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Asked on a conference call if it were true that his brother, Aleksander, once killed a bear with a knife and a fork, Emelianenko stoically gave an answer instead of laughingly dismissing the question. "I met a bear in the zoo," he said. "A bear is very strong; very hard for a human to kill a bear with simple methods."

Kevin Iole pointing out a vintage Fedor-ism.

Saturday's main event heavyweight showdown between Fedor Emelianenko (30-1, 1 NC) and Brett Rogers (10-0) could go down as another easy victory for the indestructible force that is "The Last Emperor", or it could go down as a shocking upset victory and the end of an era of dominance. As with nearly every single fight in which Fedor Emelianenko is involved in these days, the storyline is the same and the tension and pressure falls onto the MMA fanbase. While most of us are eagerly awaiting the battle as anxious onlookers, it's surprising how easily we are now succumbing to the influence of the media into the possibility that this match-up could turn out to be a true upset of a great fighter.

Should we be this anxious? It's an interesting piece of the puzzle to analyze. Years ago during Fedor's PRIDE reign, I felt much more at ease watching Fedor completely crush his competition by way of quick transitioning submission holds, explosive lunging hooks, and pure dominance in the ground and pound game, but those easy feelings that Fedor will simply cruise through his competition have passed despite Fedor's two most recent victories over Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski.

Most fans considered the Sylvia win as a superior fighter feeding on a very one-dimensional giant who had become relatively ineffective. It didn't help Fedor any in that Sylvia went on to lose to professional boxer Ray Mercer, but his bout with Andrei Arlovski only drew more criticism that Fedor's weaknesses were becoming more and more apparent with age.

What many fans seem to forget is just how amazing Fedor Emelianenko is as a fighter. He's one of the first fighters in history to be equally great at nearly all aspects of mixed martial arts. He can grapple both offensively and defensively with some of the best jiu-jitsu fighters in the world while also putting those same world-renowned fighters into serious danger. When he exploded onto the scene in PRIDE, his ground and pound tactics were some of the most brutalizing pieces of footage you could ever show anybody new to MMA, and those fans would sit in amazement and be drawn in.

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Promoted to the front page by Brent Brookhouse.

Despite earlier reports (and Brent's efforts), WAMMA has proven to be alive and well, as they will be "sanctioning" Strikeforce's main event that will be broadcast to millions of people on CBS. Fedor Emelianenko vs Brett Rogers will now be for the WAMMA Undisputed Heavyweight Championship.

They presented the new WAMMA belt in the press conference, and there were rumors that it was still going to be a three round non-title affair, but their press release says otherwise:

"It’s a pleasure and a privilege to be a part of this incredible fight card that our partners at STRIKEFORCE and M-1 Global have put together," said WAMMA Rankings Chairman, Andrew Falzon. "It is another landmark night for the sport on national television and a rare opportunity for fans nationally to see top WAMMA-ranked fighters compete on free TV."

Fedor’s manager and M-1 Global President Vadim Finkelchtein said
"Recognizing Fedor as the undisputed WAMMA heavyweight champion means that Fedor is the world champion wherever and whenever he fights."

"Putting a title on the line just provides the fighters with more incentive to perform at their best," said Scott Coker, CEO of STRIKEFORCE.

In addition to sanctioning the main event, WAMMA will also be unveiling a new design for the championship belt, and a new logo, which will be featured on the fight surface during the live telecast.

"This is another sign of WAMMA’s new direction and continued commitment to moving the sport of MMA forward," said Falzon. "We remain open to working with all promotions at all levels of MMA, so long as it is to the benefit of the sport."

HT: mmamania

The international spice in this weekend's tasty Strikeforce sandwich eminates from Tokyo on Saturday as World Victory Road presents its final "Sengoku" event, before the switch to "Sengoku Raiden Championships" on New Year's Eve.

It's also the last big Japanese MMA event of the year until the dueling December 31st mega-shows, so won't you join us here at BloodyElbow.com for some live play-by-play and discussion? The show starts on HDNet at 2 AM Eastern / 11 PM Pacific, shortly after Strikeforce's "Challengers" event wraps up on Showtime.

