This is the best fight of the night from the Yarennoka! New Year’s Eve event. Misaki makes a huge comeback after being dropped with a right hand. Excellent fight.

Right now there’s a comment thread with a major debate going on in regard to the Fedor vs. Hong-man Choi fight at Yarennoka! from New Year’s Eve. In case you haven’t seen the fight yet, below is the video for you to check out:

Fedor Emelianenko cuts easy.  WATCH this FIGHT
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Fedor beat Hong Man-Choi. Whoopty doo. I know this isn’t new information but the real story behind Fedor is that the dude’s face is made of Kleenex. He’s been cut in the first round in his last two fights. Choi cut him and made his face look beat up from only a few punches. He was cut by the first punch Lindland threw in their fight. Listen, I like Fedor. He’s a mean man but how easily he cuts is bothersome.

Gilbert Melendez was good but Mitsuhiro Ishida’s wrestling was better.

Melendez, an unbeaten lightweight before the bout, was suffocated by Mitsuhiro Ishida’s wrestling ability. Melendez wasn’t able to let go with his hands because of Ishida’s takedowns. His speed and quickness combined with his wrestling proved to be a deadly combination to Gilbert. Melendez eventually became so afraid of the takedown that he was reaching with his punches. Melendez had his moments in the fight, especially when he landed a big knee in round two, but it wasn’t enough to win him the fight. Ishida was very impressive with his gameplan and his ability to take away Melendez’s relentless fighting pace and slow the fight down. Melendez fought well but not well enough. He will almost assuredly go back to the gym and work on his wrestling and his takedown defense.

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In case you haven’t heard, Fedor Emelianenko won his circus fight with Korean giant Hong Man Choi in the Yarennoka New Year’s Eve show. The outcome was never really in doubt, especially when you consider that Yarennoka changed the rules for this bout to ban knee strikes, one of Choi’s best and only weapons.The fight took less than two minutes and resulted in a fairly comedic but utterly meaningless armbar.

Now that it’s over, I can’t help but wonder what’s going through Fedor’s mind. Is he sitting around some Japanese hotel room right now, watching senseless game shows and trying to avoid looking at himself in the mirror? Does he periodically feel sad for no explainable reason, and does this sadness linger until he checks his bank account balance? What does he tell himself about what he’s become?

It’s not that I don’t understand why a Russian fighter who grew up so poor he had to share a coat with his brother would sell out the first chance he got, which is what Fedor has done, let’s just admit it. As The Million Dollar Man used to say, “Everybody has a price” (yes, most of my life philosophy comes from late 80’s-early 90’s pro wrestling).

But the difference between Fedor and the rest of us is that Fedor didn’t have to sell out to get rich. Fedor had a choice, and now he has to live with the one he’s made.

Whatever rumor you believe about how much the UFC was offering Fedor to sign on and fight Randy Couture, you have to think it was a lot of money. We’re talking somewhere in the millions, after contracts and bonuses and sponsorships are factored in. But Fedor turned that down, or rather, his management team did. They turned it down so he could fight in M-1, which was probably a better deal for his management team, and which currently only exists in the form of a Fedor rental operation.

In other words, Fedor is being used. That’s not so bad, I suppose. Every fighter gets used to some extent. It’s been that way from Jack Dempsey to Mike Tyson. But Fedor is doing it at the expense of his legacy, his reputation, and maybe his dignity.

Honestly, does anyone consider a victory over Hong Man Choi — a man with only one previous MMA bout — to be a serious accomplishment for someone who is supposed to be the world’s best heavyweight? In the post-fight press conference Fedor again mentioned how much he’d like to fight Randy Couture, but by walking away from a UFC contract he’s already essentially turned that fight down.

At some point, Fedor has to stop and ask himself how much money is enough. How much is it worth to squander great potential in matchups that amount to little more than practical jokes? How much is it worth to be remembered as the guy who might have been great? I hate to say it, but right now it looks as though greed — either on the part of Fedor, his management team, or both — is destroying what could have been a legendary career, and that’s the worst part.

If Fedor wasn’t so talented, it wouldn’t matter. He could take part in any number of matches that blur the line between pro wrestling and pro fighting, and I wouldn’t say a word. He could fight a circus bear and it would be just good clean fun.

But this is Fedor. This is “The Russian Last Emperor”.  This is the one-word name that has come to mean something in the world of MMA. If things don’t change very soon, how much longer will we be able to say that?

Ben Fowlkes is the publisher of The Fighting Life, an MMA blog, as well as the editor of the International Fight League’s official website, IFL.tv. He is also a contributor to CBS Sportsline.

It is a little difficult to hear with the translator speaking over the video in post-production, but this is still an interesting watch for the day off of work.

What: Yarennoka! (Fedor Returns)
When: 12/31/07
Where: Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan

• Shinya Aoki def. Bu-Kyung Jung - Unanimous Decision
• Hayato “Mach” Sakurai def. Hidehiko Hasegawa - Unanimous Decision
• Fedor Emelianenko def. Hong Man Choi - Armbar Submission @ 1:54 of Rd. 1  WATCH this FIGHT
  
• Kazuo Misaki def. Yoshihiro Akiyama - KO (Strikes) @ 2:12 of Rd. 1
• Mitsuhiro Ishida def. Gilbert Melendez - Unanimous Decision
• Makoto Takimoto def. Murilo Bustamante - Split Decision
• Tatsuya Kawajiri def. Luiz Azeredo - Unanimous Decision.
• Mike Russow def. Roman Zentsov - N/S Choke Submission @ 2:58 of Rd. 1

HDNet is replaying the event (calling it HDNet Fights: Fedor Returns) at 3pm on 12/31 and again on Fri & Sat of the coming week - details here.

