Fedor Emelianenko vs. King Mo Is the Fight That Needs to Happen

("I weighed in at 219 pounds for this fight. That’s *British* pounds, homey. Moneyweight, what." / Props: allelbows.com)
It’s natural to think that Fedor Emelianenko’s loss to Fabricio Werdum on Saturday night was an absolute…

King Mo Muhammed Lawal
("I weighed in at 219 pounds for this fight. That’s *British* pounds, homey. Moneyweight, what." / Props: allelbows.com)

It’s natural to think that Fedor Emelianenko’s loss to Fabricio Werdum on Saturday night was an absolute disaster, both for his career and for Strikeforce, who had their pay-per-view hopes riding on a heavyweight title clash between Emelianenko and Alistair Overeem. The shocking upset left fans scratching their heads and wondering what could be next for the Last Emperor. An immediate rematch with Werdum, as Werdum himself suggested after the fight? A tune-up match against someone further down the ladder like Antonio Silva? Retirement?

One name that doesn’t seem to be getting any consideration in the fight’s aftermath is, to me, the most obvious one — Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal, Strikeforce’s reigning light-heavyweight champion. And if Strikeforce wants to pull anything positive out of their current situation, they’ll book Fedor vs. King Mo as quickly as possible. Here’s why:

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Strikforce: Fedor vs. Werdum — Live Results + Commentary

(Damn, what an unflattering picture of Werdum. It’s just one of those things where the camera catches you at the exact wrong moment, and you wind up making a strange expression that you’d never make again in a million–OH SHIT. / Photo courtesy of M-1G…

Fedor Emelianenko Fabricio Werdum Strikeforce MMA
(Damn, what an unflattering picture of Werdum. It’s just one of those things where the camera catches you at the exact wrong moment, and you wind up making a strange expression that you’d never make again in a million–OH SHIT. / Photo courtesy of M-1Global.com.)

Look, we’re all still a little emotional from USA’s World Cup exit this afternoon, and the only cure is bloodshed. Luckily, Fedor Emeliananko returns to the Strikeforce cage tonight at the HP Pavilion in San Jose against Fabricio "Grappler’s Chance" Werdum, while Cris Cyborg will be tearing apart some random blonde woman. Plus, Scott Smith and Cung Le re-do their last fight for the hell of it, former lightweight champ Josh Thomson tries to rebound against Pat Healy, and an MMA legend might announce his retirement.

Round-by-round results from the "Fedor vs. Werdum" Showtime broadcast will be piling up after the jump beginning at 10 p.m. ET; refresh your browser every few minutes for all the latest. (The show is delayed on the West Coast, so beware of spoilers.) And yes, "Tucson" is misspelled on Fedor’s t-shirt in the above photo, but that’s what happens when you do all your shopping at consignment shops in Stary Oskol. Humble guy, this Last Emperor.

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Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum Weigh-In Video

Filed under: MMA Videos, Strikeforce, M-1 Global, VideosAll eight Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum main card fighters successfully made weight Friday afternoon at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., including headliners Fedor Emelianenko (229) and Fabric…

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All eight Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum main card fighters successfully made weight Friday afternoon at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., including headliners Fedor Emelianenko (229) and Fabricio Werdum (238).

Full results here.

Check out the weigh-in video, which was shot and edited by MMA Fighting’s E. Casey Leydon, below.

Better Know a Fighter: Pat Healy

(Healy vs. Ryan Ford @ MFC 17, 7/25/08)
After losing his belt to Gilbert Melendez last December, Josh Thomson returns to the Strikeforce cage tomorrow night at Fedor vs. Werdum, where he will be kicking off the Showtime broadcast against Pat &quot…

(Healy vs. Ryan Ford @ MFC 17, 7/25/08)

After losing his belt to Gilbert Melendez last December, Josh Thomson returns to the Strikeforce cage tomorrow night at Fedor vs. Werdum, where he will be kicking off the Showtime broadcast against Pat "Bam Bam" Healy. Healy may be an unknown quantity among casual fans, but he’s a tough competitor who’s been fighting professionally since 2001, and could actually give the Punk a run for his money. Here’s what you need to know about him:

– Healy’s record stands at 22-15, with 19 of those wins coming via stoppage. His resume includes notable victories over Dan Hardy, Paul Daley, Carlos Condit, Mike Guymon, Ryan Ford (twice), and most recently, a unanimous decision over Bryan Travers at the Lindland vs. Casey Strikeforce Challengers card last month. He’s had the honor of being beaten up by Denis Kang, Chris Lytle, Brad Blackburn (twice), Jay Hieron, and Rory Markham.

– A current member of Team Quest’s Gresham camp and former collegiate wrestler, Healy was previously Maximum Fighting Championship’s welterweight champ, until he relinquished the belt to compete at lightweight. He has also competed for the IFL and WEC, and had one fight in the UFC — a first-round submission loss to Anthony Torres at UFC Fight Night 6.

– Healy is coming into this fight as a replacement for Lyle "Fancy Pants" Beerbohm, who suffered an elbow injury in his last fight against Vitor Ribeiro at Heavy Artillery. He’s a sizable betting underdog in the +300 to +380 range.

– He has a twin brother, Ryan, who also fights.

After the jump: More videos of Pat in action.

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What if Fabricio Werdum Wins?

Filed under: Strikeforce, M-1 GlobalI don’t think Fabricio Werdum is going to beat Fedor Emelianenko on Saturday, and neither do you, and neither does anyone we know. But it is possible that Werdum could beat Fedor, and although it would be a huge upse…

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I don’t think Fabricio Werdum is going to beat Fedor Emelianenko on Saturday, and neither do you, and neither does anyone we know. But it is possible that Werdum could beat Fedor, and although it would be a huge upset, it wouldn’t be as big an upset as Sokoudjou beating Antonio Rogerio Nogueira or Matt Serra beating Georges St. Pierre.

So if that huge upset happens, what happens next for Werdum, for Fedor, for Strikeforce, for M-1 Global and for all of MMA? A few scenarios are below.