Wednesday Morning Link Club: Yep, This Is Really Happening

(Props: UFC.com/JamesToney)
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail [email protected] for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…
– Was Fedor Another Victim of EA’s Cover Curse? (MiddleEasy)

James Toney
(Props: UFC.com/JamesToney)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail [email protected] for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…

– Was Fedor Another Victim of EA’s Cover Curse? (MiddleEasy)

– Shane Carwin: ‘One of Us Will Need Help Leaving the Octagon’ at UFC 116 (MMA Fighting)

– Spike To Telecast Weigh-Ins For UFC 116 Lesnar-Carwin (Watch Kalib Run)

– George Sotiropoulos Will Fight Anyone (Heavy.com/MMA)

– Three Strikes and You’re Out: How Groin Shots Are Changing the Outcome of Fights (Five Ounces of Pain)

– Photo Gallery: M-1/Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum (FightMagazine)

– Fedor Emelianenko’s Career in 69 Seconds (MMA Scraps)

Shane Carwin: ‘One of Us Will Need Help Leaving the Octagon’ at UFC 116

Filed under: UFCShane Carwin may not be doing an all-out media blitz in advance of his heavyweight title fight against Brock Lesnar at UFC 116, but that doesn’t mean he’s not still available to his fans. He communicates with them regularly on his websi…

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Shane Carwin may not be doing an all-out media blitz in advance of his heavyweight title fight against Brock Lesnar at UFC 116, but that doesn’t mean he’s not still available to his fans. He communicates with them regularly on his website, Shane-Carwin.com, and even recently posted his salary information for the upcoming title fight. Judging by their reactions online and on Twitter, they reward this accessibility with a fierce loyalty.

But to find out what’s going through his head as he prepares to take on Lesnar in what may now be a bout to determine not only the UFC champ, but also MMA’s No. 1 overall heavyweight. MMA Fighting reached out to Carwin over e-mail and got a few interesting responses about where he sees himself in the UFC hierarchy, and what he thinks of Lesnar’s take on MMA greats like Fedor Emelianenko.

The full interview is below.

The Potato Index — ‘Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum’ Edition

(Okay Cung, you got your revenge on Scott Smith. We all saw it. There’s no need to rub it in by levitating. Photo courtesy of the "Fedor vs. Werdum Photos" gallery on MMAFighting.com.)
The Potato Index has been chewing its nails and tapping…

Cung Le Scott Smith Strikeforce
(Okay Cung, you got your revenge on Scott Smith. We all saw it. There’s no need to rub it in by levitating. Photo courtesy of the "Fedor vs. Werdum Photos" gallery on MMAFighting.com.)

The Potato Index has been chewing its nails and tapping its feet since Saturday night, just waiting for the chance to throw out some arbitrary numerical rankings at Fedor vs. Werdum. And now, the moment has arrived. Don’t mess it up, Potato Index. Please, for the love of God, act like you’ve been there before.

Fabricio Werdum +1,089
Any time you can accomplish something that’s never been done before, it’s a good day. Werdum stopped an unbeatable legend — quickly, we might add — and brought some glory back to BJJ. No matter what happens next in his career, Vai Cavalo will go down in history. And honestly, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. Look how happy he is!

Fedor Emelianeko -113 
Fedor’s fight instincts are what set him apart from mere mortals, and have gotten him out of many a jam during his career, but they failed him on Saturday. He thought he had Werdum hurt and went in for the kill, but Werdum was playing possum, and seized on his first opportunity to hit the mat. Fedor could have played it safe against a superior grappler — he could have let Fabricio up so he could slug him some more — but that’s not what Fedor does, and that’s not why we love him. The loss only proves that Emelianenko is not literally invincible. It doesn’t affect his status as the greatest heavyweight of all time.

Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin +99, each
I know, these guys weren’t even at the show. But now their fight at UFC 116 will determine the #1 heavyweight fighter in the world on most ranking lists, simply by default. Next step: Unifying the WAMMA title.

read more

Fabricio Werdum Dethrones Top Heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko

Filed under: StrikeforceSAN JOSE, Calif. – Almost every underdog swears he’s going to shock the world. At the HP Pavilion on Saturday night, Fabricio Werdum actually did it.

The former jiu-jitsu world champion rebounded from early trouble against MMA …

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SAN JOSE, Calif. – Almost every underdog swears he’s going to shock the world. At the HP Pavilion on Saturday night, Fabricio Werdum actually did it.

The former jiu-jitsu world champion rebounded from early trouble against MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko in the Strikeforce main event to secure a first-round submission victory over the Russian who has dominated the heavyweight rankings, pulling off an improbable upset in front of a crowd of 12,698 shocked fans.

“This is the happiest day of my life,” said Werdum, who continued to call Emelianenko the greatest heavyweight in the world even after the win. “I waited for this fight my whole life.”

MMA Top 10 Pound-for-Pound: Emperor’s Reign Ends

Filed under: UFC, WEC, Strikeforce, Rankings, OverallFedor Emelianenko has been at the top of my list of the Top 10 pound-for-pound fighters in mixed martial arts for a year and a half, since he beat Andrei Arlovski in January 2009. He’s obviously not …

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Fedor Emelianenko has been at the top of my list of the Top 10 pound-for-pound fighters in mixed martial arts for a year and a half, since he beat Andrei Arlovski in January 2009. He’s obviously not at the top anymore, after Fabricio Werdum submitted him in just 69 seconds on Saturday night.

But is Fedor still in the Top 10? Not on my list.

Some people would say Fedor’s body of work merits inclusion in the Top 10, but this isn’t a list of the greatest fighters of all time, it’s a list of the greatest fighters right now. And the soon-to-be 34-year-old Emelianenko, even though he is the greatest fighter of all time, isn’t one of the 10 best right now. My list, the first one I’ve ever put together without Fedor on it, is below.

Falling Action: Best and Worst of Strikeforce – Fedor vs. Werdum

Filed under: StrikeforceAs Fedor Emelianenko gave his customarily muted, stoic remarks at Saturday night’s post-fight press conference — his attitude is almost exactly the same in defeat as in victory, it turns out — the party was already underway ou…

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As Fedor Emelianenko gave his customarily muted, stoic remarks at Saturday night’s post-fight press conference — his attitude is almost exactly the same in defeat as in victory, it turns out — the party was already underway out in the hallway.

Fabricio Werdum and his team of exuberant Brazilians turned the backstage area of the HP Pavilion into their own private Carnival, and the sound of their cheering almost drowned out Emelianenko’s brief responses.

They danced. They sang. They even got Forrest “Ghost Dog” Whitaker in on the act. When they returned to their hotel, they did a Gracie-train into the bar. In other words, they had an awesome time. Just imagine how crazy you’d go if somehow you made Fedor tap out in 69 seconds. Then multiply it by five or six very vocal Brazilians.