Fedor Emelianenko has caught a lot of heat in recent weeks since he signed with Strikeforce. Many people tout Fedor as the best pound for pound fighter in the world, however the folks in the UFC are constantly denying that claim. Frank Mir recently weighed in on this discussion during the DAM Radio Show and he didn’t have much to say that would support Fedor’s role as the best fighter in the world.
“I think it’s an excuse to dodge the top-level competition,” Mir said. “As long as he never proves it, he can keep the No. 1 ranking. If he goes into the cage and loses, he loses that. If he stays out of the cage and doesn’t fight myself, Lesnar, Cain Velasquez, Shane Carwin and some of the top heavyweights, he can always have an argument.”
Frank Mir also went on to say that Fedor has always fought in a ring rather than a cage. The difference he says is that in a ring, when someone takes you down, you can slide under the ropes and continue to maneuver. In a cage however, when someone takes you down and puts you up against the cage you are trapped and must stand up to get out of it.
I think the cage vs the ring analogy definitely carries some weight here. However, to say that Fedor Emelianenko is dodging competition is certainly inconsistent with the history of Fedor’s opponents. Fedor has fought nothing but top level opponents throughout his career. Furthermore, some of the greatest fighters in history will swear up and down that Fedor is the best there ever was and possibly ever will be. Where did they ever get an idea like that about a guy who dodges top competition? It is my belief that the UFC, from a business perspective, is doing it’s best to discredit Fedor’s credentials. If Fedor remains the best heavyweight in the world, what does it make the UFC heavyweight Champion? If Fedor would have signed with the UFC recently, I guarantee that the only thing you would have heard from Dana White and others at the UFC is how they now have the number one ranked heavyweight in the world. Isn’t it funny how the story can change so quickly when money is involved?