Quick Results
Michihiro Omigawa def. Hatsu Hioki via split decision
Mamed Khalidov def. Jorge Santiago via KO (punches) R1
Jorge Masvidal def. Satoru Kitaoka via KO (punches) R2
Tomoaki Ueyama def. "Bull" Konno via technical submission (rear-naked choke) R1
Kazunori Yokota def. Eiji Mitsuoka via unanimous decision
Stanislav Nedkov def. Kevin Randleman via split decision
Akihiro Gono def. Yoon Young Kim via unanimous decision
Marlon Sandro def. Yuji Hoshino via KO (punches) R1
Dave Herman def. "Big" Jim York via KO (upkicks) R1
Ronnie Mann def. Shigeki Osawa via unanimous decision
Ryota Uozomi def. Yuichiro Yajima via submission (armbar) R2

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As with every major show, BloodyElbow.com will be here to bring you live results and commentary for .  The live blog will start with the beginning of theShowtime broadcast (at 11PM ET) so make sure to make Bloody Elbow your home for this event.

As always we have our one rule: NO SPOILERS! In the interest of not ruining anything from the undercard that may make the broadcast we ask that you do not discuss the results of the undercard in the comments until either the broadcast ends or the fight makes the air.

So again, join us for the show and share your thoughts as the event unfolds.

If you're looking for undercard coverage, Rodriguez of Fightlinker (he's godzillad here on BE) is live at the event. He's on Twitter too.

135lbs Zoila Frausto vs Elisha Helsper Round 1 Superman punch from Frausto to open, misses. Checked leg kick. Helsper blocking high kicks with one arm. That might be sufficient, might not. Jab from Frausto. Leg kick. Another failed superman punch from Frausto. Not a ton of action so far. Helsper throwing some leather. Side kick lands for Frausto. Jab for Frausto. Inside leg kick. Push kick. Superman punch lands! Jab from Helsper. Finally some nice exchanges to end the round Bloody Elbow is going to have to score this 10-9 for Frausto.  Round 2 Helsper comes out aggressive. Lands a hard elbow up against the fence. Knee to the body from Frausto after closing distance off another missed superman punch. Nasty high kick stuns Helsper.  Helsper on her back eating shots. Helsper's eye is bleeding -- toenail gash? They stand again. Straight kick from Frausto. Helsper hanging tough. Charges forward behind some straight punches but Frausto clinches, gets a Thai plum and lands knees to the body. Bloody Elbow scores it 10-9 for Frausto. Round 3 Helsper forces Frausto against the cage with a flurry, landing body shots. Miletich says Helsper needs to be on top. Helsper gets the takedown, in 1/2 guard. Quick restart by the ref. Bad call. leg kick by Frausto. Miletich is up in arms about the standup. Helsper charges in behind some straight punches, winds up in the Thai plum, eats some knees. Helsper gets control back. Helsper with double unders. Ref separates them. Frausto lands with a punch. A combination and a kick. Helsper landing some mean punches. Frausto gets a takedown. Ends the fight raining down leather. Bloody Elbow scores it 10-9 Frausto,  for a final score of 30-27 Frausto. The judges agree, Frausto takes a UD.

Thomas Diagne vs Merritt Warren Round 1 They circle, leg kicks from Diagne. Warren fires back. Side kick from Diagne. Holy sanshou Batman! Diagne with another sidekick, then a huge takedown from Diagne. Diagne in side mount but Warren has his head wrapped up. Diagne frees his head but is now in 1/2 guard. Diagne rears up for some ground and pound. Pretty much stale mated on the ground. Warren gets full guard. Diagne scoring with GnP. Warren going for a leg lock. Working a heel hook! Diagne rolling, he taps! Merrit Warren by submission, inverse heel hook.

Luke Rockhold vs Jesse Taylor Jesse Taylor's with some remarkable pre-fight talk. Wow, I'm rendered speechless.   Round 1 Referee Dan "Quick Standup" Stell is the 3rd man. Taylor shoots, Rockhold stuffs it.  Working an arm-in guillotine. Taylor working for a double, then a single. Taylor gets him down. Rockhold back up. Another takedown. Rockhold gets full guard. Very high guard, has wrist control. Goes for an armbar, gives up his back to Taylor. Rockhold back to his feet. Rockhold gets on Taylor's back, too high, Taylor rolls to his back. Rockhold gets his back, has figure four leg lock on the body. Gets the RNC but Taylor's chin is under the arm. He taps. Rockhold by submission, rear naked choke.

