Dan Henderson knocked out Fedor last night. Both are MMA legends, but it appears that Fedor should probably retire (he's now lost 3 straight after remaining undefeated for many years). I think Fedor's style relies more on raw ability than Dan's technical greco style. Dan is actually the older fighter -- he's 40 to Fedor's 34. But IIRC Dan is on hormone replacement therapy (he's allowed to take steroids for medical reasons, although he has to keep his levels in a "normal range"), which might explain why he looks so fit these days at 207 lbs. For a long time he fought both at 185 and 205. Fedor has always been a chunky 230-ish fighter who looked as if he could easily cut to 205.
Analysts are making a big deal out of the fact that this is Fedor's first loss (first fight? I guess Kevin Randleman might have been smaller than Fedor when he lost by Kimura) against a smaller fighter. In the past he has fought much bigger heavyweights, relying on his speed, punching power and submissions ability (Sambo). But Fedor himself has often pointed out that smaller opponents are actually trickier for him to deal with.
6 comments:
i just watched the fight. did it feel like an early stoppage to you?
The Barry-Kongo fight showed someone can wake up from a flash KO and still win the fight. But I wouldn't blame the ref for stopping it when such a KO happens. Hendo might have really hurt Fedor if the fight had continued, although there might be a tiny chance that Fedor would have recovered and won.
Fedor is also known for making come-backs, no? I s'pose you are right, though. The replay does show that Fedor was out with his face on the floor for a couple of seconds.
I agree with you that it may be time for Fedor to retire. I hope Silva doesn't retire yet, though -- I'm hoping Jones v Silva happens.
The hormone replacement therapy bothers me somewhat. When guys are older they produce less testosterone and the fighters usually just deal with it.
I thought the fight was pretty exciting, and although I generally don't care for rematches, this is one of the few times I can say I would like to see a rematch. The two men's skills seemed evenly matched, and while I think the referee Herb Dean had good cause for stopping the fight, by the time he got between the two fighters, Fedor looked like he had recovered. Dean could have let the bout go on and we might have had a couple more action-packed rounds to enjoy.
Fedor's best fighting days are obviously long gone, but he remains an exciting fighter to watch. He is deceptively quick for a man his size and when he commits to throwing punches at an opponent's face, there aren't many fighters who will stay in the pocket with him.
Still, for anyone who remembers the dominating fashion in which Fedor ruled the heavyweight division in the now defunct Pride Fighting Championships, it is a little sad to see him reduced to something of a sentimental headliner participating in fights without any serious meaning or consequence. I suppose it's a reminder that for all the martial arts mystique which surrounds these men, they are still just athletes who are subject to the same problems of age, injuries, and lack of proper training as athletes in other sports.
Henderson was obviously more stronger than fedor. i think no one could beat henderson.
Lou,
green scrubs & grey scrubs
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