According to this recent article, Fedor Emelianenkoâthe recently exposed, sub-par, Russian fighterâwho was stopped and "tapped out" for the first time in his career by Fabricio Werdum in 69 secondsâwill 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 Emelianenkoâand that of a man who is possibly the No. 2 greatest heavyweight boxer of all time, Joe âThe Brown Bomberâ Louis, in the same sentence, I feel it is applicable and somewhat appropriate in this case.
During his heyday in the early â40s, 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 dayâwho were not unlike myself, hard criticsâcorrectly labeled this âmotley stewâ of offals; " The Joe Louis Bum of the Month Club.â
Today we have a much better alternative to the sometimes monotonous sport of boxing; itâs 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 âwell-roundedâ 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 worldâs premier promotion, the UFC.
Some of these UFC champions have faced fighters who, âback in Louisâs day,â would have undoubtedly been labeled as âbumsâ; however, for the sake of this article we will use the term âmid-level challengersâ and mention that they tried their best. Yet, thanks to the bitter cold north wind, those notorious âtomato cansâ have long since come and gone. Rolled away into the gutter like so much of yesterdayâs 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 âwell-hypedâ and âwell-paddedâ 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 âThe Pitbullâ Arlovski, The âMaine-iacâ Sylvia, and laughable monikers such as (Bubble Gum) âBabaluâ Sobral, or Matt âThe Lawâ 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.
Stillâalthough it truly amazes me how that it could possibly be truthfulâ Emelianenkoâs âzombie-likeâ fan-base maintain that he is a top heavyweight.
Maybe it's because Emelianenko, who is sometimes known as âThe Last Emperor,â beat up many UFC exiles and any number of âhas beenâ-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?
Donât get me wrong here, please; Iâm not suggesting Emelianenkoâs skill is anywhere near that of the great "Brown Bomber," Joe LouisâŚbut 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 âworld-beaterâ 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.