The Future of Fedor... and other stuff.

The question on everyone's mind is what Fedor is going to do next. Hell, even Dana White wants to know so he can continue being a dick to M-1. There are a handful of options going forward, so let's see what makes sense and what's not going to happen.

1. Retirement
After the loss to Bigfoot, Fedor indicated he was ready to step out of the ring permanently. When the time comes I don't see this being a problem for him. He won't have nine comeback fights. He will step away and stay away. Now, however, isn't the time. While I honestly don't believe Fedor has ever enjoyed fighting, I also don't believe he's ready to call it a day. There's too much left for him to do, and I just don't see it happening yet.

2. Continuing at Heavyweight With a New Camp
While Red Devil has a few names with them, what they don't have is another top-tier fighter, or any other world-class athletes. Consider a camp like Golden Glory whose various arms house Alistair Overeem, Semmy Schilt, and Sergei Kharitonov among others. Mike's Gym gives us Badr Hari, Melvin Manhoef, and Paul Daley. Red Devil gives us... Fedor. Fedor is the king of Red Devil, beyond a doubt, but I have the feeling he simply outshines everyone around him and doesn't have anyone to really push him. Moving to a new camp would give him a new crew to learn with and from, which would help him refocus on the sport.

3. Continuing at Heavyweight With Red Devil
To me, this is the least desirable option but also the most likely. It's never seemed to me like fighting was anything but a paycheck for Fedor. He shows up, kicks some ass, grabs his check, and goes back to practice for the next sambo championship. Staying with Red Devil would just reinforce this cycle, and he needs to break with everything he's done in the past if he wants to stay on top. Unfortunately, I don't see that happening. He's going to continue with Red Devil.

4. Dropping Down to LHW
The ideal option in my opinion, and a path that's been well traveled before. For one, the thought of a Dan Henderson/Fedor Emelianenko matchup is friggin' awesome. For two, he wouldn't be as outsized as he is now. There's a picture out there of all the GP competitors standing next to each other onstage, and Fedor is practically dwarfed by everyone. He's officially listed at 6'0", but it's plain to see he's closer to 5'10". Additionally, his 230 pounds is all of his weight. He doesn't cut. It should be relatively easy for him to lose a few pounds then cut down to 205. At that weight he's facing guys that are closer to his height and natural weight. It's the absolute best option, and I honestly hope this is the way he goes rather than continue fighting guys that outsize him to near Minowaman proportions.

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On to other things. The lack of news from Japan has me scared. SRC is basically silent. Dream is constantly looking for new funding, as is K1. The latest is that It's Showtime is claiming some of its fighters have gone unpaid by K1. I don't even know what to think anymore. Basically I've resigned myself to Japanese MMA being over for the time being and moved on to Strikeforce. At this point I think all we can hope for from Japan is intermittent events with much less production value.

Over in the UFC... I'm bored. Seriously bored. Anderson Silva has cleared out his division and should honestly be forced to move up in weight. There are so many excellent fights that could be made at LHW for him, why continue matching him up with inferior competition simply because it's all they have? Same with GSP. Another Jon "Decision Machine" Fitch match? Who cares? Why is he getting this title shot? Because he's a human blanket, is why. Because winning is more important than actually being entertaining in the UFC. Guys that get Fight on the Night one week are cut after their next fight because it's a loss, while moss-growers like Fitch and Gray Maynard stick around.

Speaking of machines, Mark Kerr just popped up on my TV. Smashing Machine. Ground and pound. Wow, he just pounded his own face WITH the ground. Holy crap...

I can't believe it hasn't been talked about much, but Schiavello and Bas... didn't really work as well as I'd hoped. While they're both great personalities, and the best in the business at their respective announce positions, they didn't really mesh that well. Luckily, I know the solution. Get them on a K1 or SRC event, broadcasting live at 3 AM CST, when they're both lightly toasted on some warm sake. Oh yes. That'll fix everything. Jet lag plus alcohol makes for excellent TV.