Report: Fedor to return to action this year, but not in a meaningful match
Josh Gross of SI.com talked to Fedor Emelianenko on Sunday and it looks like the Russian heavyweight will be returning to action in December. However, it appears that his victory over Tim Sylvia will turn out to be his only truly meaningful action of the year.
According to the article, Fedor is still recovering from a right hand injury from the Sylvia fight which will prevent him from fighting on Affliction's second card on October 11. Fedor believes that he will be ready to fight again in Japan on a New Year's Eve card.
Although previous reports hinted at a rematch against Croatian Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic on that Japanese card, Fedor's reps indicate this fight won't take place then. Instead, the WAMMA heavyweight champ will meet either a "judo legend or sumo wrestler" according to the story.
This news may be disappointing to American fans who finally caught a glimpse of the legend in action on American soil on Affliction's July 11 card and will now have to wait until 2009 to see him face the winner of the October 11 Josh Barnett-Andrei Arlovksi eliminator.
Regarding his troubling hand injury (which is not Fedor's first right hand injury), Fedor says in the story:
"It just seems the hand doesn't really sustain the strength of the strike. So from time to time I'm going to have certain injuries in the hand as a result of that.
"It might be because of the style of punching. I started training in boxing at a later age, so maybe based on the way I strike, the style, it might be a situation where I'm more prone to injury."
For a glimpse inside the mind of Fedor, head over to SI.com.
(Photo of Fedor Emelianenko courtesy of Affliction Web site.)
Comments
I wonder if Timmy managed to
I wonder if Timmy managed to survive the attack there in Round 1 how the hand would've played a factor in the rest of the fight. Might have a new WAMMA champ right now.
-The Captain
That's a great point and one
That's a great point and one I haven't seen brought up elsewhere.
I guess Fedor can actually say, "You broke my hand with your face..."
By the time Fedor gets
By the time Fedor gets around to him (what with all this other stuff) Randy will be 50.
To a certain degree, I can
To a certain degree, I can see why Dana White doesn't want to sign Fedor. Beyond the obvious talent, he seems to just have way too many interests outside of fighting for any one promotion. It becomes a bit frustrating having to wait on Fedor according to his timeline...
In this case, it's the hand injury so that's legit. But, what if Fedor hurts himself in the annual NYE freak show fight? That puts his fight against Arlovski-Barnett in jeopardy...
i found the critique of
i found the critique of fedor on cagepotato to be pretty relevant.
ultimately, we have a super talented HW with the chance to further prove his superiority amongst his contemporaries, but instead he wants to take fights that won't really do anything for his legacy or standing.
additionally, the guy that people are arguably calling the #1 pound for pound fighter in the world is going to effectively go on a bit of a hiatus again to recoup his hand and fight some bizarro match in japan on new years eve, which puts the time frame of his next meaningful fight sometime in the spring of 09.
the knock on his pound for pound status was his relative inactivity, he mauls sylvia, people call him active and he ends up taking a whole bunch of time off again? ... and there is also the matter of killing the "winner" of this reality show
That's what I'm here for
That's what I'm here for Pramit... I bring big ideas to the table...
-The Captain
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