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[Sakara=Excitement]

Can Fedor Emelianenko Realistically Win the Strikeforce Grand Prix? - Bloody Elbow

Fedor Emelianenko is the best heavyweight the sport of MMA has ever produced. The Russian became a legend, not just by winning every fight for almost a decade, but because of the way he won. Emelianenko is a rare fighter with all the tools: hard, fast, and accurate punching, great throws and trips, and legitimate submission skills from the top and the bottom. In an era when most fighters were playing Jenga, Fedor was building skyscrapers.

But Fedor Emelianenko is 34 years old. And that's not a young 34. It's a 34 that has had it's skull rattled by Kazayuki Fujita and Kevin Randleman, a 34 that has been through the ringer three times with Antonio Nogueira, a 34 that has suffered the aches and pains of training and grappling at a very high level for almost 20 years. As much as I respect Fedor Emelianenko, I have real questions about whether he can withstand the physical rigors of competing three times in eight months to take home this Grand Prix championship.

Before Fedor fans explode with furious indignation, here's something to consider: Fedor hasn't fought more than twice in a calender year since 2005. And that's not just because he likes chilling in Monaco while consuming both vodka and ice cream by the gallon. Injuries have been the culprit, almost as much as his ever present contract negotiations.

Keep this in mind as well: the man's hands are made of tissue paper and those four ounce gloves don't offer much in the way of protection. It all started with Gary Goodridge back in 2003. Fedor's problem, if you can believe it, is hitting people too hard. Some blame his technique, which often sees his fist collide with an opponent's head near his thumb instead of straight on like god and Jack Dempsey intended. He broke his right hand on Goodridge's noggin and it hasn't been the same since. He re-injured it against Tim Sylvia in 2008 and hurt his other hand against Brett Rogers in 2009. One thing we've learned from boxing over the years- a perpetually injured hand rarely makes a miraculous recovery. We have to assume Fedor is up for a tough challenge from Antonio Silva. I don't know that his hand is.

And then, there's the specter of M-1. Will the Russian's management team allow him to compete three times in a year without succumbing to the temptation of re-negotiation? I can't speak for what kind of contract they've signed with Strikeforce and Showtime. But it doesn't seemingly matter much what is on paper. MMA is a rough sport and the training is even more grueling than the bouts themselves. If M-1 wants to negotiate, and things don't go their way, an injury can always pop up that can remove Fedor from the tournament. It's an ugly thought, but one it would be irresponsible to ignore.

It's these three reasons - age, injury, and management, that prevent me from picking Fedor to win this tournament. There is some incredible talent among the eight participants. Silva is a star on the rise, Barnett a star untested in recent years, Arlovski and Kharitonov former stars looking for a return to glory. Werdum has wins over everyone on his side of the bracket and Rogers has a puncher's chance. But the smart money is on Alistair Overeem to win it all.

[Sakara=Excitement]

And just because.....

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lVVrNOQtlzY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Kimbo> Rampage]

yes

[IceCold48]

wtf? he gets caught with a triangle against the best bjj practitoner in the HW division and now he may not have a realistic chance to win? fucking shit.

[Sakara=Excitement]

Greatest video ever made by the way.

[Kimbo> Rampage]

fedor is the best all time. my only gripe with fedor is that he is so good i want to see him matchup with all the best. this tournament is great for the fighters careers and the fans, if fedor can take out bigfoot, werdum, barnett, and overeem in the next year+ then it may still be possible for him to join the ufc to one last stamp in his goat status. Fedor vs. cain and fedor vs. anderson(shogun jones, etc whoever is on top then) would be the biggest mma fights of all time. the mma landscape has changed over the past 3-4 years, where guys like anderson and gsp have legit claims to the p4p kings, but if fedor did all that, then he would probably be the goat now, but would be close to impossible for anybody to surpass him, seeing how young the sport is.

[Pasha K]

What a stupid question.
A guy that until last summer was considered invincible loses for the first time and now they say that he probably does not have any chances of winning the GP?
He is the favorite to win, yes he is 34 years old, but he is not even near damaged as people like Wandy or Nogueira.
If we consider that he has been fighting at the highest level for a decade and that every year he competes in 1 or 2 Sambo tournaments, we can say that he has taken very little damage.

Serioulsy, how can anyone seriously ask "can Fedor realistically win the GP?". I can understand if they ask "can Rogers realistically win the tournament?" or same question for Arlovksy or Kharitonov, but for Fedor????

It is like asking, Does Brazil realistically has a chance of winning the soccer World Cup in in 2014?

[YukonJordan]

He may be 34 but if you listen to Dana White he's basically taken the last 6 years off. So he should be good to go.

[pantomime horse]

He should be the favorite. He is capable of smashing or submitting his way past each and every opponent in this tournament.

[GL Jeff]

I dont think Fedor has come close to training as hard as the article makes it seem,while it works for him, I dont think its comparable to guys like GSP, Fitch, and Cain. And he hasnt fought ALOT in the last years,so I think he could easily manage fighting 3 times in a year. Its his management that would hamper his ability to win this tournament.

If Fedor wins his bracket,his odds improve drastically.