I want to fight Fedor.
Give me a fight with Fedor.
Fedor, fight me.
There are many variations on the theme, but the refrain is the same… Alistair Overeem wants to fight Fedor Emelianenko.
With the Strikeforce heavyweight champion’s first round demolition of Brett Rogers on Saturday night, it would seem the fight could now happen. Not so fast.
Remember, Fedor has another fight on his hands first. He is scheduled to face Fabricio Werdum in a Strikeforce and M-1 Global co-promotion on June 26 in San Jose, Calif.
If he wins there then let’s talk.
“I know Alistair would love to fight Fedor, and that’s a conversation that will happen after June 26,” said Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker on Saturday night. “You can’t assume. Fabricio Werdum is an amazing fighter and what if he beats Fedor? So then it shuffles the deck again.”
Most fighters will say that they want to fight whoever the promotion wants or whoever wins the fight. Not so for Overeem. He has a definitive match-up in mind.
“Definitely Fedor. Fedor is a way more exciting fighter. He’s always looking for the kill, fighting stand-up or on the ground, like me,” Overeem explained of his desire to fight the No. 1 heavyweight in the world.
“Werdum is more ground. I prefer fighters who go for the kill. It’s more exciting fights instead of fighters who stall. I’m not saying that Fabricio is a stalling fighter, but the Fedor fight is a little more attractive, more aggressive, less stalling.”
Let’s face it, Fedor is regarded by most as the top of the heap in the heavyweight division. It is nearly unanimous… save for UFC president Dana White.
So why wouldn’t Overeem have his sites fixed on the top of the mountain?
“Fedor is a legend,” said Overeem, “and if you want to become a legend you have to fight a legend and you have to beat the legend.”
Coker is happy with Overeem’s return because his heavyweight division is now brimming with solid match-ups.
“What I am excited about is now there’s some amazing heavyweight match-ups that we’re going to be able to put together with Alistair and Andrei (Arlovski) and (Antonio) ‘Giant’ Silva and Fedor in the mix, so the heavyweight division is looking strong.”
But to Overeem there is only one name in that mix that he cares about. Say it with me, “Fedor!”
Coker won’t budge… talk of Overeem vs. Fedor will just have to wait until June plays out.
“Alistair has told me many times that he would love to fight Fedor,” said Coker. “He’s called Fedor out when he fights in Japan all the time. So he’s looking forward to taking that fight, but that’s going to be something where we’re going to have to sit down after the June 26 fight.
“And like I said, you can’t count Fabricio out. The timing could be right for him to move forward. So I think that when you look at that fight it has to be something that M-1 and Strikeforce will sit down after that fight is over.”
Most everyone believes Overeem vs. Fedor is the premier match-up in Strikeforce’s heavyweight division.
Overeem lived up to his end of the bargain by crushing Brett Rogers.
Now it’s Fedor’s turn with Werdum, but that’s no given.
It would, however, give Overeem, and everyone else, the match-up that we all want to see.
Monday, May 17, 2010 - by Ken Pishna
Tags: Alistair, Brett Rogers, champion, Coker, Emelianenko, Fedor, heavyweight, M-1 Global, Overeem, Scott, Strikeforce