With Fedor set to fight K-1 Champ Hong Man Choi on New Years Eve, many are complaining about the talent level the world’s #1 ranked fighter will be facing, now that he has elected not to sign with the UFC. Before jumping to any conclusions, let’s ask ourselves one question:
Would he really be facing the best if he did sign with Dana and the boys?
I think not. Let’s look to history for proof:
The UFC signs Cro Cop. Recognized as # 2 heavyweight in the world at the time. So who do they pit the world’s deadliest striker against? Tim Sylvia? Andrei Arlovski? No. Eddie Sanchez, Gabe Gonzaga and Cheik Kongo.
Geez. Thanks Joe Silva. They were some really great fantasy match ups you treated us to!
Then……..
The UFC signs Antonio Rodrigo Minotauro Nogueira . Once again, widely recognized as #2 heavyweight. Who does he get? Randy? How about Brandon Vera? That would be interesting…….
How about Heath Herring for a third time?
How about no? I guess you could call it the rubber match…… that is if Herring had managed to win one of the two previous fights. Completely unnecessary. Although he wins a decision, Minotauro gets dropped and nearly finished in the first round, somewhat tarnishing his debut.
And finally…….
The UFC signs Shogun. #1 ranked light heavyweight in the world. Surely they will get this one right. Throw him Chuck, or even Tito for God’s sake! This guy absolutely demolished the current champ Rampage. So who does he get?
A guy who just lost to Jardine and squeaked out a decision over Hector Ramirez.
Ummmmmm, yeah. That’s what we were all waiting for.
Now, I’m not bashing the aforementioned opposition. In fact, all but Sanchez and Herring managed to pull off upset victories. I’m merely pointing out that the UFC’s matchmaking for these elite fighters has been anything but a fantasy league. Who do you think they would have been matching Fedor up against had they signed him? Given the recent track record, I somehow doubt it would be a dream match.
I don’t know about you, but Fedor vs Choi is more appealing to me than Fedor vs Dan Christison……
(3 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
NO he is facing BUMS!
Shogun = NOgun
i agree totally cmac.the warm up fights given to these top fighters went pear shaped.its a shame.
the fans that follow mma,not just ufc,had dreamt of these fighters coming to ufc and doing there stuff.
we were cheated out of these big fights in a way.
no disrespect to there opponents,but,if top fighters were facing these guys i feel they would have raised there games.also,
fedor might have shot himself in the foot by not coming to ufc and taking part in what would have been the biggest mma fight in history,against randy.
if he has a bad run in m1,its over.
I think Fedor is a bit of an anomaly among fighters. The fact that he trains specifically for recovery, even when he has a bad fight (see Fujita), he still wins….
Hahaha. Points well made there big guy!!!!!!!!!!!
Dude give me a break. You can’t honestly expect anyone with any kind of intelligence to swallow this tripe can you? Shogun was dominated yes that’d d o m i n a t e d dominated by Forrest. Well how bad of a matchup was it then? Maybe just maybe Joe Silva realized that Shogun is 90% hype and knew Forrest was a solid match for him. Cro Cop is now and forever will be a punk. Regardless of what he has achieved in “PRIDE” he no zero ground game and his stand up is CLEARLY below the level of competition in the UFC. Nog vs Herring is a solid matchup. Considering how little PRIDE veterans have shown the UFC fans you couldn’t put him against anyone. Now he’s facing Sylvia and it is the matchup you want to see. So what’s the problem? Simple PRIDE fans hate the UFc depth and know their favorite fighters cannot compete with it. So you ask for dream matchups etc instead of them working their way through the rankings. PRIDE sucked and quite frankly so does your writing.
Who are you refering to? And yes pride is DEAD, (cheers Dana)!
btw Merry Christmas to you all!
Pie Face. It looks like you have your own fan club LOL It’s funny that one persons OPINION can seem to stomp on anothers’ OPINION. I guess everyone is an expert eh? And with such attitude. Please people, everyone has their own opinion. Watch the damn fights! JMO
lol yeah hahahaha, Should be a good one this weekend! I cant wait! Anyone taking bets? hahahahahahahaha
This wait is worse than Christmas morning! LOL Lotsa chatter later!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1