Tag: fight rumor

Rumor of the Day: Fedor Emelianenko to Face Rolles Gracie This Summer


(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.


(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

The Aoki/Alvarez Rematch Is Looking Like It Will Happen During Bellator’s Sixth Season

(Aoki/Alvarez 1, from K1 Dynamite 2008. THIS is how men fight.) 

A lot has happened in the four years since Eddie Alvarez was heel-hooked by Shinya Aoki in the first round of their inaugural lightweight championship match back in December of 2008. Aoki has fought a remarkable 13 times since then, picking up notable wins over Marcus Aurelio and Rich Clementi as well as evening the score with DREAM rival Joachim Hansen. He has only gone 1-1 in the States, however, dropping a humiliating unanimous decision to current Strikeforce lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez and notching a quick neck crank submission over Lyle Beerbohm.

Alvarez, on the other hand, went on to become the Bellator lightweight champion after defeating Toby Imada at Bellator 12 in June of ’09, but defended the belt only once in the five fights that succeeded it. We last saw the Philadelphia Fight Factory standout lose said title via fourth round submission in an absolute war with Michael Chandler at Bellator 58 that was my personal pick for 2011’s Fight of the Year.

Well now it seems that these two are destined to collide ONCE AGAIN, in what will surely be…an absolute war (isn’t it funny how you can impersonate Mike Goldberg without even talking?).


(Aoki/Alvarez 1, from K1 Dynamite 2008. THIS is how men fight.) 

A lot has happened in the four years since Eddie Alvarez was heel-hooked by Shinya Aoki in the first round of their inaugural lightweight championship match back in December of 2008. Aoki has fought a remarkable 13 times since then, picking up notable wins over Marcus Aurelio and Rich Clementi as well as evening the score with DREAM rival Joachim Hansen. He has only gone 1-1 in the States, however, dropping a humiliating unanimous decision to current Strikeforce lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez and notching a quick neck crank submission over Lyle Beerbohm.

Alvarez, on the other hand, went on to become the Bellator lightweight champion after defeating Toby Imada at Bellator 12 in June of ’09, but defended the belt only once in the five fights that succeeded it. We last saw the Philadelphia Fight Factory standout lose said title via fourth round submission in an absolute war with Michael Chandler at Bellator 58 that was my personal pick for 2011′s Fight of the Year.

Well now it seems that these two are destined to collide ONCE AGAIN, in what will surely be…an absolute war (isn’t it funny how you can impersonate Mike Goldberg without even talking?). Bellator officials have hinted that the long awaited rematch “should be happening soon,” and considering Alvarez’s name is noticeably absent from the season six lightweight tournament, the likelihood of this rematch happening in the near future is all the more evident. Let’s just hope Aoki doesn’t go entering himself in one of those wacky mixed rule bouts that are supposed to be squash matches anytime soon, and this one should be a lock, ladies and gentlemen.

I went ahead and posted the Alvarez/Chandler fight below. If you’ve got an extra 20 minutes to spare (and let’s be honest, you do), check out one of the most entertaining fights in recent memory.

-J. Jones