.jpg "Brock Lesnar")
At the UFC 100 post-fight press conference, which turned out to be a circus due to Brock Lesnar‘s antics post-fight on the PPV itself (and the fact that after the first five minutes, UFC president Dana White and fighter Dan Henderson were the only two remaining for the entire presser due to almost every other fighter being in the hospital) a "big" announcement was made.
The reason I say "big" is because it’s nothing that wasn’t really already assumed, but was finally said by the always-honest UFC president Dana White.
Dana White was asked about the consensus number one Heavyweight in the world (and arguably the number one pound for pound fighter in the world) Fedor Emelianenko, as he is at every gathering involving the MMA media. White was candid this time, saying he knows he’s talked a lot of trash about Fedor and his management in the past, but the bottom line is they will eventually get Fedor. White said once they finally get Fedor’s signature on a contract, they will then set up the now eagerly anticipated Fedor vs. Brock Lesnar fight.
Fedor Emelianenko has one fight left with the Affliction mixed-martial arts promotion and that fight will occur on August 1st at their third MMA event being dubbed "Trilogy" (clever, huh?) which emanates from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Fedor will put his basically unblemished record on the line against Josh Barnett, a former UFC Heavyweight champion, who, outside the UFC is probably the only formidable challenger left. Fedor’s record is "basically" unblemished because he "lost" one fight, where he was cut open by an elbow – which were illegal under the rules he was fighting – and the bout was stopped and he was somehow called the loser. Fedor got a rematch with that same man (Tsuyoshi Kohsaka) five years later and defeated him via technical knockout after one round. Fedor also has a No Contest on his record, which he received in a fight that was stopped due to a cut caused by an accidental headbutt. That fight was against the only other PRIDE Heavyweight champion in history, and former UFC Interim Heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira. Fedor has fought Nogueira three times, one being the aforementioned no contest, while the other two were very dominant victories.
.jpg "Fedor Emelianenko")
Fedor Emelianenko did an interview with MMA legend "El Guapo" Bas Rutten on HDNet’s "Inside MMA" program this past Friday night where he said he doesn’t see himself in the UFC anytime soon due to some issues he and his handlers have with Dana White and UFC management. With that being said, Affliction is expected not to run anymore fight cards following the "Trilogy" event on 8/1, and other than big-money freak-show fights in Japan, the UFC will soon be Fedor’s only option.
If the Brock Lesnar vs. Fedor Emelianenko fight happens before Lesnar loses his title while fighting in the UFC (which could happen against a number of guys despite Lesnar’s hype), and as long as Fedor gets past Josh Barnett (which is likely but not guaranteed) that fight could be one of the biggest pay-per views of any kind of all-time. Their names on a poster alone: "Fedor vs. Brock" would look like "a damn monster movie" as Apollo Creed would say. The fact that one man holds the UFC Heavyweight title and is already breaking all-time UFC PPV records while the other is considered the best living combat athlete of any kind on planet earth doesn’t hurt matters any.
For more MMA and UFC news, visit WrestleZone’s official MMA sister-site at Sherdog.com.
