Fedor vs. Pedro Rizzo in April?
That’s the good word, according to Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer:
Monte Cox and the M-1 crew are in Dallas today in a closed-door meeting with Art of War to finalize a Fedor Emelianenko vs. Pedro Rizzo fight that would tentatively take place in Las Vegas in April. Money terms have been agreed and the meeting is to finalize a deal and sign the contracts.
Well, for those who thought Fedor might be going to Chicago, your dreams have been crushed. For those who seriously thought he might fight Josh Barnett, your dreams have been crushed as well. Pedro Rizzo? How underwhelming. First, we’re going to see Fedor beat up on Hong Man Choi (allegedly) and then Pedro Rizzo?
It continues to get harder and harder to defend Emelianenko as the best fighter in the world. Rizzo was badly beaten by Sergei Kharitonov at PRIDE Critical Countdown 20005 and I expect a fight with Fedor to go the exact same way. Standing up, Rizzo eating bombs, and eventually going down hard in the first round.
And then what’s next for Fedor? If he and M-1 care about preserving his credibility, he needs to beat someone relevant. That someone is Randy Couture, obviously, but he’s off the market. The next best thing is Josh Barnett and M-1 needs to do everything in their power to make that fight happen. It will only get harder to defend him as the consensus #1 fighter in the world until he fights someone relevant.
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I’m so confused by the story…
Meeting with the Art of War people? Art of War is DEAD…
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call dave meltzer and let him know… and monte cox… and the m-1 crew.
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Pretty disappointing but there really isn’t a lot of credible heavies in the current market. They really need to get Barnett signed and start building up for a showdown between the two for the NYE card in 2008. An M1 card in Russia with Fedor vs. Arlovski would go over big as well I’m sure. I really can’t see the UFC resigning him(Arlovski) since he’s asking for a ton of guaranteed cash.
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“If he and M-1 care about preserving his credibility….”
Sorry, but….
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
If it’s one thing that is obvious, it is that Fedor and his handlers care more about money and control than credibility. I’m surprised anyone actually thinks Fedor has any credibility left.
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Yea, they’re not intertested in preserving his credibility. Fedor’s year is going to look like Huerta’s before the Guida fight. He’s the company’s big star, they are completely sunk if he loses, so they won’t have him fight anyone tough for at least 2 years.
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What Hwy is going to leave the UFC to fight Fedor?…. 1. Their contract has to be up so they are available to do it. 2. There has to be enough money in it for them. 3. If they get their ass kicked they have to go somewhere else and will they get as much $$ if they didn’t fight Fedor and lost? 4. If they win, then the sky’s the limit… is it worth the gamble?
Couture will most likely come out of retirement if Fedor will fight him within the 2 years or so and if the UFC and M-1 can get it figured out… my guess there’s too much crap involved, Couture will get to old and it will never happen.
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IMO Fedor has to lose before you can take the #1 title away from him. With Randy out of the picture the next top guy is Minotauro, and Fedor’s beaten him twice already.
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I have one thing to say about Fedor…
F Him.
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#7, normally I would agree with you, but if Fedor continues to fight cans and middleweights it’s a tough sell keeping him in the top spot. It doesnt look like he’s even trying to fight anyone of worth. If he was a prospect coming in, and he fought the guys he has been fighting, would you say he had done enough to earn a title shot? Early on, yes. But when was the last time he fought a quality opponent that wasnt a middleweight? I dont care what he did several years ago. Several years ago Chuck Liddell was terrorizing the LHW division. Now he’s on the outside looking in. Fedor needs to fight someone who was good this decade…and that obviously is not Pedro Rizzo.
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Fedor and his management are very smart. He’s just making money here. Who doesn’t want to see Fedor fight? I do…because I love the guys strategic skills in the ring.
Fedor has already proven himself and now he’s reaping the benefits of being considered a top 10 fighter in the world pound for pound. He’s fighting cans, but he has already told us fans that he doesn’t consider himself to be the best fighter now. He knows he’s not the best fighter in the heavy weight devision at this moment. But he’s already payed his dues and when the time comes…there will be a randy vs fedor fight….and we all know that fedor will be victorious.
I’d love to see his brother Alex and his younger brother come to the UFC and test their might against some good competition.
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hankd is correct.
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Josh was waiting for Fedor to sign so he could sign in the same organsation! it think Fedor is a PUSSY and just wants easy fights, he even said himself that he not #1. He knows that if he fights Randy he’ll get his ass wooped!!!
