When Fedor Emelianenko‘s camp told Sportbox.ru that he was considering signing with the UFC, every MMA fan put on their “Joe Silva Hat” and let the fantasy matchmaking begin. Our creative juices began to flow, and we started to piece things together in our minds.
“He can finally fight Overeem!”
“Why did Brock have to retire?”
“Will he finally rematch Werdum?”
Then, reality kicked in.
Dana White claims to have no interest in bringing over the longtime Pride Heavyweight champion, but we all know that isn’t exactly the case. What he means to say is that he has no interest in giving Vladim Finkelstein and the M-1 goons the ridiculous demands that they feel Fedor warrants. Additionally, they have no interest in catering to Fedor as if his trio of embarrassing losses never happened.
If Fedor were to accept his current place in the food chain and agree to a modest offer from Zuffa, Dana would be happy to have him. Why? Because when the day is done and we put all personal animosity aside, we know that Dana White is a brilliant businessman.
Regardless of his three-fight skid in Strikeforce, Emelianenko is a brand all of his own. Fedor lovers would buy his pay-per-views to cheer him, and Fedor detractors would be happy to watch him go down in flames. It would be a win-win for everyone.
So the question lies: If Fedor were to finally come over to the UFC, who would they put him against?
Clearly, Dana has no interest in giving “The Last Emperor” an immediate shot at gold after his string of misfortune against some of the worlds finest. However, this doesn’t change the fact that Fedor could boost PPV numbers in a co-main event against a high-level heavyweight.
This is a list of the five best opponents for Fedor if he signs with the UFC.