Strikeforce this weekend really surprised me, offering pretty much nothing but balls-to-the-wall fighting and "heart" up the ass. It was probably as exciting, if not more so, than the past UFC events.
The main fights that really mattered were Arlovski and Fedor. Arlovski's opponent will definitely be a force as he continues to improve, and I don't want to take anything away from him -- however, Arlovski has a glass jaw at this point, and sadly, at the age of 32, it's time to retire. I say this not because of his recent losing spree, because plenty of fighters have bounced back and continued to be productive mixed martial artists. Really, the issue is his knockouts. With this weekend's KO, Arlovski has been highlight reel KO'd 7 times out of 9 loses. Out of 24 professional fights, his brain has shut off nearly a third out of 24. This is really fucked up. If Andrei continues to fight, he will certainly have brain complications, if he doesn't already. Will he retire? Highly doubtful. It's unfortunate, and I will not support his career any longer.
Fedor suffered his second consecutive loss at the hands of the freakishly huge "Bigfoot" Silva. Pretty much, his gameplan sucked. I think Fedor has a swollen head (literally and figuratively...) and refused to do anything differently after his loss to Fabricio Werdum. His best bet was to stand inside the pocket and trade with Bigfoot, in an attempt to nullify some of the reach advantage his opponent had. Sadly, he did whatever the fuck he wanted, by diving into Bigfoot's guard and not adapting his striking when fighting someone 50+ pounds larger than him.
So what happened? The great Fedor Emelianenko got grapplefucked. Mauled on the ground. Trapped in mount and ground n' pounded until his eye closed shut.....
But you know what? He showed why he's the greatest Heavyweight of all time. He defended submissions. He kept bringing the heat. He COUNTERED submissions. He was Fedor. And he would have continued for the final round if it was up to him. But the doctor made the right decision and called the fight.
Fedor is a weirdo. He has no emotion, he dislikes pretty much all music except for Russian Orthodox tunes with no beat. What the fuck? He hinted at retirement last night. I have to wonder why he would consider retirement after only 2 legit loses on his record. Really, unless his heart just isn't in fighting anymore, there's no reason to call it quits. He's 32. Randy Couture is nearly 50 and is still a force in the UFC LHW/HW divisions. What if he quit when he was 32? He wouldn't be considered a GOAT, that's for sure. While Fedor will always be the Heavyweight GOAT, there's no reason why 2 loses should signify retirement.
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