Tag: Fabricio Werdum

Cris Cyborg Lopsided Favorite for the Ages Against Jan Finney in Title Defense

Filed under: Fighting, Strikeforce, NewsWhen Cris “Cyborg” Santos walks into the cage to defend her middleweight title belt against Jan Finney during Saturday’s Strikeforce/M-1: Fedor vs. Werdum event, she will do so as one of the biggest favorites in …

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When Cris “Cyborg” Santos walks into the cage to defend her middleweight title belt against Jan Finney during Saturday’s Strikeforce/M-1: Fedor vs. Werdum event, she will do so as one of the biggest favorites in recent MMA history.

According to one online betting site, Cyborg was as much as a -2500 favorite, which means you’d have to lay down a whopping $2500 for the chance to win just $100. To put that into perspective, even the almighty Fedor Emelianenko is only a -600 favorite over Fabricio Werdum, a big number, but nowhere close to Cyborg’s.

The fact that a title match has such long odds is a rarity in MMA. What’s the reason behind the numbers? Three main things. First, the 9-1 Cyborg has built up a reputation as a wrecking machine, with TKO stoppages in seven of her last eight matches. Second, Finney has a fairly pedestrian 8-7 record, a mark you rarely see in a bout with gold on the line. Third, Finney’s strength is striking, yet most everyone believes Cyborg is the better and more powerful striker of the two. All of that means this is a money line for the history books.

Wednesday Morning MMA Link Club

(Rule #17 of the Fighter Fist Pose: Never rest your head on the shoulder of a chubby man in a floral-print shirt, as it will completely negate the fist-pose’s power. / Photo courtesy of the TUF 11 Finale: Afterparty pics gallery on CombatLifestyle.com…

James McSweeney Ultimate Fighter TUF 11 UFC afterparty fist pose
(Rule #17 of the Fighter Fist Pose: Never rest your head on the shoulder of a chubby man in a floral-print shirt, as it will completely negate the fist-pose’s power. / Photo courtesy of the TUF 11 Finale: Afterparty pics gallery on CombatLifestyle.com.)

Want your highly entertaining and incredibly popular MMA site to be part of the Wednesday morning link club? E-mail [email protected] for details…

– Fabricio Werdum: ‘I will choke Fedor in the first round’ (Five Ounces of Pain)

– Jan Finney Isn’t Going to “Cuddle” Cris Cyborg (FightMagazine)

– Ten Things We Learned From WEC 49 (Heavy.com/MMA)

– Biggest Story Heading Into UFC 116 Is Not Brock Lesnar, It’s Shane Carwin (WatchKalibRun)

– ‘Strikeforce: Los Angeles’ Fighter Salaries (MMA Fighting)

– Kendall Grove Says Spike TV Controls ‘The Ultimate Fighter’, Not the UFC (MiddleEasy)

– MMAScraps Radio: Cain Velasquez, Ben Rothwell and Chris Barnett (MMA Scraps)

M-1’s Evgeni Kogan Says Fedor Isn’t Retiring or Ducking Alistair Overeem

Filed under: Strikeforce, M-1 Global, NewsFedor Emelianenko was a no-show for Monday’s episode of “The MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani, leaving M-1 Global’s Director of Operations, Evgeni Kogan, to answer questions in his stead.

Kogan spent much of his t…

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Fedor Emelianenko was a no-show for Monday’s episode of “The MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani, leaving M-1 Global’s Director of Operations, Evgeni Kogan, to answer questions in his stead.

Kogan spent much of his time on the show shooting down rumors about M-1 Global’s most famous fighter, saying that he did not think Emelianenko was seriously considering retirement and insisting that neither Emelianenko nor M-1 Global is avoiding a fight with Strikeforce champion Alistair Overeem.

“We have no problem with fighting anyone,” Kogan told MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani. “Fedor doesn’t choose his opponents. He will fight whoever is put in front of him.”

