Fedor Emelianenko: Dan Henderson is like a Tornado, but it's all about the match-up
Posted on June 2, 2011, 07:25 AM by Anton Gurevich
MMA legends Fedor "The Last Emperor" Emelianenko and Dan "Hendo" Henderson will meet on July 30th at Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Emelianenko and Henderson share numerous MMA titles, and are widely considered as two of the most influental fighters in the sport.
Emelianenko is currently 1-2 in his Strikeforce campaign, defeating Brett Rogers but losing to Fabricio Werdum and Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva. "The Last Emperor" holds a fantastic MMA record of 31-3, with victories over Mirko Cro Cop, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Semmy Schilt, Renato Sobral, Mark Coleman, Tim Sylvia, Andrei Arlovski and many others.
Fedor stands at the crossroads of his career, after suffering from a devastating defeat against Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva, earlier this year. Thirty-four year old Russian announced his retirement, but later changed his mind and declared that he will continue fighting. Here's some of the most important quotes from the Russian media over the past weeks, with Fedor Emelianenko talking about what could be the biggest fight of his illustrious MMA career:
Two mistakes in a row is not a coincidence. I didn't want to make the third, so that's why I considered retirement. But then, I discussed the situation with my trainers and my spiritual father. When I returned home, I was fully convinced that it's not the right time to retire, but to continue fighting. Our life is full of crossroads, and we always have to make the right decisions. I have no regrets about staying in the sport, and will continue fighting. - Fedor Emelianenko on his decision to continue fighting, speaking via SportBox.ru.
Dan Henderson is a very exciting fighter; he's a strong wrestler and is very quick with taking the fight from stand-up, down to the ground. He starts in stand-up, but then he attacks like a tornado, often surprising his opponents by putting them on their back. Like I said, Henderson is an exciting fighter. But there were also fights where he had to sweat against a relatively weaker competition. It's all about how you match-up up against your opponent. So yes, Dan Henderson had some fights where things didn't go his way. - Dan Henderson's strengths and weaknesses, via MixFight.ru.
I think that if Fedor loses to Dan Henderson, he will retire from Mixed Martial Arts. And like I said many times before, it will be his decision and we (M-1 Global) have no influence of any kind on whatever he decides to do. It's all up to him.But we hope for the best. Fedor is very motivated, and will be more than ready for this fight. He has a new goal, and is fully concentrated on reaching it. - Vadim Finkelstein about what will happen if Fedor loses to Dan Henderson on July 30th, interview via Championat.ru.
Photo: Fedor Emelianenko speaks at a post-fight press conference at Affliction's "Banned", a mixed martial arts fight at the Honda Center on July 19, 2008 in Anaheim, California. Francis Specker
Comments
I'm taking Fedor. I think he is going to be too big and too strong for Dan. Yea Dan has the right hand but Fedor has the right too. If Dan was smart he would try and tire Fedor out but I don't see that happening either. Fedor by KO.
This time Dan will just H-bomb himself to the mat. I have Fedor via TKO as well.
i dont think Henderson can be KO clean , his Chin is as strong as steel!
many people dont even realize how strong his chin is, the kick that Silva use to KO Vitor Belfort did nothing to Hendo! yeah he landed the same kick to Hendo but did nothing! not many people know that seems they forgot the fight. anyway i seen Hendo take the biggest punches and never ever has been KO
But i do Believe Fedor hits harder than any other previous opponent
but i will go with a solid TKO for Fedor!
Agreed japanergro....I got Fedor aswell I think his stand up is just going to be to fast for Hendo n I'm pretty confident he will be able to avoid Hendo's right hand and if it goes to the ground Fedor has a really good chance of subbing.....but It doesn't really matter who wins to me its just amazing that we r getting to see Fedor vs Hendo 2 of the best fighters to ever live
i really like both fighters, but i hope fedor can show his real skillset and comes in the best shape possible!!! fedor by submission
I got fedor losing this one...as usual. sorry fed but u should back to fighting cans
Tool alert!
but enough about you
Cans? Really? Troll...
