Henderson, Rua, Fedor, Silva, Barnett

Drexal · 07-09-2007, 11:37 AM

Just read an interesting article about some of the Pride fighters that will be coming to the UFC.

Quote:

Foreign invasion
Some familar faces are ready for action at UFC

For many years, there were two preeminent organizations in the world of mixed martial arts: The US-based Ultimate Fighting Championship and the Japan-based Pride Fighting Championships. That is no longer the case. Following a scandal over mob connections, Pride lost its lucrative Japanese television deal with Fuji TV in 2006. That put the promotion in financial peril, and earlier this year the UFC purchased Pride. With this development, many of Pride's elite fighters have dispersed to other organizations.

The UFC is now the unquestioned leader in the world of mixed martial arts, and has utilized its prestige and finances to lock up many of Pride's elite fighters. UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva and Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson were frequent competitors in Pride. Pride's vaunted heavyweight division has immigrated to the UFC, with Mirko Cro Cop and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira leading the way. Newer MMA fans are just getting used to this infusion of new talent, but those fighters are just the tip of the iceberg.

Many more of Pride's top fighters will make their way to the United States before the end of the year, and they threaten to completely alter the landscape of MMA. It is an exciting time for MMA fans, who will get to see their questions answered as to who are the best fighters. UFC President Dana White couldn't be more excited by the possibility.

"There's only one way to figure out who's the best. You have them face each other. That's the beauty of UFC buying Pride. Now we get to see who the best in the world are at each weight class. I've always wanted to answer the question and now we get to find out."

Here is a look at some of the elite level fighters who are not yet widely known in the United States, but who will become familiar in a hurry.

Dan Henderson

Dan Henderson is a UFC veteran, having fought for the company all the way back in 1998. He left the UFC for Pride, and fought in Pride for seven years. UFC was interested in signing Henderson during that time, but Pride had more money to offer.

During that period, Henderson defeated some of the world's toughest fighters, including top heavyweight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, top light heavyweight Wanderlei Silva and top middleweight Murilo Bustamante. In so doing, he became the only man to hold a title in two weight classes for Pride. He is an excellent wrestler but also has an explosive left punch. Henderson signed with the UFC, and will be challenging Quinton Jackson for the UFC Light Heavyweight Title September 22 in London.

White predicts an action-packed fight. "They've got the same style. They're both strong wrestlers, but they like to bang on their feet." Jackson had an exciting fight with Henderson's teammate Matt Lindland in 2006, and Henderson is an even more compelling fight given he has better standup than Lindland.

From there, Henderson has a number of options. He is probably better suited fighting at 185 pounds given his naturally smaller frame, but he wants to fight at 205. White wasn't expecting that. "I thought he'd want to come in at 185 but 205 is where he wants to be," White says.

Dave Meltzer, editor of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, understands Henderson's position. "I think Henderson sees 205 as the marquee division in fighting, so it's probably both the idea of fighting against the best, and the greater potential paydays with some marquee opponents. He's done well at 205 in the past."

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua

Considered by many to be the best 205 pound fighter in the world, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua dispatched a who's who list of light heavyweights in Pride, going 11-1 in the company with his only loss coming via a fluke injury. A member of the vaunted Chute Boxe Academy, Shogun signed with UFC, and will be fighting September 22 in Anaheim. UFC doesn't have an opponent yet, but White promises an exciting matchup, "We want to line him up with someone good, introduce him to the US market in the right way."

Shogun not only has tremendous talent, but he's likely to be well suited for the American market. White says, "He's a real good standup fighter. Great knees, punches, kicks. Very exciting guy, likes to finish fights. He's got that style people like." As such, Shogun is likely to be in main events very shortly. White says that if Shogun wins in September, he will get the next title shot at the UFC Light Heavyweight Title. That could lead to a rematch with Jackson, who Shogun obliterated in Japan.

One issue for Shogun might be the change in rules coming to the US. Shogun was able to successfully utilize stomps and soccer kicks in Japan, but won't be able to in America. Mauro Ranallo was the voice of Pride Fighting Championships and now covers MMA for the Fight Network. He feels that Shogun will not have trouble adapting to the rules. "I think Rua has enough in his arsenal and is talented enough to adapt to the unified rules of MMA." He adds, "His knockout power and fan friendly style should make him a huge star in the US."

Fedor Emelianenko

Barnett also could end up elsewhere. K1 attempted to bring him in for its K1 Dynamite show in Los Angeles, and other major entities like Elite XC and Bodog Fight would have to be interested in Barnett's American potential. Barnett has expressed interest in continuing to fight in Japan, and has a long link to that country as an MMA fighter

Widely regarded as the greatest MMA fighter of all time, Russian Fedor Emelianenko is not yet a major name in the United States. That is likely to change when fans become more familiar with his tremendous talent.

