What's the Upside for Fedor Emelianenko?

Since Josh Barnett tested positive for anabolic steroids, we've been treated to non-stop news covering the plethora of MMA fighters tossing their names into the hat that Tom Atencio and Affliction can draw from to book an opponent for Fedor Emelianenko . Those names include Jeff Monson, Brett Rogers, Vitor Belfort, Fabricio Werdum, Don Frye, Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal, Tank Abbott, and Bobby Lashley.

Interestingly enough, Fedor Emelianenko has gone from taking on Josh Barnett, the USAT/SBN MMA rankings consensus, but arguable #2 ranked heavyweight in the world, to fighting either non-top ten competition or fighters moving up in weight. Where's the upside in the current situation for Fedor Emelianenko?

For hardcore fans, the match-up between Fedor and Barnett would have been a climactic bout between two of the world's premier heavyweight mixed martial artists. A bout that had taken years to come to fruition. It would have provided Fedor with another huge win to put on his resume, and it would have further increased his claim as the greatest heavyweight fighter in MMA history.

It may have also created more intrigue among casual fans for a Fedor vs. Lesnar showdown in the UFC, and it could have continued to pressure Dana White and the UFC brass to work out a deal with Fedor. That's probably wishful thinking, but the point is that a Fedor win over Barnett had a big upside.

Fedor is in a no-win situation now. A loss by Fedor would be unbelievable for whoever managed to defeat him, but a win for Fedor is most likely expected from every fan tuning in. Right now, Lesnar vs. Fedor is truly the only fight that fans will actually have to think hard about when analyzing who would win.

Let's review each option and see what's in it for Fedor.

Out of all of the options being presented to Fedor, is it really that surprising that Fedor wants a better match-up than Vitor Belfort? No, it isn't. Belfort will be an undersized opponent that has legitimate speed and striking power to stun Fedor, but what's the upside if Fedor rag dolls Vitor into a corner and defeats him with a huge punch or quick submission? Most fans don't realize how tough it actually is for a heavyweight to battle a powerful, fleet-footed puncher like Vitor, but fans would generally shrug a win off by Fedor as "expected" against a smaller foe.

Brett Rogers and Jeff Monson are also in the hunt for a showdown with Fedor. The only truly intriguing match-up in terms of an actual top ten fighter who has a recent common opponent with Fedor is Brett Rogers. Rogers managed to knockout Andrei Arlovski almost instantly, and many fans are interested in seeing how Fedor would handle the bigger Rogers. The only downside is that Rogers remains untested on the ground in his submission defense, and most hardcore fans are easily under the impression that Fedor could quickly submit Rogers. Again, a win here may simply be filed under "expected".

A match-up against Jeff Monson is a tad different. It's tough to gauge the interest in Jeff considering his stint in the UFC was quite awhile ago. His casual fan appeal is probably lacking, but he does present an interesting danger to Fedor in the grappling department. He's also managed to rattle off seven straight wins, and he has the momentum and confidence coming into a fight in a week to be a winner. Monson's stand-up game, however, is nearly non-existent, and many hardcore fans would point out that Monson could get crushed inside two minutes because it'll be very tough for him to actually take Fedor to the floor.

Where's this leave us? No matter who Fedor fights, there isn't too much upside in beating any of his potential opponents. Hardcore fans could easily see the upside in defeating a speedier Vitor Belfort, but most casual fans wanting to see Fedor take on the #2 ranked heavyweight in the world would simply say Fedor was a heavyweight fighting a middleweight. Rogers and Monson present different dangers in the ring, but do they truly have the star power to give Fedor a boost if he wins?

How can we turn this into a winning situation for the Russian? Turn this match-up into an opportunity to promote Fedor to the fullest. I doubt this will happen considering rumors that Affliction is probably done after this event, but bringing in a character like Don Frye isn't a half-bad idea.

Don Frye spitting "commie" comments and pushing an All-American themed rally cry in Rocky Balboa form would probably garner some more interest from casual fans. Fedor has the perfect Russian stoic personality while Frye is your typical loud bar regular who hates "commies". Give Don Frye every opportunity to talk smack, and begin pushing the angle for America to hate Fedor Emelianenko so much that they truly believe Don "The All-American Firefighter" Frye is going to avenge Apollo Creed's death. It's a whole lot better than seeing Fedor crush a middleweight or two heavyweights with major weaknesses. Sure, Frye has weaknesses, but everyone would forget about that after he brings back the Cold War.

Yeah, yeah... wishful thinking. In my opinion, Fedor is probably going to crush whoever Affliction decides to pit him against. There won't be an ounce of upside for Fedor, and he'll probably trail off into obscurity fighting lesser fighters in Japan. We can only really hope Ricardo Arona returns to form down the road for a rematch, or Alistair Overeem's hand actually heals for a showdown in Japan against Fedor. Those are the only match-ups that would interest this hardcore fan.