Fedor Emelianenko Retires

                                                                                     Photo by Showtime

Fedor Emelianenko has retired today. It is an end to the most interesting career in the history of MMA. A man considered for years as the best Pound for Pound fighter on earth yet will most likely not be remembered.

We have all heard before that history is determined by the winners. Dana White saw Fedor as an enemy for many years. They tried for years to come to a contractual agreement but never came close and it ended horribly.  Eventually Dana won out when Fedor was submitted in the first round by Fabricio Werdum on June 26th, 2010 (My wedding day!). Because of this he won't be highlighted in the UFC video library or highlight reel packages. He will definitely not make the UFC Hall of Fame. For instance look at Frank Shamrock, Don Frye and Pat Miletich; all who should be in the UFC Hall of Fame. How many casual fans know who they are? Almost no one. How man casual baseball fans know the pioneers (Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ty Cobb) of their sport? A big portion because baseball properly remembers them but not in the UFC. How many baseball fans that are born today will know about those same pioneers? A decent portion. Will Fedor be remembered by anyone becoming fans now and into the future? Probably not. Although it is very wrong and not fair whatsoever, Dana does not handle this stuff correctly. But Fedor’s decision to follow his management blindly was a mistake on a few levels. Mainly, in my opinion, is that he looked somewhat weak or afraid not going to the UFC. Dana said Fedor wasn’t as good as people thought and that Fedor would not win in the UFC. Fedor never came over and it made him look scared. All of Fedor’s foes came over to the UFC. Big Nog, Cro Cop, Heath Herring, Mark Hunt and Mark Coleman. They all came over and got wins.

But aside from that, Fedor had one of the best careers ever in our young sport. He ruled over the heavyweight division for a long time and defeated a handful of legends during that reign. He was unbelievably fun to watch and his cold demeanor made him someone that we wanted to see pummel people.

I will remember Fedor as a great warrior with an incredible amount of skill and talent. I just hope that somehow everyone else will too.