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Where Does Werdum’s Stunner Over Fedor Fall on All-Time Upsets List?

Any time a monumental upset takes place in mixed martial arts, it’s pretty much mandatory to start up the discussion about where the fight falls on the list of biggest upsets of all time.

With Fabricio Werdum’s Strikeforce win over Fedor Emelianenko …

Any time a monumental upset takes place in mixed martial arts, it’s pretty much mandatory to start up the discussion about where the fight falls on the list of biggest upsets of all time.

With Fabricio Werdum‘s Strikeforce win over Fedor Emelianenko on Saturday, the debate began as soon as the shock of seeing Fedor tapping out wore off: Was this the biggest upset in the history of the sport?

This is just one Top 10 list. Yours will likely differ in inclusions, snubs and placement. There have, of course, been plenty of other notable upsets beyond this set, some of which are listed here as Honorable Mentions. But like unofficial pound-for-pound lists, big upsets like Werdum over Fedor are a part of what keeps MMA fans debating. So let the discussion begin.

Scott Coker Says Fedor vs. Werdum II Possible

(photo courtesy Esther Lin/ Strikeforce)
Last night the Earth was without oxygen for just a second, as thousands upon thousands of MMA fans worldwide gasped in unison, while seeing Fedor Emelianenko tap out to Fabricio Werdum’s first round triangle-choke. Yes, many acknowledged the skills of Werdum heading into the bout, but few expected him to hand […]

(photo courtesy Esther Lin/ Strikeforce)

Last night the Earth was without oxygen for just a second, as thousands upon thousands of MMA fans worldwide gasped in unison, while seeing Fedor Emelianenko tap out to Fabricio Werdum’s first round triangle-choke. Yes, many acknowledged the skills of Werdum heading into the bout, but few expected him to hand Fedor his first ‘legit’ loss in over 30 fights (some may have been hoping- right Dana?)

So, what the eff is next for “The Last Emperor” now? The script seemed to be that Fedor would beat Werdum and then fight Strikeforce’s Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem. Well, considering that the winner of last night’s bout was supposed to fight Alistair, Fabricio is a lock for a title shot right? And Fedor will have to look elsewhere in the Strikeforce heavyweight division? Umm, seems not necessarily….

In a few reports today, it looks like the general ‘vibe’ stemming from last night’s post-fight press conference, is that Strikeforce is open to giving Fedor a rematch with Werdum. Both men said they’re willing, and while discussing the promotion’s heavyweight picture, Strikeforce boss man Scott Coker was quoted saying this (thanks to MMA Junkie for the quote):

“To me, Fabricio and Fedor is going to be a mega-fight that we should promote,” Coker said. “I also think that Fabricio vs. Alistair, the rematch against our champion, is something Alistair is going to want and would be another big fight. I think that the fight between Fedor and Alistair should still happen, as well.”

So, while Coker didn’t commit to an immediate rematch, he didn’t say that Alistair vs. Werdum was a lock either….Guess only time (with M-1 Global’s two huge cents in there) will tell.

‘Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum’ Aftermath: Well, Holy Shit

(…. ….*crickets* …. …. PhotoProps: Strikeforce)
In the days and weeks following Fedor Emelianenko’s stunning loss to Fabricio Werdum inside the Strikeforce cage on Saturday night, some jerk with a website or internet radio show will proba…

(…. ….*crickets* …. …. PhotoProps: Strikeforce)

In the days and weeks following Fedor Emelianenko’s stunning loss to Fabricio Werdum inside the Strikeforce cage on Saturday night, some jerk with a website or internet radio show will probably try to tell you that he saw this coming. When that happens it will be important for you to remember that, aside from a very, very select group of individuals, those people are goddamned liars.

In retrospect – and retrospect always feels cheap – maybe it’s not shocking that Emelianenko lost a fight down the stretch of his storied MMA career. Regardless of the nonsensical stuff Frank Shamrock told us at the top of last night’s broadcast about Fedor’s “impenetrable shield of invincibility,” Emelianenko himself has taken pains to remind us again and again that he is, in fact, just a man; a man who puts his traditional Russian garments on one leg at a time like everybody else.

But to lose this fight? Admit it, you didn’t see that coming.

