i’ve said for years that barnett would be a very tough match for fedor. who do i want to win – dunno – who ever puts up the best fight i guess. even when a fighter acts disrespectful i still, respect their ability to win, by saying that i think fedor would not get stuck under brock like mir did i’m nut hugging.

ok, have the last word big guy…….

Did you get the “I heart Fedor” tattoo yet?

I’m sure that beating Zuluzinho and HMC will prepare him for Lesnar. After all, getting a kickboxer on the ground will SURELY be great experience and a solid game plan against a world-class wrestler.

Look, Fedor is….stale. And that’s why Affliction works for him. They have no legitimate HW threats. No one who hasn’t been run out of the UFC in some fashion (and don’t start on Arlovski, his serious MMA career is over after the Rogers debacle). Maybe Affliction can save the golden goose by bulking Buentello up for a title fight or by importing a 500 lb sumo for an MMA fight, but the serious contenders are done.

As has been mentioned elsewhere, Barnett has been demolished over half a dozen times by former Fedor opponents. He’s not the #2 HW in the world, just in Affliction. But I’ll be pulling for him just so the Russian Pube Bungee Jumpers (nuthuggers, if you didn’t make the connection) can sit back and realize that Fedor should have hung it up and gone to sambo full time when he was on top.

-dbiz

PS, Mir doing something Fedor couldn’t in the Nogueira (stoppage by KO) fight really takes a little shine off that victory doesn’t it? Or will the excuse be made that Nog isn’t’ the same fighter he was 4 or 5 years ago?

sounds crazy but,
in this era,
brock brings something that trumps anyone so far in his,
ahem..
distinguished career,
where he has conquered 3 different, count ‘em three opponents in the UFC HW div.

if i was fighting someone like him i’d look at the very big ground control issue.

his ground game might not be diverse but it is very effective.

fedor always seems to know what to do. hunt has an iron chin and is not a grappler so he was happy to stay out out of range of hunts hand which standing are way scarier than brock’s (even with the reach brock has). the armbar attempts looked juvenile, but fedor seemed to be stuck under hunt. i think if he could have gotten top position with out effore he’d have done it but didn’t want to waste the effort with a 50 lb weight difference getting out from nder brock seems pretty hard… but since couture managed it even at his weight and age ! rebuttals: that is mir’s weakest area _WHY? because he has become great at subbing from his back and may have focussed on that in brock2 trainning. cain would not likely have ogt stuck in brock’s armpit like a little brother, nor carwin , nor smaller, but sneakier fedorfedor.

I would also and another thing to the list of what ifs: The health of his hands. How often over the last few years have we heard about a Fedor fight getting pushed back a few months because of a hand injury? Once a bone is broken, there is an increased risk of re-breaking it, even though technically the bone “re-grows” stronger than originally. I will admit to being completely ignorant of sambo rules, but MMA seems to have taken a physical toll on Fedor’s hands. I don’t know if it affects Fedor in sambo or if the contact in sambo hinders the healing process.

Chom: “He [Lesnar]doesn’t have the advantage over Fedor that he had over Mir because Fedor can best him in any aspect of the game… other than the potential brute strength.” Seriously did you say that? Mir didn’t hold an advantage over Lesnar? Everyone on this site (myself included) felt that if it turned into a technical match between Mir and Lesnar, Mir would win handily. It seems to me that Fedor would present a similar problem as Mir did. And don’t underestimate what kind of advantage forty pounds and quite a bit of extra brute strength is. The brute strength and size can help make up the gap in technical submission ability.

As far as the judo/sambo experience vs. the wrestling of Lesnar, that’s where the fight will be won/lost. End of story. I don’t believe that either one of them is exactly a striking genius, but both can land a punch that will permit them to begin their systematic ground destruction of their opponent. The fighter who lands on top will more than likely win.

Not that it really matters a whole lot. It’s kind of like arguing whether the 1975 Reds were better than the 1927 Yankkes. Or whether the 1985 Bears defense was bettter than the 200 Ravens defense. You’re comparing across generations of sport. You’re comparing entities that will not ever directly compete against each other. Fedor’s people (M1, WAMMA, other business interests) will continue to make outrageous demands and Dana White/UFC will not budge on them. As I said somewhere else, the earliest this fight would take place is 2011. Affliction does not have the depth at heavyweight to keep Fedor in MMA shape (he can only fight Arlovski and Barnett so many times…). It’s one of those nice thought experiments to go through, but ultimately just as fruitless as hoping to not have to go through the ****ing about fighter salaries after each event.