Road to the Battle of Legends: Fedor vs. Hendo (Caricature Inside)

This Saturday, Mixed Martial Arts fans around the world will hold their breath, as MMA legends Fedor Emelianenko and Dan Henderson will go toe-to-toe inside the Strikeforce cage.

Fedor and Hendo share 12 Championship and Tournament titles between them.

Both men fought for the now defunct Japanese RINGS promotion, with Fedor winning the Openweight Championship, Absolute and Heavyweight Tournaments. Henderson won the 1999 Kings of Kings Tournament, by defeating the likes of Gilbert Yvel and Minotauro Nogueira en route to the triumph over Renato Sobral in the final.

Their journey continued in the mythological PRIDE Fighting Championship, where both men made their mark as some of the best Mixed Martial Artists on the planet. Emelianenko continued his reign of terror by winning 14 consecutive fights in PRIDE, which resulted in the prestigious World Heavyweight and 2004 PRIDE Heavyweight GP titles. Henderson won 13 fights in PRIDE, but lost five. Nevertheless, "All-American" managed to become the only fighter to hold two titles in two different weight classes - PRIDE Welterweight Title and PRIDE Middleweight Title.

After PRIDE went out of business, Fedor and Henderson went to different directions. Henderson joined the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he failed to unify his titles, losing to Anderson "The Spider" Silva (Submission) and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (Decision). Henderson won three of his other fights in the UFC, against Rousimar Palhares, Rich Franklin and Michael Bisping. Meanwhile, Fedor continued his dominance as the best Pound for Pound fighter on the planet, traveling between Bodog, Yarennoka and Affliction promotions. "The Last Emperor" defeated Dan Henderson's (former) teammate Matt Lindland, 7ft 2 Hong Man Choi and became the WAMMA Heavyweight Champion by brutalizing Tim Sylvia.

Today, Fedor and Henderson are once again fighting under the same roof. Henderson had an unsuccessful start for Strikeforce in a disappointing Strikeforce Middleweight title defeat against Jake Shields, who later left Strikeforce to challenge Georges St. Pierre in the UFC. Henderson bounced back from defeat by landing the H-Bomb on Renato Sobral, and later dethroning Rafael Calvacante to become the new Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champ.

At this point, and for the first time in his career as Mixed Martial Artist, Dan Henderson became more successful than Fedor Emelianenko. "The Last Emperor" defeated the previously unbeaten Brett Rogers in his Strikeforce debut, but was submitted by Fabricio Werdum in just 69 seconds, and later TKO'd by Antonio Silva in a heart-breaking encounter earlier this year.

The paths of those two extraordinary human beings and legendary warriors will finally cross at Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

LowKick.com Staff member Maor Tzadoc, who's also an extraordinary visual artist, made the featured below caricature of "The Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko and the "All-American" Dan Henderson and his famous H-Bomb. Please make sure you check out Maor's full portfolio at daportfolio.com.

So there you have it. It's the H-Bomb vs. Tzar Bomba. Who will win? We'll find out this Saturday.

Enjoy!