Fedor vs. Aoki?

Posted by: bo-ken

Fedor vs. Aoki? - 04/30/09 11:12 PM

Alright what are your thoughts on there bout? If you didn't know earlier this week Fedor and Shinya Aoki had a grappling match in a Japanese pay per view. I need to see this fight. The right up on sherdog made it sound action packed.

Anyone know where a video of this is posted?
Posted by: Cord

Re: Fedor vs. Aoki? - 05/01/09 02:35 AM

they have all been taken down from youtube already. Did a google search and came up with a few file share sites that had it.

Fedor is a machine. They are talking about him fighting Jeff Monson in his next bout. I think Monson is awesome, and on paper this should be a hard fought match, but in Fedor-world, that might just mean that Monson stays conscious until the second round
Posted by: Aesir

Re: Fedor vs. Aoki? - 05/01/09 04:52 AM

I like Jeff Monson (he is the dude with the star tattoe and bald head?) however I have only really seen ufc fights. I am sure he used to be in the ufc as I remember the name but he hasn't fought there for awhile now?

Kind of related post..
Posted by: Cord

Re: Fedor vs. Aoki? - 05/01/09 07:29 AM

Yeah, Monson looks like he should be in the WWE- he is absolutely packed!!
He is also a several time winner of the heavyweight abu-dabi world grappling championships, and a bit of an all round ground fighting Jedi.

He has fought in the UFC, most notably losing a championship challenge against Tim Sylvia.

Not sure why he moved away from UFC, but would suspect that Dana wanted him to fight as aggressively as his image/appearance would suggest, when he is actually a tactician, not a brawler.

Outside fo the ring, he is a true anarchist, in the socio-political sense, and seems to get into all sorts of crazy protests, direct action, and situations of police interest

Plenty of footage of him on youtube- his conditioning workouts are awesome, and he always seems a really nice guy when interviewed or addressing the camera.

As a 'thinking' fighter, with massive physical resources and a highly developed ground game, he stands as good a chance as any against Fedor at the moment, but thats not saying much
Posted by: Supremor

Re: Fedor vs. Aoki? - 05/01/09 08:07 AM

I thought Fedor was fighting Barnett next. That would be a great match-up, two of the best HWs in the world. Monson is a great grappler, but he doesn't have the skills of the upper echelons of the division.
Posted by: MattJ

Re: Fedor vs. Aoki? - 05/01/09 11:06 AM

Fedor vs. Aoki is a pretty bizarre spectacle - a grappling match with a huge weight disparity. Fedor is awesome, but much more of this sh1t, and he is going to lose respect in the MMA world, because it looks like he is ducking fights, particularly in from the UFC. Yes, Dana can be a douche, but Dana is not the only reason that Fedor isn't fighting in the UFC. Fedor's manager's have been making some pretty crazy demands about promoting Affliction fights as a part of the deal.
Posted by: Cord

Re: Fedor vs. Aoki? - 05/01/09 11:43 AM

Quote:

I thought Fedor was fighting Barnett next. That would be a great match-up, two of the best HWs in the world. Monson is a great grappler, but he doesn't have the skills of the upper echelons of the division.



His grappling was already arguably above most of the rest of the game, and in recent fights, his striking is apparently looking fantastic.
I would love to see the new, more complete Monson back in the UFC.
Posted by: Supremor

Re: Fedor vs. Aoki? - 05/01/09 12:55 PM

Quote:


Fedor vs. Aoki is a pretty bizarre spectacle - a grappling match with a huge weight disparity. Fedor is awesome, but much more of this sh1t, and he is going to lose respect in the MMA world, because it looks like he is ducking fights, particularly in from the UFC.



Fedor doesn't have to worry about losing respect, his last 2 fights were against former UFC champions and he knocked them both out in the first round. Such exhibition matches are common in Japan, where personality is important and it does the sport a lot of good, since recognisable personalities mean bigger pay days for the fighters and a higher profile for the sport.

Fedor is probably taking on Barnett in the latter half of this year, and if he wins, he will be beating another legitimate top-10 heavyweight. 3 top-10 heavyweights in a year, including Arlovski who was number 2 at the time, is a pretty big feat for anyone in mma. The fact is, the UFC heavyweight division is getting a lot better recently, and guys like Lesnar, Carwin etc. will be a great roster in a couple of years. But the competition outside the UFC is just as deep, and Fedor is in no way taking the easy route.
Posted by: Dereck

Re: Fedor vs. Aoki? - 05/01/09 01:52 PM

Arlovski rated #2 by who? Affliction? Arlovski couldn't beat Tim Silva in the UFC; twice. Tim Silva was mediocre at best and destroyed by Fedor in record time. Randy Couture in his 40's was beating guys like this and still could. Lesnar would destroy either of these two so I highly doubt Arlovski is rate #2; not over all that is.

While Affliction pays well it most certainly doesn't have the stable of fighters at the top of their games with the exception of Fedor and a handful at best. Many were brand names but are already working their way down the ladder; not up. They are recognizable, that is the only reason they are still being watched and put into fights.
Posted by: Supremor

Re: Fedor vs. Aoki? - 05/01/09 10:46 PM

Quote:

Arlovski rated #2 by who? Affliction? Arlovski couldn't beat Tim Silva in the UFC; twice. Tim Silva was mediocre at best and destroyed by Fedor in record time. Randy Couture in his 40's was beating guys like this and still could. Lesnar would destroy either of these two so I highly doubt Arlovski is rate #2; not over all that is.