Fedor's strength as a fighter is his ability to capitalize on the weaknesses of each of his opponents. He has no glaring weakness of his own, with strong standup, wrestling, ground and pound, and submissions. If an opponent has a weakness, Fedor will exploit it. He has a sterling 26-1 record with wins over most of the top heavyweights in the world.

Ranallo believes that a large part of Fedor's success is mental. "Fedor Emelianenko is one of the most intelligent fighters on the planet," Ranallo says. "His ability to adapt to any game plan his opponent may present is amazing. It appears nothing fazes him and if one believes the fighter axiom that 'it's 90 percent mental' then Emelianenko is without a doubt, the mentally toughest fighter in the sport."

UFC is very interested in Fedor, and White says he is working on getting a deal done. Part of the difficulty for him is Fedor's management team. White says that he has "no idea what these crazy Russians are going to do." White will give Fedor an immediate title shot if and when he is brought in.

Fedor fought his last fight for Bodog Fight in Russia at an event that was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Other fighting organizations have expressed interest in him, but there is some question as to whether Fedor can justify his payday without the television exposure that UFC can provide.

Meltzer believes that Fedor is not necessarily a sure thing as a top draw in America, "UFC would have to do an incredible marketing job for Fedor to draw from the beginning. He fought for years in Japan and was never a super draw and their fighting is on network prime time TV. It depends on marketing and his opponents long-term, as well as his ability to continue to both win and win impressively over big names."

Wanderlei Silva

No fighter in MMA has a more exciting style than Wanderlei Silva. Silva lets loose a wild barrage of punches, kicks and knees from the beginning of every fight, and is one of the best finishers in the sport. One of Pride's biggest stars, the UFC has attempted to bring in Silva for years. The fight White always wanted was Silva against UFC star Chuck Liddell. "The two hadn't been beaten in years. Both were great strikers fighting in different organizations. Everyone was excited for that fight."

Liddell and Silva lost some of its luster when Henderson knocked out Silva and Jackson knocked out Liddell. However, the fight is still intriguing on paper, and is a fight White would like to make for November. Wherever and whenever Silva returns, there are a host of compelling matchups for him.

One question with Silva is how much he has left in the tank. Silva has been fighting for over 10 years and suffered brutal knockouts in his last two fights. The question is what those losses mean. White observes, "Losing to Mirko Cro Cop when you're a light heavyweight -- there's no shame at all. But coming back and losing to Dan Henderson, a 185 pounder, definitely doesn't look good."

Ranallo suggests that Silva is wise to take his time in coming back from his most recent loss in February. "I think the fact that he suffered two devastating knockouts in his last two fights was a wake-up call that he should think about slowing down and allowing the injuries that are endemic to MMA sufficient time to heal. As anyone who has ever been knocked out will tell you, you are never really quite the same again and mentally, it may take a while to fully recover from such traumatic events."
Article continues here: SI.com - Writers - Todd Martin: UFC welcomes back some familiar faces - Monday July 2, 2007 3:32PM

Brad · 07-09-2007, 11:47 AM

Yeah, a good article concerning the PRIDE stars who are either confirmed or may be coming to the UFC. I still do think Chuck vs. Silva is going to be huge even with the losses, and might actually be more marketable now then before.

Drexal · 07-09-2007, 11:53 AM

I think all of them apart from Barnett will fight in The Octogon at some point in the next 9 months.

AikaImmortal · 07-09-2007, 12:15 PM

Barnett is likely to fight for Bodog.

lambo84 · 07-09-2007, 12:22 PM

I'm hoping the UFC Fighters win out overall over the Pride Fighters.

AllTrac · 07-09-2007, 01:16 PM

I want Fedor to come over so badly, he would be a massive draw for true MMA enthusiasts and would fast become one for the general public also.

Shogun coming over is going to be huge also, he has never had a boring fight.

I heart LNP · 07-09-2007, 01:43 PM

I think Fedor will sign with Bodog. I also doubt Barnett will be going anywheres near UFC. Other than them though I think they will all be in the UFC.

AllTrac · 07-09-2007, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by I heart LNP

I think Fedor will sign with Bodog. I also doubt Barnett will be going anywheres near UFC. Other than them though I think they will all be in the UFC.

I know Fedor wants a allowance in any contract that he signs that will allow him to fight in Russia for any org that he wants, that is the sticking point for the UFC right now.

Cas2910 · 07-09-2007, 01:58 PM

these are some pretty big names and if they came over the next few fight cards would be pretty sweet.