1- Fedor luchará 3 veces en 6 meses: en julio, en Octubre (M1-Affliction) y en Fin de Año en Japón contra el vencedor de
Anuncio
Colapsar
No hay anuncios todavía.
Noticias de FEDOR EMELIANENKO
Colapsar
X
-
Re: Noticias de FEDOR EMELIANENKO
mas sobre el ruso:
No fighter in the sport of mixed martial arts has the mystique of Fedor Emelianenko. Not only has he rarely been challenged, but he's been so dominant that the few moments in which he has appeared mortal in combat have become legendary, as if they are the only proof the man sometimes called "The Russian Cyborg" really is human.
Emelianenko brings his 27-1 (1 no-contest) record to the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., on July 19 to face his most significant test in close to three years, when he faces former two-time Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight king Tim "The Maine-iac" Sylvia on the debut show of the Affliction promotion.
Nearly every poll in the fight world asking who the greatest MMA fighter of all-time is, puts Emelianenko No. 1, not only in the heavyweight division, but overall.
The only reason the Russian native from Stary Oskol wouldn't be considered No. 1 today is the fact he has not fought top-notch competition in quite some time in an ever-changing and evolving sport.
But Emelianenko became the top heavyweight in the world on March 16, 2003, when he scored a one-sided decision over current UFC interim champ Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira to capture the Pride world heavyweight title, a belt he maintained until the company closed in 2007.
Emelianenko was offered a multi-fight deal last year with UFC after the company purchased PRIDE, which included a seven-figure signing bonus and a minimum of $1.5 million per fight, a level of pay nobody in MMA has ever achieved. The company expected to make what would have been one of the biggest fights in MMA history against then-champion Randy Couture.
But negotiations fell apart on a number of points, from the UFC's demand for promotional exclusivity and a clause that he could be cut with multiple losses, to Emelianenko's management demanding the contractual ability to turn down opponents and wanting to partner with UFC in holding events in Russia.
Couture's being mad about Emelianenko being offered so much when "The Natural" helped build UFC, and his frustration about not getting the match in the first place, in some ways led to Couture quitting UFC as champion. Now on the sidelines, Couture is waiting for a favorable court ruling that would enable him to face the Russian.
But a win by Sylvia in Anaheim would remove much of the luster from that proposed fight. What is most ironic about the fight is that last year, when Emelianenko's management were in negotiations with UFC, Sylvia was the name the Russian's handlers specifically mentioned not wanting to fight.
Talent doesn't translate into box office
All Fedor's wins and mystique hasn't quite made him a top box office draw. In Japan, where Emelianenko has fought most of his career, he never had the mainstream appeal of fighters like Mirko Cro Cop, a spectacular KO artist, Bob Sapp, a freakish American who wasn't a top fighter but had a huge personality, or Wanderlei Silva, an aggressive exciting fighter who had a legendary series of matches with national hero Kazushi Sakuraba.
In the U.S., his last fight on pay-per-view, on April 14, 2007, when he faced natural middleweight contender Matt Lindland for Bodog Fight in Russia, drew a miserable 13,000 buys and essentially set that company on the fast road right out of business. Previously, as the main eventer on a loaded 2006 PRIDE show in Las Vegas, facing Mark Coleman, the show did about 40,000 buys, also considered a huge disappointment.
And now, at 31, a match with Sylvia, who at 6-8 and 260 pounds, towers over the 6-0, 235-pounder, becomes a genuine test to see if the Emelianenko of mythical proportions is imaginary or real, particularly since Cro Cop, considered by most his last true test back in the summer of 2005, came to UFC and took worse beatings against Gabriel Gonzaga and Cheick Kongo.
On paper, Emelianenko's weakness would appear to be a quick wrestler who has submission knowledge, the type of opponent he's never faced and didn't exist during his heyday as PRIDE champion. Sylvia is not that opponent but, as a giant, is actually the type of foe Emelianenko has thrived against in the past.
Emelianenko, who was a Russian champion in judo and a World champion in sambo before starting with the RINGS promotion in Russia in 2000, holds wins over Choi Hong-man (7-2 1/2, 367 pounds) and Semmy Schilt (7-0, 270 pounds), men who tower over even Sylvia.
"I don't think my game plan has ever been much of a secret," said Sylvia.
"Stand up and brawl, avoid takedowns as much as possible and try to knock him out. I don't see any weaknesses in his game. I think my size and reach is going to play a factor in this fight.
He noted that he's a complete MMA fighter, something Choi was not, and that Schilt in 2002 when he fought Fedor, had no takedown defense, so the size difference was negated from the start of the fight.
"Things you focus on will grow bigger, so focus on positivity" Marloes Coenen
sigpic
Comentario
Comentario