I worked for M-1 for 2 years and got to spend a lot of time around Fedor and know him about as well as someone can who doesn't speak any Russian. In my experience he is a quiet, gentle, humble, and spiritual guy who was never too busy to say hi to me or anyone else. He couldn't care less about the trappings of success or the fame that being an international figure has brought him. He trains in the same town he grew up in, surrounded by the same family members and coaches he has had since the beginning of his career. Its a shame to see someone as humble and likable as Fedor at the end of his professional road.
He looked off from the start of the Bigfoot fight. Fedor has never been a big heavyweight, he stands at 6 feet tall and weighs around 230lbs. He has been successful in the past against bigger, stronger fighters in part because of his ability to commit 1000% to his punches.
I was ringside when he demolished the much bigger Tim Sylvia. Fedor put everything he had behind every punch and Sylvia looked like he got hit by a train. That kind of commitment requires a rare combination of confidence and timing, both of which were lacking in his last fight. As soon as they began exchanging, Fedor looked tentative. A lot of Fedor's head movement came from his tendency to lean into his punches. Because he wasn't committing, Fedor caught a lot of counter punches from Bigfoot and missed a ton of shots in the opening round. He also seemed a little unsure of himself after he wasn't able to seriously hurt Bigfoot with his punches.
Once Bigfoot was on his back, Fedor hesitated to act. I thought it was strange that the commentators were advising Fedor to stay off the ground with Bigfoot. Fedor has always had one of the most dangerous ground and pound attacks in the sport. Does anyone else remember him DIVING into the guard of Nogueira, landing bombs left and right? It could certainly be due to his last fight against Verdum, but Fedor seemed hesitant to commit to his formidable GnP attack against Bigfoot. Yes, Bigfoot is a BJJ black belt, but only 2 of his 15 wins had come via submission and getting on top of an opponent is the easiest way to negate their size and reach advantage, yet Fedor hesitated and was seemingly unsure of himself and his strategy.
Fedor hasn't had consistent fights since his days as the king of Pride. From 2002 (the year he joined the promotion) to his last fight for Pride in 2006 he had a total of 17 fights. Since then he has averaged less than 2 per year for various promotions. For all the expense and hype put into Strikeforce's acquisition of Fedor, he has only fought for them 3 times with a 1-2 record. The layoffs and renegotiations have clearly hurt Fedor's performance in the ring and his mystique has all but vanished.
Its a strange phenomenon in sports. An athlete seems to be operating on another level, untouchable, invincible, a spectacle that seems to make his peers look as though they are in slow-motion. Then a few cracks appear, and suddenly it all vanishes into thin air. Athletes often change teams, trainers, coaches, but nothing really seems to help, the magic is gone. It was enlightening for me to watch BJ Penn's corner in his 2nd loss to Frankie Edgar. They were bewildered, their guy had never required actual coaching before. BJ had always gone in and done his thing and won, but now that wasn't happening and they didn't know what to do. It reminded me a little of Aaron Snowell holding a rubber glove to the face of Mike Tyson during his loss to Buster Douglas while repeating "you have to go after him" over and over. Great athletes seem to be on automatic and those around them are merely watching the show.
Will Fedor join the ranks of athletes like Roy Jones Jr, Chuck Liddell, and Joe Namath? Or will he make adjustments and see a few years of success before the final curtain? The question can only be answered by Fedor himself. Given his ambivalence toward the entire notion of being a wealthy and famous athlete, he might not be motivated to drop down to light-heavyweight and make another go at it. I don't think he can be successful in the Strikeforce heavyweight division that is arguably the deepest of any MMA promotion. Even if he goes down to LHW and clears out the division in Stikeforce, I don't think it will be enough to make him #1 in the eyes of most pundits, and who knows if that's even a factor to Fedor.
The next few weeks are going to decide Fedor's future in the world of MMA. I think that regardless of what happens, Fedor should be recognized as the greatest heavyweight in MMA's young history...
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