UFC will probably never have a Heavyweight fighter as good as Fedor

[WA2OOO]

Problem was he started fighting better competition, he wasn't fighting fighters who were 7+years older than him and no great fighters. He started fighting good/great fighters who were around the same age as him & skilled.

Rizzo, hendo, monson all older.

He became a stand and bang fighter when before he relied heavy on sambo

 

[HHJ]

Rizzo, hendo, monson all older.

He became a stand and bang fighter when before he relied heavy on sambo

I dont think he "relied heavy on sambo"

He just was able to seamlessly use all his tools in tandem together. When he got old,the wear and tear from all those explosive throws,made him more reliant on the striking aspect,but his whole game was using everything and chaining it all together

 

[GroundNPouter]

There is no way Fedor beats the Ngannou that fought Stipe in the second fight.

None.

 

[TheGreatA]

Fedor was a bloated LHW which is why he looked so skillful. Look at how badly Jones tooled Gane in the grappling department, the lower weight fighters are on another level in athleticism, technique and well-roundedness.

Big heavyweights compensate for their lack of skill with sheer mass and power. They always have a puncher's chance and smaller guys like Fedor will inevitably get caught by the big guy if they fight enough times. It's just hard to consistently fight against dudes who outweigh you by 40 pounds, even if you are more skilled than them, which is why LHWs don't usually try to step up to the HW division.

In Fedor's era, the top guys (Crocop, Big Nog) were usually around his size and he didn't have to fight too many massive guys apart from the freakshow fights.

 

[Canadian Kicker]

Ehhh it’s close, honestly. I don’t really know how to measure whether he was stronger than DC. Here’s a GIF of Fedor having an open workout before the Hendo fight, just a year before he retired (the first time, obviously) and his hands are still crazy fast. I think his speed was right there with Vitor and Machida. And those guys fought at MW.

If you think this matches Vitor's hand speed, you might want to go back and watch some of his fights.

 

[BFoe]

If you think this matches Vitor's hand speed, you might want to go back and watch some of his fights.

 

[MMAK]

I get what you’re saying in regards to maybe a guy like Randleman. But surely Ricardo Arona knew how to defend sweeps, yet Fedor swept him. Even ol Chael is a black belt now, and Fedor swept him even in his 40s. I don’t quite buy the idea that Fedor wouldn’t be able sweep or sub anyone today.



Good post, and I apologize that I have to just quickly bulletpoint some stuff since I’m working atm. Before I do though—do you ever make highlight vids still? I liked the ones I saw, God, must’ve been a decade ago now. Crazy how time flies.

—Totally agree with how the fight plays out in a ring. Fedor was great at quickly closing distance and off-balancing guys, and I see him doing the same to Francis in a ring. In a cage, I wouldn’t go with Francis winning 7/10, that seems excessive; but I def agree that Fedor’s style worked much better in a ring (like Mirko, but Mirko’s style was even more dependent on it and never really translated well to a cage). Francis would have much more success against Fedor in a cage. I’d actually say that Fedor was fighting better in a cage than he ever had during his Bellator run. In the Strikeforce years I don’t think he even had a cage at his gym.

—It will be interesting to see how Francis looks post knee injury. I know he was injured against Gane so I don’t want to sound too harsh, but the ground game from both those guys was very low level imho. While I agree that Francis hits a lot harder than Bigfoot, Bigfoot was also a BJJ black belt. A weight difference like that is very tough to overcome if the heavier guy is a black belt as well. It was also Fedor’s sloppiness that led to that TD, I don’t really see the 2003-2005 peak version of Fedor telegraph the overhand right like that.

—As far as avoiding Francis’s power, or getting a TD, Fedor is faster than Gane and has never really had a tough time closing distance on someone.

And I def wouldn’t look at Fedor’s last two performances, he was years past his expiration date. But anyway, who knows, fantasy matchups are just that after all.

Arona pretty much beat Fedor, but got robbed by corrupt judges. Ngannou can likely ko prime Fedor with a single jab. I give second Stipe fight level Ngannou 8/10 against prime Fedor.

 

[killakillakilla]

That's not true. prime Fedor vs prime DC would be one of the greatest matchups ever imo.

 

[MMAK]

Unpopular opinion, but I actually think a Prime Nogueira gives Stipe a run for his money.

Stipe would easily destroy Nog standing and Nog would not be able to take him down.

 

[MMAK]

That's not true. prime Fedor vs prime DC would be one of the greatest matchups ever imo.

Ngannou would ko him stiff in the first round. Fedor got almost ko'd by Fujita. Ngannou is far faster, stronger, and more accurate than Fujita, and can ko people with jabs and extremely short punches. Fedor would get counter punched to oblivion when he tries to charge Ngannou with haymakers. Ngannou could also overpowered Fedor in clinch to push him on cage and finish him there with uppercuts and shovel hooks.