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Very excited about potential Fedor return, especially as todays press hinted even more strongly towards UFC negotiations.
http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2015/8/5...otiations-in-process-fabricio-werdum-mma-news
He is looking in good shape, and has clearly remained active in MMA training. My thoughts on how he matches up with the HW division
Champion : Fabricio Werdum. Werdum has improved dramatically since they last fought, but I don't think Fedor is the kind of guy to make the same mistake twice. This will be a stand up battle, I think Fedor could take some damage and win this. He wouldn't be the favorite though but I think it would be much more competitive than last time.
1 Cain Velasquez. Conditioning would play a huge factor in this fight, if Sea level Cain shows up this is a tough match up for Fedor and a fight I could watch 3 or 4 times, will depend on conditioning and camp prep. Potential FOTY
2 Junior Dos Santos. For some reason this is the one I cant see Fedor winning, JDS is just too much of a beast at boxing, I think he would outland Fedor and has more power.
3 Stipe Miocic. Pretty interesting match up, I think in a 3 round fight Stipe could fight smart and get a decision. I think Fedor finds a way to win in a 5 round fight if he is in shape.
4 Andrei Arlovski. This would be great to watch a rematch, could go either way.
5 Travis Browne. Travis is a tough match up for anybody at HW, would certainly give Fedor problems.
6 Josh Barnett I think this is a potential fight that hasn't got any attention. Stylistically they match up well, but I think Fedor can hold his own with Barnetts grappling and is a better striker.
7 Ben Rothwell. I honestly don't know what I would do if Fedor lost to Ben Rothwell, but you cant deny the guy is dangerous. I think this fight makes sense as his first UFC fight, would hope he would dispatch him early but you cant rule anything out at HW in MMA.
8 Mark Hunt. Another great rematch, Fedor has done it before and can do it again.
9 Alistair Overeem. Overeem is a bit of a dark horse (no pun intended) in the HW top 10. I think he can honestly beat anybody on his best day, but we never know what version of Reem will show up. Would be an interesting one, I would bet on a Fedor KO.
10 Frank Mir. Winnable fight for Fedor but Frank is a legend of the sport in his own right. 5 round fight I would favor Fedor.
11 Antonio Silva. TRT factor here, Silva has also looked very hittable recently too. I think if Fedor comes in ready he takes this rematch.
12 Roy Nelson. I think this match would gain some interest. I think Fedor would rightly be the favorite.
13 Matt Mitrione. I don't want to live in a world where meathead is a top 15 MMA HW, I would hope a prepared, even past his prime Fedor puts him away.
14 Stefan Struve. Stefan looked good against Big Nog, but Fedor is very good at knocking out tall people.
15 Alexey Oliynyk. Does Alexey have a match up coming up? I don't think they would put him up against a fellow 38 year old Russian.
This summary might be optimistic, but heavyweights don't see to age quite as much as the other divisions and taking some time out to recover old injuries may have done him some good. Frank and Arlovski still hanging with the top 10! The only fight I cant picture him winning is against JDS, the others are all winnable with the right game plan from an in shape 38 year old Fedor. I mean all the other guys in the division are his age pretty much its not like his coming back fighting some young super athletes that have evolved MMA to the next level. Stipe/Cain/JDS are early 30s, the rest are late 30s.
http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2015/8/5...otiations-in-process-fabricio-werdum-mma-news
He is looking in good shape, and has clearly remained active in MMA training. My thoughts on how he matches up with the HW division
Champion : Fabricio Werdum. Werdum has improved dramatically since they last fought, but I don't think Fedor is the kind of guy to make the same mistake twice. This will be a stand up battle, I think Fedor could take some damage and win this. He wouldn't be the favorite though but I think it would be much more competitive than last time.
1 Cain Velasquez. Conditioning would play a huge factor in this fight, if Sea level Cain shows up this is a tough match up for Fedor and a fight I could watch 3 or 4 times, will depend on conditioning and camp prep. Potential FOTY
2 Junior Dos Santos. For some reason this is the one I cant see Fedor winning, JDS is just too much of a beast at boxing, I think he would outland Fedor and has more power.
3 Stipe Miocic. Pretty interesting match up, I think in a 3 round fight Stipe could fight smart and get a decision. I think Fedor finds a way to win in a 5 round fight if he is in shape.
4 Andrei Arlovski. This would be great to watch a rematch, could go either way.
5 Travis Browne. Travis is a tough match up for anybody at HW, would certainly give Fedor problems.
6 Josh Barnett I think this is a potential fight that hasn't got any attention. Stylistically they match up well, but I think Fedor can hold his own with Barnetts grappling and is a better striker.
7 Ben Rothwell. I honestly don't know what I would do if Fedor lost to Ben Rothwell, but you cant deny the guy is dangerous. I think this fight makes sense as his first UFC fight, would hope he would dispatch him early but you cant rule anything out at HW in MMA.
8 Mark Hunt. Another great rematch, Fedor has done it before and can do it again.
9 Alistair Overeem. Overeem is a bit of a dark horse (no pun intended) in the HW top 10. I think he can honestly beat anybody on his best day, but we never know what version of Reem will show up. Would be an interesting one, I would bet on a Fedor KO.
10 Frank Mir. Winnable fight for Fedor but Frank is a legend of the sport in his own right. 5 round fight I would favor Fedor.
11 Antonio Silva. TRT factor here, Silva has also looked very hittable recently too. I think if Fedor comes in ready he takes this rematch.
12 Roy Nelson. I think this match would gain some interest. I think Fedor would rightly be the favorite.
13 Matt Mitrione. I don't want to live in a world where meathead is a top 15 MMA HW, I would hope a prepared, even past his prime Fedor puts him away.
14 Stefan Struve. Stefan looked good against Big Nog, but Fedor is very good at knocking out tall people.
15 Alexey Oliynyk. Does Alexey have a match up coming up? I don't think they would put him up against a fellow 38 year old Russian.
This summary might be optimistic, but heavyweights don't see to age quite as much as the other divisions and taking some time out to recover old injuries may have done him some good. Frank and Arlovski still hanging with the top 10! The only fight I cant picture him winning is against JDS, the others are all winnable with the right game plan from an in shape 38 year old Fedor. I mean all the other guys in the division are his age pretty much its not like his coming back fighting some young super athletes that have evolved MMA to the next level. Stipe/Cain/JDS are early 30s, the rest are late 30s.
