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[kickass32]

http://www.cagepotato.com/fedor-emel...t-needs-happen

Fedor Emelianenko vs. King Mo Is the Fight That Needs to Happen


It's natural to think that Fedor Emelianenko's loss to Fabricio Werdum on Saturday night was an absolute disaster, both for his career and for Strikeforce, who had their pay-per-view hopes riding on a heavyweight title clash between Emelianenko and Alistair Overeem. The shocking upset left fans scratching their heads and wondering what could be next for the Last Emperor. An immediate rematch with Werdum, as Werdum himself suggested after the fight? A tune-up match against someone further down the ladder like Antonio Silva? Retirement?

One name that doesn't seem to be getting any consideration in the fight's aftermath is, to me, the most obvious one — Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal, Strikeforce's reigning light-heavyweight champion. And if Strikeforce wants to pull anything positive out of their current situation, they'll book Fedor vs. King Mo as quickly as possible. Here's why:

1) It gives Fedor something important to do. Emelianenko is reportedly the highest-paid fighter in all of MMA right now, and he only has one fight left on his contract. Forget tune-up matches; Strikeforce needs to make the most of their investment, which means giving Fedor another big fight. But they'd be fools to re-do Fedor vs. Werdum right away — especially now that Alistair Overeem is back and ready to fight — and there's no guarantee that fans would even be interested to see what happens in the sequel. Besides, a rematch would prove very little, no matter who wins it. Either Fedor evens the score 1-1 and steals Fabricio's title shot somewhat illegitimately, or he loses again, thereby wasting everybody's time. Let Werdum have his moment and fight Overeem. Fedor may be temporarily out of the heavyweight title picture, but that doesn't mean he's out of options. It just means Strikeforce has to tweak their strategy for him.

2) It gives King Mo something important to do. This is just as crucial. Remember how Renato Sobral earned a light-heavyweight title shot by beating Robbie Lawler, despite the fact that he was intending on transitioning to middleweight? Well, Babalu and King Mo won't fight each other, so it's time to move on to Plan B. Opponents for Lawal at light-heavyweight are scarce. You could either give Rafael Cavalcante a somewhat undeserved crack at the belt, or have Dan Henderson go back up to 205 to challenge, despite the fact that he was just dominated by Jake Shields at middleweight. King Mo has been asking to fight Fedor since last year; he even knows some women who could beat Fedor. Why not put his belt on the line and give him his wish? Even if Fedor wins that belt then leaves Strikeforce, what does Scott Coker really stand to lose? King Mo and Cavalcante would just fight for the vacant light-heavyweight title, and Strikeforce would never have to deal with M-1 Global ever again. Not a bad deal, if you ask me.

3) Fedor can make the weight, and should probably try it for the sake of his career. The weigh-ins on Friday provided us with two seemingly contradictory pieces of information: Fedor looked doughy, maybe even more so than usual, yet he only came in at 229 pounds, his lightest weight in years. Fedor could certainly make 205 pounds if he chose to, with the help of a nutritionist and some basic instruction on water-cutting. (It should be mentioned that the UFC's largest light-heavyweights, like Forrest Griffin, Ryan Bader, and Jon Jones, all dwarf Emelianenko.) To this point, there's been no reason for Fedor to leave heavyweight — he's been perfectly happy beating up bigger opponents — but moving down to LHW would give his career a much-needed second act; think of what it did for Randy Couture in 2003. We now know that Emelianenko isn't invincible at heavyweight. But could anybody his own size beat him? I think a lot of fans would pay big money to find out.

4) Why the hell not? Come on, this is King Mo and Strikeforce — the fighter and MMA organization who defined "moneyweight." Shallowness of roster has always been one of Strikeforce's biggest challenges, but it's given them the freedom to make interesting fights with whatever fighters they have on hand: Nick Diaz and Frank Shamrock battling at a catchweight of 179. Jake Shields beefing up to take the middleweight belt. Hell, King Mo himself earned a light-heavyweight title shot against Gegard Mousasi directly after beating Mike Whitehead at heavyweight in his Strikeforce debut. Fedor Emelianenko isn't a heavyweight — he's simply been competing as one for the last ten years, and his career accomplishments make him immediately qualified to fight for a light-heavyweight belt in Strikeforce. Fedor has exactly one opportunity to become a champion in his next fight, which might be his last. If Strikeforce can't sell that fight, then God help them.

Wow....Mo vs. Fedor???? Murder in the 1st!!!

I do agree though, that Fedor could drop down to 205 rather easily!

[Ramma]

I thought, what a stupid idea. And then I saw that this came from Cagepotato and everything made sense.

[Druel]

lol Ramma I visit cagepotato often, not for the insightful news but for the shits and giggles.

Fedor has never needed to cut to 205, he is extremely capable at HW, all I gotta say is, if he treats this loss the same way GSP treated his loss to Serra the heavyweight division is in for a serious beatdown.

[the_dark_angel_4ever]

when I first read the title i laughed to myself, but there are actually some valid points. I highly doubt Strikeforce will want to waste what could be Fedors last fight with a tune up or time killing fight, but I highly doubt Fedor would want to cut weight. Not hating on the guy at all, but the way he approaches fighting in general seems a lot more relaxed then the average fighter and I don't know if he'd want to stress his body like that. Not to mention, cutting for the first time could really hurt his performance. Imagine all the haters if he dropped to LHW and lost again

[TheKidInside]

Originally Posted by Ramma

I thought, what a stupid idea. And then I saw that this came from Cagepotato and everything made sense.

took the words right out of my keyboard! I lost all interest when it said "this fight needs to happen"

Fedor by armbar (something stupid Gegard could've done about 10 times, also a triangle about 5 times).

[SimpleJack]

So......Fedor needs to prove himself after 10 years of going defeated.....against someone 7-0 nonetheless.....amazing.

[vegas bushido]

Originally Posted by TheKidInside

took the words right out of my keyboard! I lost all interest when it said "this fight needs to happen"

Fedor by armbar (something stupid Gegard could've done about 10 times, also a triangle about 5 times).

I would agree but there is no way King Mo is going to keep Fedor on ground long enough for Fedor to attempt a sub.

I also liked how the article claimed Fedor should do a "much-needed second act". Like his first act is just getting tired. Dear god.

[TheKidInside]

Originally Posted by vegas bushido

I would agree but there is no way King Mo is going to keep Fedor on ground long enough for Fedor to attempt a sub.

I also liked how the article claimed Fedor should do a "much-needed second act". Like his first act is just getting tired. Dear god.

Well, Fedor doesn't usually get up off his back if the sub is there...and against Mo THEY ARE THERE! But, same time I think that 10 seconds that they stand up in the first round, Fedor KO's him and doesn't get subbed

[KnowledgeKnown]

lol every time a fighter loses we start talking about changing weight classes. Can we get over our initial shock and realize that Fedor lost to a legitimate ranked HW. Take it from someone who's lost to supremely inferior grapplers. I've rolled with guys who had a 10th of my ability, and in a straight up wrestling match couldn't last a minute with me, but in a submission wrestling match caught me in a triangle.

Sure wrestling and MMA are different, but in this case not so much. Fedor leaped into Werdum's world. Werdum is a 2 time Abu Dhabi champion, if you leave his leg over your shoulder what's next? A triangle is next, and getting out of Werdum's triangle... well you witnessed it.

Could Fedor drop to 205? Sure. Should he? No. He's the same Fedor as he was friday, just with a loss. Calm down everyone.

[TBEAR]

LOL, like Knowledge said...just calm down people