I did not know Mirko Filipovic, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Renato Sobral, Ricardo Arona, Andrei Arlovski, etc were cans. I guess most of the MMA world is in your debt for exposing the truth.
By the by, I am willing to bet my soul that you were one of the thousands that claimed Antonio Silva was a can before the fight began.
your soul is miiiine! (shang tsung)
Heres some peeps u left out. Hong-man Choi, Zulu ( Wowzers freak show fighters...add that to ur godly legacy faildor...10 years without losing LMAO now i seez why xD ) MW Matt Lindland, a tyre tech, Arlovski ( Who got ktfo by Viacheslav Datsik..nuff said ) 6-7 Mark Hunt who gave Fed one of his hardest fights....Gawd Ima stop now....O and about the wager for ur soul dont worry the devil wont get it. Except BigFoot is a can who's he beat again? O dats right bigfoot couldn't get out of the 1st round against Eric Pele... FFS LOOKAT PELE!!!
Sorry for long comment but Fedor's over-hyped Mediocrity requires alot of typing. No interest in a flame war btw.
and...btw dumbazz jus cuzz some1 doesn't agree with Fedor being that great doesn't mean there trolling...idiot. Lol!? Great logic Stephen Hawking..
Damn, child...you are f*cking spaz!
ur the one who raised me...
It will be an exciting fight. I agree with Japanegro, I think Fedor's stand up is better than Dan's.
Fedor being too big, too strong, too fast.
Win, loose or draw it don't matter. This is a match up between two legends. They aren't at the top of their game but both are two of the greatest fighters the sport has ever seen. Fedor fought the best HW in the world in Pride and went undefeated.
Hendo fought the best in every top promotion in the world and won against great fighters.
This is one of the biggest fights this year, if not the biggest. The only thing that would be bigger would be Fedor vs Randy.
Fedor via Submission (Armbar).
Dan isnt getting knocked out, maybe subbed, or a decision, but him getting TKOd is about 100-1 odds
I know right Fedor only has 3 Legit KO's, its only common sense that an MMA fan would choose Fedor via Submission or Decision.
Dan throws an H-Bomb and misses.
Fedor counters and lands the right hook.
Dan goes down.
Fedor gets his back and locks in the Rear-Naked Choke.
Official time (3:55 of R1).
i would take dan on this but the size difference isnt fair. hendersons not even a real lhw, and not to mention hes like 40 years old. but if fedor wins everybody will be praising him again acting like hes god of mma.... ridiculouse. this fight shouldnt even happen but the promoters know itll bring big money so they give a f*ck. i hope hendo can pull it off, if not ill just feel bad for him.
Fedor is fat. LBM is about the same.
Fedor via armbar
MMA's version of Ali / Frasier could go either way. Both men have some of the most accurate and heavy hands in MMA striking history, but Fedor most likely has the edge on the ground. Let's also not forget Hendo going into this fight will be a very undersized heavyweight compared to Fedor. But even with that I think Fedor can match speed with Hendo. I'm really looking forward to watching this upcoming fight!
LOL I'm merely calling this fight this based on both men's legendary status.
Geez, I was going to mention John L Sullivan vs. Gentleman Jim Corbett--good thing I didn't.
With the drop in weight, do you think Fedor will be quicker than he used to be? His speed at heavyweight used to be so amazing. I hope he can get his career back on track.
I don't buy all this size advantage. Dan is 6'1" Fedor is barely 6". Fedor just fights at his natural weight, which is 230, Dan probably walks around at 210. It's just one body type vs another. Fedor is thick carrying extra body fat while Hendo is slightly slimmer with a much lower body fat. Since the fight is going down at 220, Fedor will be 220 and probably 230 on fight day, Hendo might put some weight on, but not much, i think he'll be in at around 210-15lbs for the scale and fight. It is a weight advantage but not a big one. It's not Fedor's 230 frame vs Silva's 270-80 lb frame on fight day.