fedor is no Matt Hughes, Liddell or Silva (I’ll remind you again that in July the UFC was burying him for being a pussy and avoiding a fight too—-A tactic that you probably defended at the time.) since Fedor has fought A level talent AND never had his ass whooped, can’t say the same about those guys. 🙂

  6. Zach Arnold says:

    A minor league baseball player recently charged the mound with a bat. He only broke one rule that I am aware… JUST A RULE… Yet he is banned from baseball. And he completely ignores the fact that Babalu admitted to holding the choke.

    You’re referring to Jose Offerman, who charged the mound after getting hit with a pitch and used a baseball bat to try to attack the pitcher. He ended up giving the catcher a concussion. Assault charges were filed. Your argument would have more impact if Heath had decided to file criminal charges against Babalu, since he did admit intent on the house microphone afterwards.

    Offerman’s not playing in the farm-system minor leagues or the major leagues, he plays for the Atlantic League and the Long Island Ducks.

  7. 45 Huddle says:

    And to further prove my point, let me point out a few more examples:

    1. Ron Artest – He got suspended for the rest of the season, including the playoffs. That was 73 regular season games. Far beyond the penalty for steroids.

    2. HOCKEY – I don’t remember the guys name, but a few years ago, a Hockey player hit a player from behind, knocked him out, and was suspended for the rest of the year. I remember him crying in an interview about his actions. His suspension was far worse then anything the NHL gives out for steroids.

    The point I am making is that while steroids are a hot topic in American Sports…. They still aren’t looked down upon as poorly as violence. And to only some fault to the athletes, it is how that violence appears in the aftermath that makes it look worse. Look at the hockey player. There have been worse illegal hits. And he wasn’t trying to kill his opponent. But the fact that the guy was knocked out from it made it look worse. Same thing with the Babalu thing. Whether or not it is fair… Heath was twitching afterwards. Combine that with a confession from Babalu…. And his penalty was just.

    I am not saying whether this is fair or not. My point is that this is how sports leagues work in America. What Dana White did was not out of character compared to a David Stern or Bud Selig. They have an image to protect, and that is what happens when violent things happen outside of the rules.

  8. Bryan says:

    BJ Penn broke rule #28 as well. Why didn’t Dana White implement the American sport standard when one of his big stars did it? The panel’s overall point was that the only reason White did it in this instance was simply because Babalu was expendable and it gives the UFC good PR because people can make arguments like the one you’re making.

    Matt Hughes and Matt Serra seem to have bad blood, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens if Hughes gets in a position to submit (or vice versa) and a hold is kept on too long. Will one of White’s golden boys face the same punishment that White established with Babalu? Hopefully, he’ll be consistent but I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one.

  9. 45 Huddle says:

    The after effect….

    If you throw near a batters head and baseball and he doesn’t react, no big deal is made of it. If you throw the same exact pitch and the batter reacts by trying to start a fight…. Warning will be ruled out and sometimes guys will be ejected.

    Penn & Pulver came off as buddy/buddy after that fight. It wasn’t like Heath who was twitching…..

    Whether that is fair or not…. That is how issues in sports are dealt with. That is not a “Dana White Issue”. That is a sports media issue. Dana White, based on how the media rips apart things like this, had no choice but to get rid of Babalu.

  10. Bryan says:

    Right, so I guess the panel and Luke Thomas didn’t get it so wrong when they asserted that the reason Dana White was doing this was because Babalu was expendable and it was good PR for the UFC after all.

  11. Diamond Dave Williams says:

    Bryan Says:

    September 2nd, 2007 at 7:39 am
    BJ Penn broke rule #28 as well. Why didn’t Dana White implement the American sport standard when one of his big stars did it? The panel’s overall point was that the only reason White did it in this instance was simply because Babalu was expendable and it gives the UFC good PR because people can make arguments like the one you’re making.

    Matt Hughes and Matt Serra seem to have bad blood, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens if Hughes gets in a position to submit (or vice versa) and a hold is kept on too long. Will one of White’s golden boys face the same punishment that White established with Babalu? Hopefully, he’ll be consistent but I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one.

    Brian, Dana White has implied in past interviews that he protects his fighters. I recollect Dana White being angry in an interview when he was discussing that the Pride did not know how to protect its fighters. He stated that he would not have had Dan Henderson fight Wanderlei Silva as the fight was a risky move for Wanderlei.
    Remember just recently when Chuck Liddell was on tour for the promotion of the movie 300?. The interview that Chuck had in Texas, where Chuck was clearly in some drugged up stupor, seemed to be buried by Dana White. Had that interview been Tito Ortiz or Matt Lindland when he was in the UFC, either one of these guys would have been gassed by Dana White in a press conference that would have been degrading to the fighter in question.

