According to this recent article, Fedor Emelianenko—the recently exposed, sub-par, Russian fighter—who was stopped and "tapped out" for the first time in his career by Fabricio Werdum in 69 seconds—will next face Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva (14-2 MMA, 1-1 SF) on Dec. 4 in what is starting to resemble a Joe Louis type "bum of the month" club.
Werdum submitted the Russian quite easily last time out, at Strikeforce and M-1 Global: " Fedor vs. Werdum," and normally it would be blasphemous to mention the name Emelianenko—and that of a man who is possibly the No. 2 greatest heavyweight boxer of all time, Joe “The Brown Bomber” Louis, in the same sentence, I feel it is applicable and somewhat appropriate in this case.
During his heyday in the early ’40s, the legendary Louis, similar to counting sheep, faced a fresh new sub-par opponent at the incredible and somewhat astounding rate of one per month. Not one of these men were ever considered contenders, much less worthy of being in the same ring with the murderous puncher.
So the cruelness of history, along with many sportswriters and well-meaning scribes of the day—who were not unlike myself, hard critics—correctly labeled this “motley stew” of offals; " The Joe Louis Bum of the Month Club.”
Today we have a much better alternative to the sometimes monotonous sport of boxing; it’s known to this writer as cagefighting or, to some others who hold a more conservative attitude, MMA, or mixed martial arts.
The majority of caged warriors who compete in this sometimes-barbaric bloodsport are arguably the best "complete" or “well-rounded” fighting athletes that the world has ever seen. That being said, the best of these men all have one thing in common, they fight for the world’s premier promotion, the UFC.
Some of these UFC champions have faced fighters who, “back in Louis’s day,” would have undoubtedly been labeled as “bums”; however, for the sake of this article we will use the term “mid-level challengers” and mention that they tried their best. Yet, thanks to the bitter cold north wind, those notorious “tomato cans” have long since come and gone. Rolled away into the gutter like so much of yesterday’s trash.
When reading the article concerning Emelianenko vs. "Bigfoot" Silva, the comparison between Louis and his ( bum of the month club) and Emelianenko's recent opponents once again came to mind.
Because, adorning the cover of the “well-hyped” and “well-padded” record of the Russian-born Emelianenko, are his personal tribute to Louis's" bum of the month club." Fighters who had extremely horrifying nicknames which didn't live up to the extent of their ferocity.
Fighters such as “The Pitbull” Arlovski, The “Maine-iac” Sylvia, and laughable monikers such as (Bubble Gum) “Babalu” Sobral, or Matt “The Law” Lindlund, not to mention the never-ending smorgasbord of terrified unknown Japanese fighters, who Emelianenko would routinely beat-up on new years eve, apparently replacing Japanese fireworks.
Still—although it truly amazes me how that it could possibly be truthful— Emelianenko’s “zombie-like” fan-base maintain that he is a top heavyweight.
Maybe it's because Emelianenko, who is sometimes known as “The Last Emperor,” beat up many UFC exiles and any number of “has been”-type fighters, yet still somehow remained undefeated?
Wow! Please explain, if you will, how that translates into Emelianenko being a top five heavyweight in the world?
Don’t get me wrong here, please; I’m not suggesting Emelianenko’s skill is anywhere near that of the great "Brown Bomber," Joe Louis…but I am sure that you see my point.
Written by Cage Stoker
Until he begins to fight guys other than one-dimensional fighters such as Werdum, or "Big-Foot" Silva, how the hell can we take him seriously?
And so now, ladies and gentleman, if you will, you can quietly add the latest Strikeforce “world-beater” Mr. Bigfoot Silva to the list of offal's on Emelianenko's padded fight resume.
I'm sure that if he knocks out Bigfoot, his "fan boys" will once again proclaim him as unbeatable.
