Fedor apparently had a knee injury and a fever for that fight. Give them man credit, everytime he was ever KO'd or TKO'd, it was well after his prime *Fight Mileage and his knee and back have been injured for years hence why he doesn't even try clinches or takedowns.
And in all his TKO or KO losses, even when he is at his closest point of being out cold, He is still reaching for legs, using his legs or trying to sit up. That man's will shall live long after his body dies.
The most focused fighter in history. He lost his focus. Injuries can do that as well as fame and spiritual journey's like he has. I am not making excuses for him. Fighters will get hurt and change. It's more of an explanation.
Truly analyze fighters and you should start with why they began fighting. Fedor began fighting to feed himself and his family.
Communism and Famine destroyed his country and left his people poor, starving and miserable.
Fedor endured that hell and became the greatest HW of the Golden Era of Pride and MMA in general. The UFC is great by Pride was like a dream come true. The theater of it all truly made it an event, from the entrances to the fights and the crowd.
The energy was higher, more respectful and passionate than any other crowd I have ever witnessed.
Fedor's main purpose was to become the best to feed his family. He became rich and after years of doing it and getting hurt, the focus shifts. Eventually you just realize you're the little boy who stuck his hand in the fire but never learned to stop doing it.
Pain.
His pain of starvation was taken away by fighting and winning.
His main reason to fight was conquered.
He didn't need to fight on injured or not injured and I truly believe he has felt that long before the Werdum fight.