Brandon Cash vs Shane Del Rosario Del Rosario is talking about Fedor(!). I think I hear Leland getting worked up about this one already. Round 1 Cash shoots, fails. Cash drops him with a huge hook, Del Rosario pulls guard but he's taking a beating. Cash with mount to  side mount, back to mount. Del Rosario gets back to his feet. His eye is swollen shut. Another takedown, full guard. Quatros calls it a mugging. Del Rosario working for a triangle. Cash rolls out. Cash to Del Rosario's 1/2 guard. Del Rosario gets full guard, works for an armbar, fails. Cash throwing bombs down. Omaplata by Del Rosario! Shane Del Rosario wins by submission, omaplata (!)

Billy Evangelista vs Jorge Gurgel Referee Dan "Quick Standup" Stell is the 3rd man. Round 1 Gurgel opens with kicks. Evangelista with a punch. Evangelista has a mouse under his left eye already. Leg kick from Evangelista. Left hook for Gurgel. High kick blocked by Gurgel. Teep kick from Billy. Punches are traded. Evangelista with a right hand. They trade rights. Evangelista ices the round with a takedown before the bell. BloodyElbow scores this one 10-9 for Evangelista. Round 2Gurgel pressing forward. Lands a leg kick and a body kick. They clinch, Billy with a knee. They separate. Evangelista with a high kick. They trade hard rights. Gurgel landing nice combination punches. Front kick from Billy. Spinning backfist and kick combo from Gurgel, gets taken down by Evangelista. Gurgel in guard. Butterflies in. Evangelista to 1/2 guard. Hard ground and pound! Back to full guard. Gurgel working a kimura from the bottom. Billy gets the arm free. Bullshit stand up from Stell. Gurgel drops Evangelista with a high kick! Evangelista shoots in, gets caught in a guillotine. Evangelista escapes. Very hard round to score. Bloody Elbow scores it 10-9 Evangelista. Round 3 Gurgel knows he needs to finish this one to leave Fresno with a win. Trading hard punches. Evangelista scores with a right hook. Trading bombs. Evangelista looking to clinch up. Evangelista scoring with punches. Gurgel with a right. Trading punches. Gurgel firing away with kicks and punches. Evangelista goes for the clinch, gets stuffed. Billy with a knee. Gurgel looking for a trip, lands a knee, they separate. Time is winding down, looks like the judges will decide. Gurgel charging in behind punches. Evangelista takes a kick, is bleeding but gets Gurgel on his back. Bloody Elbow scores this round 10-9 Gurgel, for a final score of 29-28 Evangelista. But the judges could go either way. Unanimous decision for the hometown kid, Billy Evangelista, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28.

SBN coverage of Strikeforce Challengers: Evangelista vs. Gurgel

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I just wanted to give a quick rundown of my impressions from attending the weigh-ins for Saturday evening's fights.

- Antonio Silva is big.  Like, you know it from looking at him on TV but he is one of those guys who when you see him in person you really appreciate just how big he really is.  He walked by me when I was hanging out in the media area before the general public was allowed in the building and it was an absolute "wow!" moment.

- The public turned out in good numbers.  When I first entered the building (roughly an hour before the scheduled doors open time) the line was already pretty long.  It wasn't exactly full capacity once everyone was let in the building but it was enough people to give it a "big time" feel.

- Mark Miller and Gegard Mousasi may have been the happiest (non-heavyweight) fighters I've ever seen before a weigh in.  Mousasi had trouble getting in the building with all the photo requests, but was generally pleasant and spent the pre-weigh in time walking around socializing.  Mark Miller was running around doing various things, laughing and jogging.  Neither guy appeared to have any problem getting to weight.

- Deray Davis has some crazy reach.  I'd like to see the actual numbers on his reach but I swear to god it looked like his arms could reach from one side of the stage to the other.  If he is able to use that length effectively Mark Miller is in for a fight.

- Brett Rogers is serious.  Rogers showed up in very good shape.  He didn't look like he was draining himself to get to 265 and actually looked quite slim compared to normal.  There was a moment where he gave Fedor an "I know something you don't" type of smile.  What does that mean for the fight?  Probably nothing.  But it was still interesting to see.