Fedor Emelianenko Vs Dan Henderson: Breaking News
By Sean Farrell
Rumors of an enticing bout have been swirling between MMA legends Fedor Emelianenko and Dan Henderson possibly facing off this summer. These started after Emelianenko’s last fight — a losing effort this past February against Antonio Silva, a fight which seemed to prove its validity for the Russian to drop weight classes in order to compete with men closer to his size.
Whether or not Fedor will actually make the cut from heavyweight to light heavyweight is unsure and seems unlikely, given his reputation and word from his camp. Emelianenko is not considering a move down to light heavyweight, but is entertaining the idea of catchweights being held at some ten to fifteen pounds lighter than his usual fighting weight of 230lbs.
However, the rumored matchup between Henderson, the current Strikeforce light heavyweight champion, and Emelianenko is also being discussed by both parties; the number one issue is at what weight they will compete. Emelianenko and his camp are willing to take the fight at a catchweight between 215-220lbs., where Henderson is more than happy to face the other PRIDE FC king besides himself. Should the fight take place, it is likely that it will take place sometime in July, but no venue or date is known.
After faltering in his Strikeforce debut against then-champ Jake Shields, Henderson got back on track and knocked out both Renato “Babalu” Sobral and then Rafael Cavalcante for the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship. Once considered to be the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world, Emelianenko’s stock has fallen after two consecutive losses in Strikeforce, to Fabricio Werdum and Antonio Silva.
Apy Echteld, a representative of Emelianenko’s management team M-1 Global, told ESPN recently that the Russian is ready to get back on the horse after two consecutive losses and is interested in facing Henderson at an undetermined date this July. “He agreed. He’s ready to fight,” said Echteld.
Emelianenko needed to change things up in his now infamous same training routine and he did just that. Fedor chose relocating to Holland for a time to improve his overall technique and conditioning. Echteld believes that this reinvention in training will help “The Last Emperor” return to the kind of form that once had him hailed as the best in the world, pound-for-pound.
“With his progress from training, I can only think he’ll be back the way he was,” Echteld said. “If he doesn’t win, he’ll make his own decisions like he does now. If he stops, he stops. But if he wins, I think he’ll continue fighting.”
No word has been released on what Strikeforce has scheduled for July, or whether or not this bout will actually come to fruition, but it is being rumored that the fight could headline or at least appear on a pay-per-view under the Strikeforce banner.