Arguably the best pound-for-pound MMA fighter in the world, Fedor Emelianenko, returns to action at Yarennoka! on @ 6 a.m. ET, tomorrow 12/31/07. Mark Cuban’s HDNet network will broadcast this event live from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

So pour yourself a bowl of Captain Crunch and watch studs Gilbert Melendez, Mach Sakurai, and Fedor on the last morning of ‘07.

Fight Card

• Fedor Emelianenko vs. Hong Man Choi
• Shinya Aoki vs. Bu-Kyung Jung
• Hidehiko Hasegawa vs. Hayato “Mach” Sakurai
• Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Kazuo Misaki
• Gilbert Melendez vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida
• Murilo Bustamante vs. Makoto Takimoto
• Luiz Azeredo vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri
• Mike Russow vs. Roman Zentsov

Click for official Yarennoka website. HDNet is replaying the event at 3pm on 12/31 and again on Fri & Sat of the coming week - details here.

ProElite.com (SamCaplan.ProElite.com) has learned from a well-placed source that the eighth and final bout for Yarennoka! in Japan on Dec. 31 is expected to feature Roman Zentsov vs. Mike Russow.

ProElite.com has also learned from a separate source that Russow is also under consideration to fight on M-1 Global’s first card in the U.S.

The bout between Zentsov and Russow is expected to kick off HDNet’s coverage of the event, which will commence on Jan. 1 at 6 a.m. ET.

ProElite.com was also able to obtain a preliminary order of bouts on the card. It is as follows:

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REMAINDER OF THIS ARTICLE ON SAM CAPLAN’S PROELITE.COM BLOG

Sherdog.com has confirmed that an advertised match between Gesias “JZ Calvan” Calvancante and Shinya Aoki scheduled for Dec. 31 in Japan at Yarennoka has been postponed. According to the report, a new date for the match could be announced at a press conference on Dec. 30.

MMA Weekly is reporting that Fedor Emelianenko is officially slated to fight Korean K-1 kickboxer Hong Man-Choi on New Year’s Eve from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

No word on what the rules of the fight will be, as that was supposedly one of the sticking points between the two camps. It will probably be a mixed martial arts bout but with rules more like you see in the United States than in Japan (i.e. no head stomps, soccer kicks, foot stomps, or knees to the head on the ground).

According to the Fight Network, this fight is almost a done deal save for a few sticking points:

Cross-continental negotiations are under way to finalize a proposed match-up between Fedor Emelianenko (26-1, 1 NC) and Hong Man Choi (1-0) at the Yarennoka event on Monday, Dec. 31 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

With Choi unharmed after being eliminated by Jerome LeBanner in last weekend’s K-1 World Grand Prix, the only snag that could prevent this mismatch on paper from happening would be if the two sides cannot come to terms on the rules for the bout. Choi’s representatives have requested special rules be implemented to favor their 7-foot-2, 370-pound fighter’s striking-heavy style. Of course, the more stringent the rules become to limit or even avoid ground action, the less of a true MMA bout the headliner becomes.

Excuse me? Special rules to favor Choi? I don’t care what rules they are, the guy’s going to get annihilated by Fedor, but to have an MMA card with all MMA bouts and have the headliner be “striking-heavy,” would be a shame. We all want to see Fedor take this monster down to the canvas anyways, so give the people what they want. Nothing’s going to be fair for Choi, MMA rules or not. It’s Fedor.

TAGG Radio announced yesterday that TAGG Radio sponsored fighter Gilbert Melendez will be taking on Mitsuhiro Ishida at Yarennoka on New Year’s Eve in Japan.

This is a very good fight and this card is shaping up to be a good one. Too bad it won’t be available to watch in the U.S.

Yarennoka
12/31/07
Saitama Super Arena - Saitama, Japan

• Fedor Emelianenko vs. Hong Man Choi
• Shin’ya Aoki vs. Bu-Kyung Jung
• Hidehiko Hasegawa vs. Hayato “Mach” Sakurai
• Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Kazuo Misaki
• Gilbert Melendez vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida
• Murilo Bustamante vs. Makoto Takimoto
• Luiz Azeredo vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri
• Mike Russow vs. Roman Zentsov

Two matches have been officially announced for Yarennoka on Dec. 31 in Japan.

According to the website for the event, matches between Hayato Sakurai vs. Hidehiko Hasegawa and Shinya Aoki vs. Gesias “JZ Calvan” Calvancanti have been signed.

Zach Arnold of FightOpinion.com says JZ vs. Aoki is not much of a draw, and maybe he’s right, but it has a chance to be an amazing fight.

Other fighters expected for the card include Ricardo Arona, Joachim Hansen, Gilbert Melendez, Luis Azeredo, Kazuo Misaki, Tatsuya Kawajiri, and Mitsuhiro Ishida. All are picture on the Yarennoka website.

Also pictured on the site is Fedor Emelianenko, who appeared at a press conference in Japan last week to announce his addition to the card as one half of the night’s main event. An opponent has not been officially named, however, Vadim Finkelstein, Fedor’s manager, confirmed to me in an interview last night that Hong Man Choi is considered to be the most likely opponent.

There are also rumors that Yoshihiro Akiyama, who made headlines following a first round knockout of Denis Kang on Oct. 28, could be added to the card as well. Akiyama is contracted to K-1 HERO’s but it’s not a stretch to believe he could be added to the card because Calvancanti is also on the HERO’s roster.

As of now, the show is only scheduled to be televised via pay-per-view in Japan. It would be great if a site such as ProElite.com or Yahoo! could find away to make that stream available. Unfortunately, because of a global reach the live stream could hurt PPV sales in Japan. It looks like many of us will have to watch the fights through means such as YouTube.