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Several thoughts on the Strikeforce Henderson vs. Fedor event that took place last Saturday.
-Dan Henderson has a chance to crack the top-10 of all-time MMA fighters at his current pace.
With Henderson’s victory over Fedor on Saturday, he has a decisive victory over an opponent who is clearly in the top-10 all-time despite the recent struggles of Fedor.
Just for argument sake, here are the fighters I have above Henderson at this moment, in no particular order (that will be the subject of another post for another day)…
Randy Couture (that’s going to make my friend Andrew very mad because he think The Natural is the most overrated fighter in history)
Pat Militich
Minotauro Noguerira
Chuck Liddell
Kazuki Sakuraba
Royce Gracie
Bas Rutten
Anderson Silva
Matt Hughes
Fedor
Georges St. Pierre
That means Henderson is right with BJ Penn, Wanderlei Silva, Frank Shamrock, Rich Franklin and a few others like even Don Frye outside of the top-10 who can make their way into the list.
I can already hear the argument that Hendo should be above Hughes but that’s for another day as well.
Henderson now owns victories over Fedor, Rich Franklin, Vitor Belfort, Wanderlei Silva and a variety of others of reputable distinction.
We’ve seen Henderson now excel in THREE weight classes which is something that can make even Penn and Couture envious.
I expected Henderson to use his wrestling skills to take down Fedor but the standup skills were once again enough to earn the victory.
Henderson has found new life as a light heavyweight in Strikeforce and there are a several challengers for the championship such as Gegard Mousasi and maybe Mo Lawal. The 41-year old should expect to stay busy for the next few months.
-Its’ the end of the elite line for Fedor. I don’t think this has reached the level that Liddell reached the end f his career, where he was suffering destructive knockouts and hindering his health (its still tough to watch the Liddell fights against Franklin or Shogun Rua). Fedor didn’t look bad against Henderson but the reality is that he’s had a great career but the body has finally caught up with him.
I’ve seen talks of Fedor getting a rematch against Werdum or finally fighting Couture (remember the Affliction fight promotion, anyone?), but those fights are the equivalent of watching older golfers in the senior tour. You’re seeing the same faces that were great at a time but the end product is below average compared to their respective primes.
Fedor seems like the type who leads a simple life and won’t continue to fight in MMA for the money or to try to improve on a legacy that already set. We’ll all see if I’m correct about that or not.
-I really hope that Zuffa keeps promoting female MMA fights. The victory of Miesha Tate over Marloes Coenen on Saturday showed that these types of fights can be viable to be on the main card of a Strikeforce event.
I’m not saying that Tate, Cyborg Santos, Gina Carano or any other woman can be the headliner for a Zuffa pay-per-view, but that’s not the expectation that we should all have of the women’s division.
It seems like most MMA fans have the mentality that if the fight isn’t for a championship or has a popular fighter involved, it shouldn’t be acknowledged as existing, let alone broadcasted.
Some of the best fights you will ever see will be on an undercard that you’ll rarely see unless its televised or at the local promotion in your city. We’ll never get to see these fights if the all-or-nothing mentality of most MMA fans doesn’t change. Hopefully Tate vs. Coenen changed some of this.
In relation to Tate, she has the potential to be a major star in MMA and I’m not saying that because she’s my friend on Facebook (for reals, look it up yourself).
She not another attractive female who will be sold to the masses because of looks. Tate is a legitimate MMA fighter who matches elite wrestling with a now respectable submission game.
Hopefully Strikeforce can get Tate another matchup with Sarah Kaufman in the near future.
-Another rematch I’d like to see is Tim Kennedy vs. Jacare Souza. If Souza gets past Luke Rockhold in August, a task that won’t be easy, than we should be treated to a rematch of a contsst that ended in a controversial decision victory for Souza back in August 2010. Since Kennedy handled Lawler on Saturday, this match can happen.
-Let’s slow down the Tyron Woodley can defeat Nick Diaz talk for now. Woodley is a legit contender for the Strikeforce welterweight belt and his victory over Paul Daley definitely gained him the matchup with Diaz after the St. Pierre fight. However, outside of getting some takedowns of Diaz, I don’t see what opposition that Woodley offers the Stockton native.
Those are my thoughts, what are yours?
The Sports Inquirer 
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