There was once an unstoppable heavyweight who many in the world thought was the best fighter on the planet. This man carved a bloody path through his sport en route to becoming one of the most touted athletes in his sport’s history.
However, this man was finally stopped by the unlikeliest of opponents in one of the biggest upsets in sports history.
This story is none other than the story of heavyweight boxing legend Mike Tyson when he met James “Buster” Douglas in 1990. Tyson suffered his first defeat and knockout in the ring.
What would happen to Buster Douglas? He did nothing of note after pulling off one of the biggest upsets of all time.
He lost the title on his very first defense and, although he went 8-1 after the failed title defense, he never did anything worth mentioning with the rest of his career.
This whole story of the impossibly outmatched underdog defeating the indefatigable, invincible menace is eerily similar to the story of former Pride Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko and Fabricio Werdum.
It was almost one whole year ago that the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace managed to submit the Russian with a triangle choke/arm bar combination at only one minute and nine seconds into the first round of their contest.
This was considered one of the greatest upsets in MMA history. The “Last Emperor” was handed his first true loss in the cage while “Vai Cavalo” was catapulted up the heavyweight rankings.
But will Werdum be able to successfully ride the wave of defeating Emelianenko? Or will the Brazilian’s fate be analogous to that of Buster Douglas?
It can be said that Werdum has already missed out a bit since his first fight after beating Fedor is coming nearly a year after doing so; MMA fans have short memories.
Aside from this, Werdum is outmatched by the man he is facing at Saturday night’s Strikeforce event, Alistair Overeem. Overeem is a K-1 kickboxing champion as well as an accomplished grappler. He is also much more of an impressive physical specimen than Werdum.
If lightning should strike twice, Werdum’s destiny in MMA still isn’t particularly rosy. Even if he wins the tournament he will be a star in what is widely considered the UFC’s minor league; the casual fan will still pay him no heed.
Even if Werdum makes it into the UFC, the top dogs in the UFC’s heavyweight division are terrible match ups for him. The striking of Junior Dos Santos and Shane Carwin would put his lights out again, and the wrestling of UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez would prevent Werdum from ever bringing the fight to the mat—the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu master’s realm.
When these facts are considered, it paints a grim picture for Werdum’s future; it’s likely that he will be remembered only as the “guy who beat Fedor” and nothing else, just like how Buster Douglas is nothing but the “guy who beat Tyson.”
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