Fedor vs Barnett Likely In Dream
by thebwit on Nov 16, 2009 7:05 AM EST
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PrintEver since the fold of Affliction, mixed martial arts fans have been wondering if the bout between #1 ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko (31-1) and top five contender Josh Barnett (24-5) would ever take place. Sources close to DREAM have informed MMA Recap (http://www.mmarecap.com) that Barnett will sign with DREAM and that Strikeforce and M-1 will indeed cross promote with FEG to deliver the epic matchup we’ve all been waiting for.
The bout between Fedor and Barnett is tentatively scheduled for February of 2010, but no official date has been confirmed.
Emelianenko and Barnett were originally supposed to fight at "Affliction: Trilogy" on August 1, 2009, but Barnett tested positive for steroids during a pre-fight drug test and the entire event was scrapped.
This is huge and would explain what DREAM is going to get out of their partnership with Strikeforce
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February seems like a pretty quick turnaround for Edor.
by ufc4 on Nov 16, 2009 8:33 AM EST via mobile reply actions
How about Feb 13, a week after the Superbowl on CBS?
by John Nash on Nov 16, 2009 5:05 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Fedor v. Barnett
Good fight which I’m happy to not actually have to pay to watch.
Of course, with the match taking place in Japan, I suspect most folks will write off a victory by Barnett as a steroid-enhanced performance. That is, if Barnett wins. Which he won’t.
...Behold, a pale horse. The man that sat upon it was Wieters, and hell followed with him.
"BJ on the BE" - Kierkegaard
Not trying to provoke any of the sort of big argument that seems to haunt the mention of Fedor/M-1, but how does this benefit Strikeforce? Their top guy will go to Japan for a fight no one will see, right after earning himself a brand with some portion of the American audience. Not only that, but it’s a dangerous fight. The only thing I like about it is it’s a huge free fight.
Someone throw me a counterpoint to how it’s good for Strikeforce. No fighting, just a serious counterpoint.
We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.
Zuffa doesn’t like co-promotion, therefore co-promtion is awesome.
This would be a co-promotion. Therefore this is awesome.
QED
by Phildo on Nov 16, 2009 10:04 AM EST up reply actions 6 recs
touche
We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.
by Anthony Pace on Nov 16, 2009 10:23 AM EST up reply actions
Who cares?
You’d think MMA fans would be happy to see this kind of dream match.
I think calling it a dream match at this point is charitable.
...Behold, a pale horse. The man that sat upon it was Wieters, and hell followed with him.
"BJ on the BE" - Kierkegaard
by Brett Jones on Nov 16, 2009 1:37 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
I do
But one of them is sick and might not fight for a while.
by Captain7 on Nov 16, 2009 9:02 PM EST up reply actions 7 recs
Zing
But seriously, does anyone serious MMA fan outside of Sherdog really believe that Brock is better than Josh? I find that hard to believe.
Is this a joke?
Who has Barnett beaten in the last 3 years?
by ufc4 on Nov 17, 2009 8:45 AM EST up reply actions 2 recs
Non sequitor
But to answer your question anyway, he’s beaten Yoshida, Monson, Yvel, and Rizzo in that period, plus gave a great performance in a loss to Nogueira. Now, what HW (besides Fedor) has done better than that over that period? One guy is close, but Barnett was much more highly rated before your arbitrary cutoff date, and besides, my point was related to skillset.
by yarky1 on Nov 17, 2009 11:28 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Interesting take
Barnett would present problems he might not find in the UFC. Still, Lesnar’s a formidable opponent for Barnett or anyone else at HW.
Oh definitely
Assuming he’s fully recovered, I don’t see anyone besides Fedor with a more than 55% chance of beating Brock, and less than three fighters have a better than 50/50 shot.
I’m not in any way disparaging Lesnar, but I don’t think there’s much of a rational case for him being more skilled or accomplished than Barnett. The case that exists is mostly a combination of a lack of any decent MMA media (giving promoters a level of control over common perception that is unequaled in modern sports) and a relatively young and gullible fanbase that probably has only passing familiarity with Barnett’s career.
First off, I’ve never been overly compelled by this match, not even back when it was originally supposed ot happen. Second, I don’t get HDnet so I’d be watching some grainy ass footage of it on my computer the morning after which sucks. And third, I’m not the type to dislike matchups because of contractual issues with the promotion or w/e, I just wanna see Fedor fight as much in the States as possible before he hangs em up.
We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.
by Anthony Pace on Nov 16, 2009 1:42 PM EST up reply actions
Who is to say no one will see it? Because it is a co-promoted event Strikeforce will have the right to broadcast it in the US. They will have several options:
- tape delay it and put it on CBS or more likely Showtime
- or ppv (which I would wait)
the big benefit to Strikeforce would be they would have a card for broadcast for 1/2 the payroll costs it would normally be.