  12. 45 Huddle says:

    Bryan,

    No they didn’t. They made jokes about how guys getting busted for steroids were still with the UFC. They stated that Babalu was expendable. Yet, American sports have shown… Even for top players… If they do something bad enough…. That is doesn’t matter what their name value is. Artest was extremely important to the Pacers winning a championship. Didn’t matter…..

  13. The Gaijin says:

    I’m mightily surprised about this stuff about Fedor. He doesn’t seem like a fighter who’d ever dodge or avoid anyone…how legit is that info or is it really just rumours?

  14. 45 Huddle says:

    Dave Meltzer is probably one of the Top 3 reporters in MMA. He has never named his source, but I believe he talks with Joe Silva about a lot of this stuff. He is also one of the few to report on UFC fighter bonuses, estimated PPV Buyrates, and other topics that most MMA journalists can’t even get information on. And he isn’t exactly a UFC fanboy either. He had an indepth article on the steroid issue and he didn’t exactly take Zuffa’s side.

    I know Fedor ducking Bob Sapp in 2003 was talked about, so that isn’t any new information.

  15. Croatian Strength says:

    I can see him dodging Sapp at his peak – I remember Nogueira said he’d never want to fight him again after he almost killed him.

    His Manager has to protect his record – it’s his marketability and why he’s the #1 free agent in MMA and can ask $2M a fight from the UFC without being laughed out of Vegas.

  16. 45 Huddle says:

    Yeah, but when you hear news that he jumped over Jeff Monson & Antonio Silva to fight a Middleweight, then his legacy quickly becomes tainted…. Whether or not he is making big money.

    Heck, I’m just as guilty as the rest of the fans, by buying into the Fedor myth. But I’m sorry… A guy should not be #1 in the world if he continues to duck top competition…. If he wants to have matchmaking control in order to stay away from top contenders.

    I have read on other forums that Fedor tried to duck Mirko Filipovic. This is basically true. It took a few years for Pride to put that together. Fedor had a few suspect injuries which delayed the fight. It was kind of like what Tito Ortiz did with Chuck Liddell. It was only when Mirko was the only true contender left, that he had no choice but to save face and fight him. Yes he won… Just like he might beat Sylvia… But it doesn’t change the fact that he tried to duck him as much as possible.

    To me, that is not what this sport is about. If people want to see that, go watch Heavyweight Boxing. This sport is about the best fighting each other. Fedor, through years of this type of ducking…. Is really just making himself look poorly.

  17. Jordan Breen says:

    From the FightReport piece…

    “Kessler, Calzaghe and Lacy are already there, and guys like Miranda and Taylor are expected to move there shortly.”

    Lacy? This is September 2007. Jeff Lacy? It’s bad enough he didn’t mention Lucian Bute who is about to pick up a world title, but at this point, guys like Inkin and Froch could maybe beat Lacy.

  18. Zurich says:

    Wow.. that explains a lot. It’s not entirely inconsistent with Wanderlei beating up 185ers and Chuck KOing wrestlers with terrible standup. However, those guys proved that they could hang with “bad matchups” / serious threats on a number of occaisions, e.g. Wandy/Rampage x2, Chuck/Overeem or Beltfort.

    If the definition of a “professional fighter” is one who does not pick his opponent and fights whoever is put in front of him, then I guess Fedor is no longer a “professional fighter”. Maybe a pro-wrestler? (or pro-sambo fighter?)

  19. 45 Huddle says:

    Wanderlei Silva has still competed against: Tito Ortiz, Vitor Belfort (still good), Kazushi Sakuraba (when unbeatable), Quinton Jackson, Ricardo Arona and is now trying to get a fight with Chuck Liddell. I’m not a fan of Silva, but he hardly has passed on tough competition….

    Liddell was a product of his environment. He was loyal to Zuffa, and therefore had 1/2 of the top talent out of his reach. Didn’t stop him from fighting anybody they put in front of him. Same thing with Hughes.

    Then there is Fedor. He literally has fought 1 Top 10 fighter since the start of 2005. He never fought Kharitarnov. He never fought Werdum. He never fought Sapp. He never fought Barnett. He wants to get out of a fight with Sylvia. He passed up Antonio Silva & Jeff Monson. He did everything in his power to avoid Mirko Filipovic until he had no choice but to fight him.

    His legacy is based off of three wins….. Nogueira (2X) and Mirko. But there are so many other Heavyweights out there. He has gone on record and said he doesn’t like to fight big Heavyweights. Hence when he didn’t fight Sapp…. But then had no problem saying yes to Zulu.

