Should Fedor Emelianenko Retire?

Should Fedor Emelianenko retire?

That’s a question that many people including myself have pondered since his loss to Fabricio Werdum. I thought yes back then. That same sentiment was reinforced when he lost to Antonio Silva in a fairly one-sided bout.

I reviewed the tape of his fight with Dan Henderson and you can tell that Fedor’s aura of invincibility was an artifact of the past. A remnant, a mere talking point. Henderson had no qualms slugging it out with “The Last Emperor.” I mean who does that?10 years ago when PRIDE was king, even fighters like Cro Cop were pretty cautious with their striking. Fedor’s a grappler, but he hits hard. Saturday’s fight, Henderson traded punches and bloodied up the Russian. Hendo even pushed Fedor up against the cage and made it a Greco-Roman fight. Amazing.

I remember Henderson got knocked down some time in the fight. Fedor rushed in, got into half-mount and began throwing his hands. Not many people survive that kind of onslaught and I suppose that’s what really impressed me. Henderson not only slipped out, but knocked out Fedor with a punch from behind. Who does that?

The fight took place at Heavy weight, but Henderson fought as a bona fide light-heavy weight, weighing in at 207, just one pound over the LHW cap. Fedor got beat by a light-heavy weight.

The most unfortunate thing was that I wasn’t surprised at all. If you break down the fight and objectively analyzed it, it wouldn’t be hard to see how the fight would end up.

Certainly I wanted Fedor to win, but if I were a betting man I would have picked Dan Henderson, despite the crazy odds.

Fedor’s too old. He’s taken too many hits. He’s from a completely different age of MMA. The Golden Age even. Fedor’s a phenomenal fighter, but I don’t see him beating up Cain Velasquez or Jon Jones. These guys are younger, more athletic. They’re too fast. They’re too new-school.

Dan Henderson has managed to hang with the best. He beat up big names years ago. He’s still doing it today. And he just took out Fedor Emelianenko, the baddest man of them all. Hendo is pound-for-pound no doubt, and he poses a serious threat to everybody in his weight class. Any weight class.

Should Fedor retire? Yes I think so.
He should exit the game now. I think Fedor has a controlling interest in M-1 Global, another promotion. He could just pick up a management role and still be involved in MMA.

His fighting days might be over, but his career isn’t. At 35, Fedor can do so much.

Fedor is the best mixed martial artist that ever lived. He doesn’t have anything left to prove. It’s just what he does now that matters.

Cheers champ. You were great. Now it’s time to be greater.

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