And I’m going to go out on a limb and say Alistair fights Werdum early next year.
by John Nash on Nov 16, 2009 12:42 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Tape delayed on Showtime is so “bleh” to me, but maybe that’s just me. I don’t care much for taped-delayed UFC on Spike or PPV either. PPV is almost out of the question, unless they really want no one to watch.
You’re right about the 1/2 payroll, but wouldn’t this count as one of the fights on his contract? I’d think Strikeforce would want to have all the fights on his contract broadcast live in the US, via whatever format.
Also, you think that AO v. Werdum will be in the US?
We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.
by Anthony Pace on Nov 16, 2009 1:39 PM EST up reply actions
Supposedly Fedor has a three fight deal with Strikeforce that allows him to fight overseas. They may get this to count as a Dream fight and not one of the three.
For ppv a co-promoted event makes a lot of sense, but I would wait until Fedor’s had at least one more fight on CBS. Then schedule an afternoon card in Japan 10 ET/ 7 PT. Now Strikeforce doesn’t have to worry about huge numbers, dreams picking up 1/2 the payroll and they can’t split the broadcast costs. And with two CBS fights behind Fedor they should twice what Affliction did or 250,000 +.
As for Overeem, Coker said he’d be fighting for them in the 1st quarter of next year. I’m guessing they do Fedor/Barnett and Overeem/Werdum in hopes of building up to a big Fedor/Overeem fight. A plan Coker has brought up repeatedly.
by John Nash on Nov 16, 2009 5:03 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
If CBS doesnt order another show then Strikeforce would love to use up one of their obligations while saving money.
That’s true, but I’m thinking they’ll give it another try. The ratings and results where just on the north side between success and failure.
by John Nash on Nov 16, 2009 5:50 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Yup, and they were a HUGE sponsor during the CBS Strikeforce event on 11/7. More on this will come out soon.
=)
by MMASuPreMaCy on Nov 16, 2009 3:45 PM EST up reply actions
Something tells me Mark Cuban is going to be an invester in Strikeforce. Am I wrong Sup?
by John Nash on Nov 16, 2009 4:48 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Yeah that’s right, I noticed the HDNet fight clock sponsorship on each fight and the HDNet 30 sec spot EVERY commercial break.
I think I read on here that Cuban is a Zuffa bond holder, wouldn’t that be a major conflict of interest here or no? Doesn’t he get a look at their (Zuffa) books? Or am I overthinking this too much….
The details are still being discussed. We should know by the end of the year, though HDNet is denying it right now. =)
by MMASuPreMaCy on Nov 17, 2009 2:36 PM EST up reply actions
My understanding is that they can get around that by marketing it as a Strikeforce production hosted by Dream.
by John Nash on Nov 16, 2009 4:34 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Great fight
I’m thinking either Fedor by (T)KO, or UD. I’m betting Barnett doesn’t get this to the ground (and if he does, it’s on Fedor’s terms), and on the feet Fedor just drops bombs on him all night long.
Supporting all Las Vegas MMA. Xtreme Couture FTMFW.
'09 is the year of the FW's.
Barnett is not top 5
even with steroids. People need to quit saying this. He has 4 wins since 2006 against average guys Yvel, Rizzo, Monson and Yoshida.
Sad though it is, that’s actually among the better resumes in the Heavyweight division.
...Behold, a pale horse. The man that sat upon it was Wieters, and hell followed with him.
"BJ on the BE" - Kierkegaard
Barnett has lost to the two “elite” guys he’s faced—Minotauro and Cro Cop—which doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.
We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.
by Anthony Pace on Nov 16, 2009 1:54 PM EST up reply actions
He also beat Randy and got popped for roids later.
Keep firing Assholes!
The only thing Fishbob does consistently is dissapoint.
Yeah, I overlooked that one. But I don’t think the Couture he faced was the full fighter we knew Couture to become. And, he was popped for roids
We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.
by Anthony Pace on Nov 16, 2009 2:20 PM EST up reply actions
I understand. My comment was more of a lamentation of the sorry state of the Heavyweight division outside of the top 5 or 10.
You’ve got plenty of guys who have that one quality victory, but then there resume makes Barnett’s look sterling by comparison. Then you’ve got guys like Overeem who haven’t done anything worth a damn but, for one reason or another have ascended the rankings.
Then there’s Ben Rothwell, whose claim to fame seems to be that he won a spilt decision against Roy Nelson once upon a time. That and wins over big fat Ricco Rodriguez and…Kris-tof So-zin-ski and…Travis Fulton qualifies him to be ranked? How sad.
...Behold, a pale horse. The man that sat upon it was Wieters, and hell followed with him.