Famous Last Words: Jan Finney Edition

(Just another day at the office for Jan Finney. The terrifying, potentially life-threatening office. PicProps: Strikeforce)
When staring down the barrel of your own imminent demise, there are a couple of different ways you can play it. You can dig your…

(Just another day at the office for Jan Finney. The terrifying, potentially life-threatening office. PicProps: Strikeforce)

When staring down the barrel of your own imminent demise, there are a couple of different ways you can play it. You can dig your heels in and fight every step of the way as the guards physically drag you out of your cell and down the hall to the execution chamber, or you can handle things a little more like Gary Gilmore: Grinning into the scowling faces of the poor bastards on the firing squad and shouting, “Let’s do it!”

Jan Finney, to her credit, seems to be opting for the latter approach.

Finney doesn’t appear the least bit bothered by the fact she’s jumping up in weight to take on the most dominant female fighter on the planet, that the oddsmakers see her as a near-historic underdog or that Strikeforce says she’ll likely be fired if she doesn’t have a “good showing” against Cris “Cyborg” Santos tonight. In fact, Finney – whose nickname, by comparison, is “Cuddles” – thinks it’s hilarious.

Sneak Peak: Final ‘Fedor vs. Werdum’ Prefight Hype

(VidProps: ShoSports/YouTube) The above video gives you a look at the final product of that promo shoot we showed you a couple days back and the results seem, well, just as generic as we feared. As it turns out, the road to the probable destruc…

(VidProps: ShoSports/YouTube)

The above video gives you a look at the final product of that promo shoot we showed you a couple days back and the results seem, well, just as generic as we feared. As it turns out, the road to the probable destruction of Jan Finney and Fabricio Werdum will be paved in fireballs and misting sleet and Fedor Emelianenko will try to get as much mileage as possible out of that pair of nondescript black athletic shorts. Meanwhile the bass baritone voice of former Crash Test Dummies lead singer and current Strikeforce play-by-play man Gus Johnson – the voice certain CP editors hear in their dreams before they wake up screaming “My name’s Al Harris and I get buckets!” – will prattle on about legends and destiny and history or some such similar bullshit.

It appears that Strikeforce is going the extra mile to make Finney look both attractive and credible, though at least one of those concepts seems like a major stretch. Likewise, the only people giving Werdum much of a shot are Fedor himself, Renato “Babalu” Sobral and one of my co-workers at The Rumble. An extremely scientific internet poll of fans conducted by The Junkie shows just 13 percent of y’all think the 6-foot-4 jiu jitsu ace can pull the upset. Frankly, I’d hate to see the numbers on Finney.

After the jump, some final thoughts from Fedor about why fighting him seems to be career suicide for his opponents and a few snapshots of the official weigh-in featuring the ubiquitous Rockstar Girls, just to get your Saturday started right …

Cung Le Expecting “Another Great Fight” with Scott Smith

Heading into tomorrow’s Strikeforce card the pre-fight spotlight has largely been targeted on the Fedor Emelianenko and Fabricio Werdum match-up. Guess when you’re one the sport’s best and more intriguing fighters like Fedor is, people tend to talk about you a lot (not that “The Last Emperor” gives a damn of course). Saturday’s event has […]

Heading into tomorrow’s Strikeforce card the pre-fight spotlight has largely been targeted on the Fedor Emelianenko and Fabricio Werdum match-up. Guess when you’re one the sport’s best and more intriguing fighters like Fedor is, people tend to talk about you a lot (not that “The Last Emperor” gives a damn of course). Saturday’s event has several other interesting bouts scheduled (including “Cyborg” Santos vs. Jan Finney), but the fight that definitely has a chance of grabbing the Jeff Spicoli “awesome; totally awesome” award is Cung Le vs. Scott Smith II.

Through the first two rounds of their first bout last December, Le was on cruise control, battering Smith with his trademark, makes you cringe, kicks. Of course, Smith came back to pull out the walk off KO homer in the third round, making the fight an instant classic. Well, speaking to MMA Weekly Radio this week, here is some of what Le had to say about trying to avenge his one and only loss.

“I’m very grateful to Scott Coker and Strikeforce for making this fight happen. I think it was a very exciting fight, especially what happened at the end, and I think its going to be another great fight.”

“Not only does he have ‘hands of steel,’ he definitely has a ‘head of steel.’

Thought we throw Le’s nice little zinger in there. Last time out Le concedes had been spending a lot of time on the movie set rather than the gym and was a little rusty; it will be interesting to see how he looks tomorrow night. To bet on the fights head here.