MMA FightPicker Update: ‘Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum’ Pools Now Open

("Down in the Tremé / just me and my baby / we’re all throwin’ armbars / AND PUNCHIN’ AND HAVIN’ FUN!" Props: WatchKalibRun)
Just a quick update for all you MMA FightPicker players: Head over to fightpicker.cagepotato.com right now t…

Fedor Emelianenko saxaphone
("Down in the Tremé / just me and my baby / we’re all throwin’ armbars / AND PUNCHIN’ AND HAVIN’ FUN!" Props: WatchKalibRun)

Just a quick update for all you MMA FightPicker players: Head over to fightpicker.cagepotato.com right now to make your predictions for the main card matches at this Saturday’s Strikeforce show. We’ll assume that you don’t really care about the preliminary card, so we’ll keep this week’s batch of questions short and sweet. Do any of you have the balls to pick an upset in Emelianenko vs. Werdum or Cyborg vs. Finney? How do you see the Scott Smith/Cung Le rematch playing out? Review the questions below, then head over to MMA FightPicker when you think you have it all figured out…

– Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabricio Werdum @ ‘Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum’: Who will win?
– Will Emelianenko vs. Werdum end in a submission?
– Cris Cyborg vs. Jan Finney: Who will win?
– Will Cyborg vs. Finney end in a first round KO/TKO?
– Which fight will be shorter: Emelianenko vs. Werdum or Cyborg vs. Finney?
– Scott Smith vs. Cung Le: Who will win?
– Who will score the first knockdown: Smith or Le?
– Will Smith vs. Le end in a KO/TKO?
– Josh Thomson vs. Pat Healy: Who will win?
– Will Thomson vs. Healy make it to round 3?

* Note: We originally included the scheduled undercard fight between Ron Keslar and Magomed Shikshabekov in this week’s FightPicker pools, but Shikshabekov is off the card due to visa troubles, so we added another question related to Thomson/Healy. Please edit your pools if necessary.

Fedor Emelianenko Not Interested in What Critics Say

Just days away from this Saturday’s Strikeforce tilt between Fedor Emelianenko and Fabricio Werdum, the customary round of pre-fight interviews with the competitors, has once again left the internet littered with more tonnage of ‘what does the future hold for Fedor?’ Granted, it’s nowhere near the amount of coverage Fedor was receiving when he was […]

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Just days away from this Saturday’s Strikeforce tilt between Fedor Emelianenko and Fabricio Werdum, the customary round of pre-fight interviews with the competitors, has once again left the internet littered with more tonnage of ‘what does the future hold for Fedor?’ Granted, it’s nowhere near the amount of coverage Fedor was receiving when he was a free agent last year, when countless keyboards were turned into dust due to overuse.

If Emelianenko wins Saturday then all signs (and we say this with a heavy bias hoping it will happen) point to “The Last Emperor” meeting Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem. After that, and depending on the result, who knows what Fedor and his management will do next. Fedor’s decision not to sign with the UFC last year, sparked a lot of criticism from certain circles (like a certain outspoken UFC executive whose last name rhymes with Night), who maintain that the former Pride champion is no longer interested in fighting MMA’s cream of the crop (sorry-we tried to think of some reference utilizing borsch). So what does Fedor think of his critics (thanks to MMA Weekly for the quotes)?

“As far as my reaction, I don’t have any reaction,” Emelianenko stated. “I don’t really have reactions to any compliments people tell me, nor criticism. It’s not something that’s that important to me. I have more important goals in my life than seeking out the Internet to see what people are saying about me.”

So there you have it; who’s willing to put money down on Fedor signing with the UFC now? To bet on this Saturday’s bout head here.

Fabricio Werdum on Facing Fedor: I’m More Calm for This Fight Than Ever

Filed under: Strikeforce, NewsIn the MMA world, Fedor Emelianenko is seemingly part royalty and part deity, even though he doesn’t currently own a major promotional belt and as best as we can tell, he has yet to perform a miracle — although his insta-…

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In the MMA world, Fedor Emelianenko is seemingly part royalty and part deity, even though he doesn’t currently own a major promotional belt and as best as we can tell, he has yet to perform a miracle — although his insta-recovery from the Randleplex from hell back in ’04 may qualify. But because of the aura around Fedor, some fighters are seemingly on the way to beaten before they even step in the cage with him. Here’s what Brett Rogers told SI.com’s Josh Gross about Fedor after he had a chance to stare him down, but before the actual fight.

“I look into his eyes and I see nothing,” he said. “I don’t see if he’s serious. I don’t see if he’s trying to be funny. I can’t sense anything from him. A lot of people say, ‘Don’t pay attention to his demeanor because it will psyche you out.’ It’s true. I feel that.”

Rogers proved to be game on fight night, but was eventually KO’d by Fedor. So will Fabricio Werdum be any different when he faces Fedor during Saturday night’s Strikeforce/M-1 event? He was asked about the Fedor phenomenon and his own mental focus during a recent conference call.