    Sorry, but that is called protecting your title. That is what happens in boxing. That is what fans hate about that sport. They want to see the best compete against each other… Not avoid fighters so they can stay undefeated.

  20. Rollo the Cat says:

    Did I hear somebody on the podcast say they didn’t like the Stevenson v Pellegrino fight? I can’t believe it. I thought it was outstanding. Maybe I just heard wrong. I actually thought the whole event was among the better UFCs ever, though not the best.

    Erin has a good point about the entrance music and Pellegrino’s demeanor. Dana has worked so hard on the anger, blood and gore motif, that it is refreshing to see something different. We need someone with some class working on the UFC production.

    And yes, Zach is correct, Huerta is a cheater. Even if he didn’t cheat, i am sure he intended to cheat and maybe even conspired to cheat. I would charge the cheater with several counts of cheating.

    Regarding Kendall Grove’s hype, I think it was Grove himself who said he wasn;t ready for the top guys. I think he knows where he is at.

  21. That column on MMAWeekly is the best thing I’ve read there in what seems like years.

  22. Diamond Dave Williams says:

    The Gaijin Says:

    September 2nd, 2007 at 11:03 am
    I’m mightily surprised about this stuff about Fedor. He doesn’t seem like a fighter who’d ever dodge or avoid anyone…how legit is that info or is it really just rumours?

    Gaijin, I highly doubt that Fedor would “duck” any fighter out there. I however could see Fedor choose his opponent based on what the drawing power could be. I believe that Fedor was fighting for Pride FC on a fight by fight basis. Therefore his fight salary for his next opponent would be reflective on drawing power of the opponent. This would be no different than what boxing has been doing for over one hundred years.
    Fedor does want to fight the best, that is without question. Fedor wants to be paid for what he does on a fight by fight basis.
    The fear in Dana White is not that the Russians are crazy, but that the Russians (Fedor in particular), want to have control over their careers. Presently in boxing, the heavyweight division is dominated by Russian Champions. These champions are not handcuffed by any organization, they negotiate the purses based on promoters, PPV buys, ticket sales and other revenue streams that the fighter has control over. When a fighter is contracted to one organization such as the UFC, the fighter is bound to fight an opponent which serves the best interest of the organization. As we have seen in the past with the UFC in the case of Matt Lindland, if a fighter has a sponsership that the UFC does not get a percentage on, the fighters contract can and will be terminated.
    If Fedor chooses to fight for a rival organization but have the freedom to negotiate the best available fights, it would seem that Dana White and the UFC would have an opportunity to challenge the best fighter of our time, only if they felt like they had the talent and the dollars to do so.

  23. Jim Allcorn says:

    While it’s a big part of a manager’s job to get his fighter the best possible fights ( with regard to the most financially rewarding, the most prestigious & the best match ups styles-wise ) for the least amount of risk, there comes a time when that can turn into an adverse trait. When a manager becomes TOO protective & it in turn results in distain from the press & fans. Which can, in turn, result in a deminished market value.

    I think that Fedor’s man is fast approaching that danger himself.

    With regard to a potential fight with Tim Sylvia, at this point it’s no big deal should they prefer to not meet him. Sylvia doesn’t hold a title & he’s hardly one of the UFC’s biggest draws or most popular fighters. So, at the end of the day, there’s no demand for such a match up. And styles-wise, it probably WOULD be an awkward affair in much the same way that Sylvia – Monson was. So, why bother?

    Fighters often have other styles of fighters that they match up badly with & would rather not have to face. But, the telling thing is, when they HAVE to face them …

    Let’s just say for the sake of argument that Sylvia were to upset Brandon Vera & then go on to beat another top flight heavy to earn another title shot, then by that point Fedor has signed with the UFC & won the belt. What would Fedor do?

    A real champion & TRUE P4P titlist would put their styles match up preferences aside & give the #1 contender a shot regardless of how they felt they matched up with that individual. But, if Fedor doesn’t want to be held to that obligation, then he shouldn’t hold a title or be considered a legit P4Per IMO.

    Now, maybe in Japan & in Russia Fedor has reached the elite status of a Ray Leonard or an Oscar Delahoya where he can dictate whom he fights, under what circumstances & when & where it’ll take place as well as for how much $$$. But, he doesn’t have that sort of “pull” here in the States & probably never will.

    And if he & his representatives can’t understand that, then I seriously doubt that they’ll ever reach a deal with Dana & the boys. White sounds like he’s already getting fed up with trying to compromise with them & in this case anyhow, I can see why.

  24. Rami says:

    Aaron,

    Thanks for the compliment on the article. I fervently believe that if someone filled out that template they would have no trouble getting the article published in all but the most exacting mainstream media outlets, despite its numerous inaccuracies. From my conversations with former colleagues who still work in journalism, the level of familiarity with MMA in newsrooms is nearly nil, and that includes the sports desk. We’ve still got a ways to go as a sport.

