Rumors of Fedor Emelianenko, (the most wanted free agents and arguably greatest fighter in MMA history) have been made more official in stating that he has decided to sign with Russian M-1 fighting, rather than the UFC. Alot of speculation is insisting that his managers are "corrupt" and are looking only for themselves, as Fedor will most definately not be fighting any top - 10 competition or any ranked fighters.
When you're the #1 ranked heavyweight in the world, you need to keep proving it. Fedor hasn't fought any top 10 competition in years and is still regarded as the best, however with his signing of M-1, he is throwing away his top spot for the luxury of money, and has lost the respect of many of his fans, me being one of them.
As if this wasn't bad enough news, the UFC heavyweight champion and practical face of the sport, Randy Couture announced this morning that he is resigning from all his positions in the UFC, including commentary and being the Heavyweight champion. Couture had recently come out of retirement to win a stunning victory over then champion Tim Sylvia, and defended his belt for the first time against a much younger Gabriel Gonzaga. Randy shocked the world by dominating Gonzaga, however also breaking his arm in the process while blocking a kick.
After hearing about the news of Fedor's signing with a low level organization, Randy decided to resign as champion, seeing as how Fedor was the only person Randy had any desire to fight, so it could be found out who the #1 heavyweight fighter in the world really is. Also, Zuffa's fighter payment, which is now being discovered to be incredibly unfair and biased to particular talent motivated Randy to leave, as he felt he wasn't being treated properly, considering his incredible accomplishments as a 44 year old athlete. (Not to mention he is the oldest champion ever, and is the only person to hold belts in two weight classes.)
This is a dark day in Mixed Martial Arts. We lose a champion, and see another give up opportunities to fight the best so he can make money and fight cans to pad his record. I have lost all my respect for Fedor Emelianenko. Randy however, i admire for his honesty and for having legit reasons to leave the company. I wish him the best of luck in any of his future ventures.
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