According to Sherdog.com Arlovski was no.2 when he fought Fedor. I understand that many people disagree with ratings, but you have to say that in terms of the calibre of competition that these guys have beaten, Arlovski and Sylvia come well ahead of Lesnar or Mir. Mir, for example, has been extremely inconsistent in the Octagon, while Lesnar found himself UFC champion after just 3 fights in the UFC. Arlovski's resume includes a huge list of top-rated fighters, and he is not that old. Sylvia, while not being the most dynamic fighter in the UFC, proved that his style worked time and time again, until he faced Couture. The point is that Fedor is not being starved for top-level competition. He is fughting extremely well ranked fighters and he is putting his reputation on the line.

A case in point was Minatauro Nogueira, who was brought into the UFC as what Dana White saw as the de facto champion. Nogueira's loss to Fedor was lobsided to say the least, Fedor beat on him for the whole fight from inside Nogueira's guard- one of his favourite positions. The trouble with fights is that you can't just imagine the outcome with certitude. At the same time, there is no doubt that Fedor is one of the best fighters out there at the moment, possibly the best. When he starts getting beaten we can talk about him "dodging fights" or whatever, but at the moment his record hardly warrants that.

Let's not forget that Mir's name only came into talks about the HW division after his shock submission against Lesnar. Everyone thought Mir was just a fall guy for Dana White's marketing plan. Fedor has consistently made a name for himself over the last 5 years. Fighting the odd "exhibition" match is hardly going to change that.
Posted by: Cord

Re: Fedor vs. Aoki? - 05/02/09 01:27 AM

Quote:

but you have to say that in terms of the calibre of competition that these guys have beaten, Arlovski and Sylvia come well ahead of Lesnar or Mir



Mir not only beat Sylvia, he nearly broke his arm clean off and ended his career.

Quote:

Let's not forget that Mir's name only came into talks about the HW division after his shock submission against Lesnar. Everyone thought Mir was just a fall guy for Dana White's marketing plan.



Before his bike accident, and resultant broken femur, Mir was considered arguably the best HW in the UFC. I never liked the way he fought, as I think a 260lb guy shouldn't be mucking about with heal hooks and should fight like a man , but he was certainly effective, and had to vacate the belt due to injury, not loss.
His win against Lesnar seemed to give him a renewed confidence and appetite for the game, and his performance after that showed some pretty sharp striking, and a more positive approach to his game plan.

Mir is in the ascendancy, where as Arlovski, having suffered that flash KO to Buentello, has never been the same since. I had him winning up to the point the lights went out against Fedor FWIW, but Fedors reactions to that flying knee were superhuman- you cant beat a fighter on that kind of form.

As for Lesnar winning the belt on his 4th outing in the octagon, that is the same experience that couture had, and he turned out ok didnt he?
Posted by: MattJ

Re: Fedor vs. Aoki? - 05/02/09 11:56 AM

Very much agreed with Cord! Arlovski was arguably just as inconsistent as Mir was in the UFC. Frank's wins against Hardonk and Nogueira were very dominant. The reffing against Lesnar has put a question mark on that match, but I expect that Mir will win again, if he can withstand Brock's initial onslaught. Hopefully, he watched the Couture fight, LOL.

Arlovski did look good in his match against Fedor - right up until Fedor knocked him THE HELL OUT. Gotta give him props for that - uncanny skill.
Posted by: MattJ

Re: Fedor vs. Aoki? - 05/04/09 07:56 PM

Video here:

http://www.mmatko.com/fedor-emelianenko-vs-shinya-aoki-fight-video-exhibition-bout/

I feel dumber for having seen this. What a crock. Vince McMahon must have had an erection watching this. Respect for Fedor dropping......
Posted by: Dereck

Re: Fedor vs. Aoki? - 05/05/09 02:12 AM

Hmmm ... not what I was expecting. Looked sort of choreographed. Some nice take downs. Neither even got to sweat. Perhaps built up too much; way too much.
Posted by: Supremor

Re: Fedor vs. Aoki? - 05/05/09 05:49 AM

Quote:

Hmmm ... not what I was expecting. Looked sort of choreographed. Some nice take downs. Neither even got to sweat.



Well, it probably wasn't choreographed, but it was done purely for entertainment. The classic, I'll throw you, you throw me then we'll stand up and do it again yipee, routine. There were similar exhibition matches in Pride, just a chance for fighters to show off the cleanness of their technique. Here's the gracies doing one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2kURxbDVng
Posted by: bo-ken

Re: Fedor vs. Aoki? - 05/05/09 12:41 PM

Alright after watching it yesterday it seemed like it was all one big joke. I was hoping it would be better then that. I think this will help increase Fedor's fan base in Japan but does he really need to do that? They already know him and love him over there.

Fedor needs to come to UFC, sure he won't be able to do fun stuff like this anymore but he will be fighting which is his job! I believe he is fight Josh Barnett soon and if he beats him there aren't as many skilled heavyweights outside the UFC anymore. All the best guys are coming to the states.

Fedor's inactivity is going to end his career. He is only fight once a year. He isn't going to be young forever and soon he will lose fans because of it. Arlovski was a good opponent but if Fedor wants to fight the best he needs to join the UFC.