  25. Rami,

    No problem. MMAWeekly could use more writers like you.

  26. Zach Arnold says:

    Did I hear somebody on the podcast say they didn’t like the Stevenson v Pellegrino fight? I can’t believe it. I thought it was outstanding. Maybe I just heard wrong. I actually thought the whole event was among the better UFCs ever, though not the best.

    You done wrong. 🙂 The general feeling about UFC 74 was positive.

    And yes, Zach is correct, Huerta is a cheater. Even if he didn’t cheat, i am sure he intended to cheat and maybe even conspired to cheat. I would charge the cheater with several counts of cheating.

    I’m glad someone got the sarcastic bit on the show.

  27. Ivan Trembow says:

    The “Fedor is terrified of Tim Sylvia” leaks appear to be very similar to the “Fedor is turning down $2 million per fight” leaks (which were not close to true), which appeared to be very similar to the “Wanderlei Silva is a big, giant coward because he won’t be ready to make his UFC debut in September” leaks.

  28. Ivan Trembow says:

    Bryan wrote: “it seems to be how the UFC is do business with fighters these days. If they can’t deal with you through legitimate negotiations they use the media to call into questions your manhood to get you to sign.”

    That is absolutely true, and it’s getting less and less subtle lately, too. Besides the smear-job on Wanderlei Silva when he wouldn’t bend to their will, the $2 million per fight figure for Fedor is not even close to being accurate. It’s just a number being floated by Zuffa in an attempt to make Fedor look worse for not signing with Zuffa under the terms that Zuffa wants. In reality, money has not been the source of conflict in the Fedor negotiations for a very long time. The #1 stumbling block by far is the fact that it is extremely important for Fedor to be able to compete in Sambo events in Russia, whereas the UFC wants 100% complete exclusivity (meaning no Sambo events in Russia).

    45 Huddle wrote: “I have read on other forums that Fedor tried to duck Mirko Filipovic. This is basically true.”

    You are exposing your lack of knowledge about the sport with posts like that. Fedor’s hand was severely fractured in more than one of his fights (including the Kosaka fight), and he wanted to be somewhat healthy going into the Cro Cop fight… a fight in which be both A) Kicked Cro Cop’s ass, and B) Badly re-injured his hand again. With all of the surgeries that he has had and all of the times that it has been re-injured or re-aggravated, Fedor’s hand was still not 100% recovered a year and a half after the Cro Cop fight.

  29. Zack says:

    “For example, it is stupid to fight a GSP in your third professional fight. But once you are on top, this avoidance of top talent has to make fans wonder what kind of “fighter” we actually have at the top.”

    Dude…do you really want to bring into question if Fedor is a “fighter” or not?

    Do you go out in public? Can you imagine Mark Hunt being angry at you at a bar? Fedor fought him, but you probably don’t even count that win, since Mark Hunt only beat Cro Cop and Wanderlei. He’s not top 10!

    Fedor is legit. Whether you believe hes the greatest of all time, #1 in the world, or even just a pretty bitchin dude, to question whether he’s a “fighter” or not is gay as fuck. Go back to analyzing other mens bodies, studying the Wrestling Observer, and being an all around douchebag.

  30. Zack says:

    “45 Huddle wrote: “I have read on other forums that Fedor tried to duck Mirko Filipovic. This is basically true.”

    If I read it on the internet…it must be true!!!

    Source: the internet.

  31. Nick says:

    Did someone really say “Fedor Myth”?

  32. 45 Huddle says:

    Ivan,

    Yes, there was a time when Fedor was legitly injured. But there were a few other times that Pride tired to set up that fight over a 2 year time period that he mysteriously came down with other phantom injuries.

  33. Diamond Dave Williams says:

    45 Huddle Says:

    September 3rd, 2007 at 5:53 am
    Ivan,

    Yes, there was a time when Fedor was legitly injured. But there were a few other times that Pride tired to set up that fight over a 2 year time period that he mysteriously came down with other phantom injuries.

    45 Huddle, I would not suggest that Fedor had Phantom injuries. The man did not want to go into a fight with an injury that could have been healed. He wanted to fight at 100%. He fought everyone that Pride put in front of him. Now he wants fights that will pay him. I am sure that if the UFC offered a one fight deal to fight Couture, Fedor would be signing immediately.
    Fedor is the beginning, over time, the fighters will control their destinys, not organizations.

  34. David says:

    Fedor deserves the world, FUCK YOU DANA

  35. Ivan Trembow says:

    45 Huddle, would you care to tell us about these specific occasions and these specific phantom injuries?

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