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I really doubt that Twin. You say Fedor is a pussy, but I think you haven’t really watched all of his fights and evaluated how mentally strong his fighting game really is.
Just watch his Career set and you’ll find out that he doesn’t break under pressure like most fighter when they are in a bad situation.
I think Fedor is the best pound for pound fighter because he gets put in bad positions, and is able to still finish the fight. You have to know that Russians are no joke when it comes to fighting. They are very honorable fighters and the toughest in the world if you ask me.
Fedor is getting old just like the rest of us on this ball we call earth. He doesn’t need to fight anymore to prove anything. He’s done enough proving already.
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Rizzo isnt a Tomato can at all. He was the first guy knock out Monson in his last fight. Monson has taken shots from some of the best and has a good ground game.
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Rizzo isn’t a can…. I’m sure next he’ll battle the Ring of Fire champ…Shane Carwin, then KOTC’s Manny Rodriguez or Eric Pele… He’s basically going to avoid any real challengers for a while for obvious reasons he HAS to win(for M1’s sake). With so many leagues once Elite FC or Zuffa don’t buy them Fedor can fight “champions” for quite some time before he has to show any mettle.
Fedor will never fight anyone of significance near their prime ever again. Eventually he will be defeated and we shall decide then what his pound for pound status should actually be.
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it’s great how everytime fedor is mentioned, complaints always fall into one of the following
1. he’s not fighting couture – yet it was couture who backed out last year, yet when couture wants to fight fedor, fedor is accused of backing out
2. he fought lindland instead – but lindland wasn’t exactly fighting at 185
3. he’s not in the ufc – seeing how many people have disputes with the ufc, i can see why. and it’s not like the ufc has a massive wealth of impressive heavyweights, albeit more than elsewhere
4. proposed fights with cans – definitely would be good to see him fight some top opponents, but there’s not many potential opponents anyways, especially with the UFC restrictions on their fighters, but i’d like to see barnett, kharitonov
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anything can happen in a fight to TTT
Hell he will probably lose to that 7 foot tall chinese guy.
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It has become obvious that Fedor, sadly, may be apprehensive about the cage. Not saying he is not a good fighter but it seems the cage can be overwhelming for many good fighters. He needs some warm-ups in the cage and then a shot at a big name. Randy is a very good fighter. Very smart with stratagy and planning. I am not as convinced that he is as good as is being stated by many fans as well as inside people. He has had two losses that in my opinion should have not happened for the level of fighter he is suppose to be. Hope we can see Fedor attempt the cage and bring new blood in this sport.
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I agree with Dizzle in that Fedor is allowed to do whatever he wants. I doubt many of the fans would not do the same in his shoes. I know I would.
I’m just surprised that fans actually think that Fedor might think that he owes the fans anything or that he cares at all what rabid Internet fans really think of him. He doesn’t.
Also, I do think the Choi fight might be dangerous for him simply because Choi has decent striking skills and a Korean wrestling base. And he’s f*cking huge. 350 lbs huge.
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The bad news with losing to Choi is that by the time you get around to a rematch the guy will be foot taller.
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MMA moves very quickly. Think about some of the fighters who were at or near the top of their divisions three years ago who get little mention these days. Tito who? The fans and the sport will move on pretty quickly if Fedor doesn’t keep fighting legitimate adversaries. Short term focus on money will cost him money in the long term.
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How about that Sam? A piece here at year’s end where we look at who was on top a year ago, two years, etc. Just in case you didn’t have anything to do today.
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#9- I do agree he needs to fight a big name to again cement his spot at number 1, but even if he doesn’t I just can’t make a reasonable arguement to put anyone ahead of him bar Couture who has retired. Minotauro has lost to him a couple of times and even if Sylvia beats him he will always have that loss to Randy hanging over his head until he avenges it.
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Dave Meltzer is a pro wrestling ball licker. When was the last time he reported something that was true, or even relevant for that matter. Meltzer should go back to fake fighting and get fucked by the Iron Shiek.
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I don’t know why you guys are wanting Josh Barnett to fight Fedor and you’re putting Rizzo down. Just remember, Barnette fought Rizzo in the UFC and Rizzo down right knocked the “baby faced assassin” into “crossed eyed faced assassin”, so I don’t think Josh Barnette would be a threat to Fedor. I think Rizzo would be and Couture of course, or how about Brock Lesner?
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