Filed under: UFC, Strikeforce

Twelve days ago, I would have said that Fedor Emelianenko was the best fighter in the history of mixed martial arts. Now, I’m not so sure. The combination of Anderson Silva‘s spectacular knockout of Vitor Belfort at UFC 126 and Fedor’s loss to Antonio Silva a week later might force me to reconsider and pick Silva as the greatest in MMA history, and Fedor as No. 2.

It’s a close call, and any argument about the best fighter in MMA history is rife with problems. The biggest problem being that there’s not much history to MMA. It’s a new sport, and it’s a really new sport if you want to use an apples-to-apples comparison of fighters competing under modern rules with weight classes. In fact, I think the arguments about the best fighters in MMA history are so complex that I don’t want to deal with them here.

Instead, I’d like to ask a simpler question: Who had a better decade: Silva in the 10 years up to and including his victory over Belfort, or Fedor in the 10 years before the loss to Fabricio Werdum that started his current two-fight slide?

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Better Decade: Fedor Before Werdum, or Silva Through Belfort?

Filed under: Strikeforce

After Fedor Emelianenko‘s second consecutive defeat rocked the MMA world in the opening round of the Strikeforce heavyweight Grand Prix, it’s hard not to ask, what does it all mean? What happened on Saturday night against Antonio Silva, and how does it change our understanding of future and past events?

There are many (sometimes directly contradictory) answers to these questions, so we might as well lay them out one by one and make the best case we can for each. Feel free to mix and match where possible.

I. Fedor is the best there ever was. One loss — or even two straight losses — doesn’t change that. Who else has that kind of win streak? Who else is as well-rounded, or as dominant? Who walked through Cro Cop’s hardest shots and shook off a Kevin Randleman suplex? One man, and his name is Fedor. The more the UFC heavyweight strap gets passed around like an iPod at a white elephant gift exchange, the more you’ll come to realize just how glorious Fedor’s run was.

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Eleven Ways of Looking at Fedor Emelianenko’s Latest Loss

Filed under: Strikeforce, News

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ — The revisionist history will start now.

After two losses in a row for Fedor Emelianenko, the naysayers and narrow-mindeds will come out in an attempt to discredit everything he ever did. Let’s make this clear: Emelianenko is the greatest heavyweight mixed martial artist of all time. Perhaps one day he will be surpassed in the historical argument, but for now he is No. 1 with a bullet. There shouldn’t be a conversation, let alone a debate about it.

It seems important to settle this now, with Emelianenko perhaps at the end of his career. After dropping his second fight in a row, he suggested that retirement was a possibility.

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Recent Results Don’t Change Fedor’s Place as Greatest Heavyweight Ever

Filed under: MMA Videos, Strikeforce, FanHouse Exclusive, Videos

NEW YORK — MMA Fighting caught up with Andrei Arlovski on Tuesday to talk about his upcoming fight against Sergei Kharitonov at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva. “The Pitbull” talked about his mental state going into the fight, what he has done to change up his game and why he wants to fight Tim Sylvia one more time so badly.

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Andrei Arlovski: Fighting Tim Sylvia Again ‘Is One of My Dreams’

Filed under: MMA Videos, UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, Videos

LAS VEGAS — MMA Fighting spoke to Dana White at Wednesday’s UFC 126 press conference about the importance of Silva vs. Belfort, his thoughts on the upcoming Strikeforce heavyweight tournament, the state of Japanese MMA and MMA in New York. and whether he is interested in talking once again with HBO.

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Dana White Discusses UFC 126, Strikeforce GP and Japanese MMA

Filed under: Strikeforce

Strikeforce hit us with another night of fun finishes and very few surprises on Saturday night, as both champs retained their titles and a Heisman Trophy-winning running back beat up the guy who was hired solely to get beat up by a Heisman Trophy-winning running back.

Success? That depends on how you define the word when it comes to fight promotion. For a look at the aftermath of Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg, join me below as we examine the biggest winners, losers, and everything in between.

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Falling Action: Best and Worst of Strikeforce – Diaz vs. Cyborg

Filed under: Strikeforce, News

Strikeforce has officially announced its long-rumored March 5 event at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, adding a pair of intriguing bouts with championship implications.

As MMA Fighting first reported, that show will be headlined by a light-heavyweight championship main event pitting recently crowned Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante against challenger Dan Henderson.

That, however, will not be the only title match of the evening, as No. 1 contender Miesha Tate will finally get her shot at the belt when she faces champion Marloes Coenen in a women’s lightweight title fight.

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Strikeforce Adds Tate-Coenen, Kennedy-Rockhold to March 5 Event

Filed under: Strikeforce

After a night of exciting finishes and some questionable behavior from fans at cageside, The MMA Wrap-Up returns to look at what we learned at Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg on Saturday night in San Jose, and what it means to be a Strikeforce champion these days.

All that, plus a wintry snowscape background to make you feel nice and cozy about wherever you happen to be watching this video.

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The MMA Wrap-Up: Post-Strikeforce Edition

Filed under: Strikeforce

Too bad we’ll never know just how good Herschel Walker could have been. At 48 years old, even the seemingly ageless Walker admits that he doesn’t see much of a lifespan for himself in mixed martial arts. He focuses more on the training than the fighting, leaving his Strikeforce career to his team at the American Kickboxing Academy.

That’s a shame, really, because Walker could have been good. Very good. Sure, it’s hard to tell just where he is right now. Even at 2-0, wins over Scott Carson and Greg Nagy aren’t measuring sticks we can easily read. Beginner vs. beginner fights are understandable, but for the fan, they’re not very helpful in evaluating talent. In Walker’s case though, you can see he has it. For a young fighter — figuratively speaking, of course — he has good instincts, power and poise. And even at his advanced age, his athleticism is still quite obvious.

Walker has critics, of course, but most of them are more focused on why he has a job in the first place, rather than what he is when he steps in the cage. And aren’t we supposed to care more about what happens in the cage?

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Herschel Walker’s Detractors Swing and Miss on Criticisms

Filed under: Strikeforce

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Nick Diaz doesn’t like getting hit in the face, he says. It’s dangerous. It’s painful. And when done by a guy like Evangelista ‘Cyborg’ Santos, it’s just not much fun.

That’s why it’s a little surprising, after seeing how easily he dispatched of Santos once the fight hit the mat, that he’s willing to do it so often.

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Nick Diaz’s Willingness to Brawl Is Fun, but Is It Smart?