It’s a commonly talked about topic, which is in full force now. I am talking about, how long is too long to stick around? MMA or any combat sports for that fact is brutal. It deals with blunt force trauma to the head and is ideal for younger fighters rather than older fighters.
This question popped up once again when two of MMA’s all-time greats: BJ. Penn and Fedor Emelianenko recently lost. Penn lost to Dennis Siver at UFC Fight Night 112 by decision and Emelianenko lost to Matt Mitrione at Bellator NYC by knockout.
Not only have fans come out and stated that it might be time for Emelianenko to retire for good but fighters as well including former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem, who recently spoke with FightHub TV (Transcript courtesy of MMA Fighting)
Overeem stated that Emelianenko needs to consider retirement because even he has talked with his team about when the right time to leave is.
“I’m a fan of [Fedor’s]. I like him as a person, but I’m having talks with my staff and my crew and my coaches about when is a good time to hang up the gloves. When does your performance start to diminish your legacy and your career? All legit questions I think, and I think it goes for him too. He should have those conversations.
“When you’re looking good in your performances, then you don’t need to have that talk. But when you’re looking bad in your performances, then I think you should need to have that talk. When you’re racking up some consecutive losses, then you should start having those talks with yourself, with your foundation, with the people around you.”
Overeem is currently the third-ranked heavyweight in the UFC and has looked great over the last few years. His only loss came to Stipe Miocic in recent years. Since then he has defeated Mark Hunt and is set to face number one ranked Fabricio Werdum this weekend in a rubber match that could determine the next contender for the heavyweight title.
Overeem believes Emelianenko is tarnishing his legacy by sticking around and that he hopes Fedor has the ability to walk away now.
“I know him, but I don’t know him that well. I don’t know if the people around him are being honest with him. You don’t know if money is a factor if money is a motivator because of course, Fedor is making good money when he fights. Maybe his money ran out. You don’t know. There’s multiple factors always going on, but I hope that he doesn’t destroy his legacy more.”
“What can you say about it? I think Fedor had a great run in 2002-2005 and after that – people talk about 10 years undefeated and blah, blah, blah but after 2005, who did he fight? He fought cans. He declined to fight me on two occasions, in 2009 and 2010. The other thing is that he never tested himself in the UFC. That’s something that bothers me. He should have done that. He should have went to the UFC and went to that mix. There’s always gonna be that little thing over his career.”
Following the collapse of Pride, the MMA Legend has fought for several organizations and has picked up some big wins including over former UFC heavyweight champions Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski in 2008 and 2009. He then signed with Strikeforce. Overeem believes Emelianenko is not the greatest heavyweight of all time due to the fact that Emelianenko never fought him and because he never signed with the UFC.
“He’s not the greatest heavyweight because he declined to fight me on two occasions while I was the Strikeforce heavyweight champion. You want to fight for the belt, right? I wanted to fight him, he’s a name. And secondly, because he didn’t go to the UFC.”
Overeem takes on Werdum at UFC 213 this Saturday in Las Vegas, Nevada on pay-per-view.
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