Mainstream MMA is back
MMA action is coming at you on a mainstream stage once again. Unlike the ill-fated Kimbo experiment, Saturday’s Strikeforce event on CBS promises to deliver the goods with a stacked card.
The event is free, which is a good thing since you will have spent all of your money buying vowels. Fedor Emelianenko (30-1-1) makes his Strikeforce debut as a monstrous -590 favorite over Brett Rogers (10-0-0). To avoid early carpal tunnel syndrome, I will refer to Emelianenko as only “Fedor” for the rest of this piece.
Fedor is back
Maybe you’ve heard of Fedor, maybe you haven’t. He has been widely regarded as one of the very best pound-for-pound fighters for years, and sits atop the heavyweight food chain. His obscurity outside of MMA circles can be attributed to the UFC’s inability to reel him in, although it wasn’t for a lack of trying.
Fedor’s appearance conjures up immediate images of a KGB super agent, or a Gulag interrogator. He has been taking care of business for almost 10 years, freelancing for several different organizations. He has taken down a who’s who list of heavyweight heavies along the way. In his most recent venture, Affliction had slated Fedor to meet Josh Barnett, but Barnett was snagged for snorting steroid candy. The fight was canceled, the event was scrapped, and Affliction folded completely. Fedor was that important to them.
The UFC’s Dana White did everything that he could to sign Fedor. Fedor’s M-1 Global team just wouldn’t budge on otherwise petty issues. White was left holding the kitchen sink as Strikeforce wasted no time giving M-1 anything they wanted for an opportunity to showcase “The Last Emperor.” And that’s how we got here.
Fedor exemplifies resiliency. When challenged early, cut open, smashed to the mat on his head, he turns the tide quickly. In his last action against Andrei Arlovski, he was getting picked apart early via kicks and punches. That’s when Arlovski became careless and attempted a flying knee. Fedor made contact with Arlovski’s chin in mid-air, and put him to sleep. It was an amazing, but hardly surprising conclusion to yet another Fedor victory.
Mayhem Miller’s entrances
Speaking of Arlovski, the last man that he fought was none other than Brett Rogers. Rogers came in as a +300 underdog, but poor Arlovski ate a flurry of powerful punches right off the bat, and was put to sleep once again just 22 seconds after the initial bell. Rogers is a huge man, standing at 6’5”, 265 lbs. Is he worth a shot at +445? That’s for you to decide. I’ll probably take a small shot on Rogers, hoping that one of his bear claws make contact. Even then, nothing is guaranteed, as Fedor knows how to weather a storm and find ways to win. What’s important is that you don’t miss the opportunity to see the best fighter alive, for free. And no, I don’t mean Kimbo.
There are a couple of other televised fights that will be worth taking in as well. Jake Shields (23-4-1) will look to keep his amazing streak alive against Jason “Mayhem” Miller (22-6-1). Shields comes in as a -300 favorite, but I expect the fight to be close and full of high energy. One thing you don’t want to miss is Mayhem’s entrance, some of which have been known to be as entertaining as his fights. Check out his last one which resembled an Asian schoolgirl rave. And really, can you raise the bar any higher than an Asian schoolgirl rave? I think not.
Also, Gegard Mousasi (26-2-1) will meet Rameau Sokoudjou (7-4-0) as a huge favorite (-475). Sokoudjou is an entertaining free swinger, but Mousasi knocked his last opponent (Renato Sobral) completely retarded. I don’t know if they have Special Olympics in Africa, but Sokoudjou might want to look into that.
Mousasi beat his last opponent stupid