"BJ on the BE" - Kierkegaard
He beat Nog once and he also beat Aleks. He three loses to Cro Cop all come with a question mark. 1st fight he lost after a freak shoulder injury. 2nd fight was his first back from rehab and lost the decision. 3rd was during the Grand Prix right after he battled Big Nog.
by John Nash on Nov 16, 2009 4:42 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I should’ve clarified that I thought he lost the first fight to Nog and clearly lost the second one. Thing about the Cro Cop fights is that I never saw him beating Cro Cop at any point in any of those fights.
I’m not trying to say Barnett is bad, I just don’t think his resume merits a top-3 ranking (for what these frail rankings are worth, anyway).
We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.
by Anthony Pace on Nov 16, 2009 9:15 PM EST up reply actions
He definitely one of the top HWs but you’re right he’s not in Fedor or Lesnar’s class. Of course, who is? What’s strange is that for years he’s been labeled as the one with the tools to beat Fedor. Personally, I see him getting beaten badly. I still want to see it, though.
by John Nash on Nov 16, 2009 9:54 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
that's fair
I guess if we start saying only SUPER MEGA ELITE fighters should challenge Fedor or Lesnar, then no one fights them but Nog on repeat.
We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.
by Anthony Pace on Nov 16, 2009 10:04 PM EST up reply actions
Never heard of mmarecap and DREAM already pulled our legs about Crocop. I expect Fedor to fight in Strikeforce around then unless a credible source says otherwise.
In due time, my good man, maybe we’ll get some credibility lol
Remember, Fedor was always a gigantic draw in Japan. Now he’s built his resume…and Barnett’s still making waves in wrestling over there too. This fight is HUGE for Japan and no amount of lamenting from this side of the pacific is going to change how lucrative it is over there.
RE: Barnett criticisms: Someone mentioned “look at his resume” and that it is one of the better in the HW division. Well, it is like it or not. And perhaps he isn’t flashy or exciting or really that marketable…but he’s good. Damn good. And one of the best matchups out there for Mr. Emelianenko.
http://www.mmarecap.com
His resume isn’t that impressive imo . The losses to Cro Cop and Nog (and Rizzo) aside , his wins over Monson and Yvel were lackluster at best . As for Fedor , Barnett doesn’t have a single area where he can claim to be a threat . If Rogers was a huge man and a knockout artist , Barnett is just a well-rounded fighter that isn’t great at any specific area. He isn’t particularly strong (in Fedor terms) or athletic , and the size difference means absolutely zero in this match up.
People who say Barnett can make it into a wrestling match – give me a break will ya , Fedor is a much better wrestler than Barnett. Barnett had a hard time wrestling with Nogueira , Fedor made Nogueira look like a child. In the stand up I think everyone can agree Fedor is going to murder him.
I’m not saying this match up is horrible , it isn’t . It’s an okay fight , but I for one agree with Rogan and would much rather see Fedor take Overeem. Barnett was already busted for steroids twice , maybe now it’s Overeem’s turn…
Fedor was always a gigantic draw in Japan
Fedor was never a huge draw in Japan.
He always took a backseat to native sons like Sakuraba, Yoshida, & Ogawa and was also well behind fellow giajin like Rickson, Cro Cop, Bob Sapp, Barnett & Frye in terms of drawing power. Fedor had the same problem in Pride that Anderson Silva has in the UFC. He was a great fighter that never gained any traction with the casual fans for one reason or another.
Yes, but Barnett was a big draw so well known, respected fighter + popular pro wrestler = big fight in Japan.
by John Nash on Nov 17, 2009 12:56 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I read on gryphon’s blog that Barnett vs Fedor was considered the fight of the century in Japan. The Affliction show was going to be offered on skyperfect.
Sounds like a bit of hyperbole or a translation problem on Gryphon’s part. The guy gets great scoops, but his blog is full of poorly translated Engrish.
Fights like Takada-Rickson, Sakuraba-Akiyama, and Yoshida-Ogawa dwarf Fedor-Barnett in terms of popular appeal to mainstream Japanese fans. A fights between two gaijin is never going to be considered the ‘fight of the century’ in Japan.
If Ishii can win his first 6 or so a Fedor/Ishii or Brock/Ishii would be the biggest ever, but I think Fedor/Barnett has been talked about as a pretty big deal in Japan for awhile.
by John Nash on Nov 17, 2009 9:11 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Here’s the quote from his blog:
In M-1 global Video blog,Fedor and G.MUSASHI’s TV CM training is uploaded,
In this training,Fedor and MUSASHI said “Affliction ha Skaper de”(In English,"Please watch Affliction in skyperfcTV ")
It means this event is broadcasted in japan PPV,
This is big news, FEDOR VS JOSH BARNETT is the best match,for japanese MMA fan.
if we can watch realtime show,this is happy.
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