(Just so you know, Rolles is the one on the bottom.)
Sad news for those of you who were still clinging to the insane hope that Fedor Emelianenko would be the man to challenge Junior Dos Santos for the UFC Heavyweight title –all six of you– as the rumor currently circulating the MMA blogosphere has “The Last Emperor’s” potential opponent bar set a little…lower. Go figure.
Yes, according to none other than Rolles Gracie himself, via his Twitter, it looks like the other member of the Gracie clan to go one-and-done in the UFC is currently negotiating with M-1 Global to put the fight together this summer, stating:
Where there is smoke there is fire. My manager is under negotiation with M1. We’re really close to make this fight against Fedor to happen.
Don’t get too excited, Rolles, we all know how tasking the typical M-1 negotiation can be.
Fedor was previously rumored to be fighting in St. Petersberg, Russia on June 21st against an unnamed opponent; we’re going to assume that this will be the location that hosts their showdown.
Emelianenko last fought at Dream: Fight for Japan on New Year’s Eve, where he picked up a quick and violent first round KO over former Olympic gold medalist Satoshi Ishii. Prior to that, he scored a unanimous decision over UFC veteran Jeff Monson in November, a win which snapped a three fight losing streak under the Strikeforce banner.
Since getting bounced from the UFC following a disastrous first round TKO at the hands of Joey Beltran at UFC 109, Gracie has scored 2 and 1/3 wins in a row against opponents with a combined record of 23-34. That 1/3rd we’re referring to would be his most recent win, a first round submission via punches over Bob “Gunna Tap” Sapp at One FC 2. At this point in Sapp’s career, a win over him should not be considered an entire victory, because that would assume that he actually fought back.
In case you aren’t exactly picking up what we’re putting down, Rolles Gracie is a dead man.
We’re not even going to talk up Gracie’s incredible ground game like it would present some possible outlet for victory. Citing Fedor’s loss to Fabricio Werdum as further proof that Gracie stood a chance would be an insult to your intelligence. Fedor is going to steamroll Gracie, probably inside of three minutes, and the world will halfheartedly watch with disappointment as Emelianenko continues to fight beneath his level.
Sigh…
-J. Jones