Both. He's on the down end of his career but he, even in his prime could be dominated positionally. Werdum loss was a bit of a fluke, this one definitely wasn't. A lot like the Arona fight except a bigger, heavier guy throwing down punches and hammerfists.
That and he was way outsized. Only a matter of time before you get beaten after facing a career of guys bigger than you.
He looked like he lacked focus. He appeared to gas, and he was not moving as quickly or effectively as he did 5-6 years ago. That all points to someone being on the slide. Hopefully he doesn't make a bunch of comebacks and ruin himself. Right now, he just looks done. It reminds me of RJJ after the first Tarver fight. Hopefully Fedor knows it and stays away.
Well apparently M-1 and Coker are trying to keep him in the game. Fuck M-1, they really are out to fuck Fedor.
Fedor can still win if he was training properly, but he made no adjustments to his game since his lost. My guess he thought it was a fluke. He came in Soft again.
He needs to go train with Randy. He is the exact opposite IMO. Randy is still in great shape and trains properly, but doesnt have it. Fedor still has it. but my guess is he isnt training seriously anymore.
I disagree. He is going on 35 and has been competing in combat sports most of his life. At this age skills, strength, reflexes and stamina really start to deteriorate. Couple that with lack of motivation and it usually means the end is near. He will never be as hungry as when he was in Pride. He needs to just bow out gracefully before it gets worse.
I just dont think its physical. I mean i guess it is in a way. I just think mentally he cant get up for the physical training. if he could, he would still be a force.
You could be right, but I just think he's tired. The pressure that he has been under was just enormous. Fedor is a simple man and wants to be comfortable. I think there is a reason why we haven't seen any videos of his crazy intense training methods in years.
Retire. Seriously, for going out on a loss he didn't go out bad. At least he wasn't brutally stopped.
Well, he does have a badass gym in Russia. Maybe build up the Red Devil team and make it a force again? I think he would be a great trainer.
Personally I agree with Godfather on this one. Fedor is training exactly the same way he did when he was 25-30. And his body, because of age, just doesn't respond the same way. And man, the idea of training with Couture, a master at keeping natural strength at an advanced age, would be a great idea. But the other cold truth is that the game is now beyond Fedor. He really made a career of beating guys that were one dimensional. They may have been strong in that one dimension, but were not well-rounded. Fedor was. He had striking that was near comparable to kickboxers he fought. And he had great hip and ground skills to compete with the BJJ guys he fought. However, today's MMA fighters are like Fedor was 10 years ago. They are getting more and more solid at every aspect. So now things like size and naturally athletic ability are starting to be the difference maker. And Fedor is a small HW that isn't particularly a gifted natural athlete.
Good points. Fedor was waaaay ahead of his time. Now with the incorporation of multiple disciplines being brought into each training camp, others are becoming more well rounded. However, I bet Fedor feels it's a little late to re- invent himself. Like I said before, he has accomplished all he needs to and probably feels content.
Shot, pretty much. It's not like Wedum and Bigfoot are the best opponents of his career. In this fight especially, you could he just lacked the energy and sharpness he used to have. He didn't have that explosion of energy (which helped him compete with bigger, stronger guys) plus his usual sharpness and speed. I think he's borderline shot, plus a huge, strong, well rounded guy like Bigfoot wasn't the best choice of comeback opponent. By the way Trpl's point is certainly a good one. Even though I think he IS borderline shot, another big factor is Fedor was ahead of his time. Very well rounded and versatile. The main difference in MMA between now and then is well roundedness. Fighters are quickly catching up to Fedor in the respect.
how can he not be worn out? he's been doing judo and sambo for the last two decades and has also been simultaneously competing in mma for the last however many years. some fighters age differently and last longer in some cases ala randy couture, but fedor's had a lot of fights it's pretty clear he's in serious decline.
Silva isn't exactly the epitome of the modern "advanced" MMA fighter. Fedor would had no problems with him about 5 years ago. He's clearly past his physical prime. He was almost always undersized, but he had the edge in quickness and endurance. Don't forget that this is his first and only loss where he took a proper beating. Werdum submitted him. Motivation might be the other factor. I think he might've been more motivated if he rematched Werdum.
Call me crazy, but i felt silva was gassed after the second round and fedor would have beat him. But thats just me.
I didn't really mean to diminish what Fedor had accomplished. But the truth is that the biggest wins of his career were over guys that were one dimensional and didn't hold a huge size advantage over Fedor. You sound like M-1 management now. It has nothing to do with motivation. Fedor could be motivated to move mountains and he is still fucked if Silva mounts him.
I gotta disagree with this. For someone that was past it and not motivated, he was avoiding many blows and was never submitted or even hurt. Imagine 5 years ago, hell, three years ago, i see a arm bar from the ground from Fedor. He would have gotten out of there. He has before.
I didn't really want to start a debate about this, but in all honesty dude, Fedor has never grabbed an armbar on a BJJ blackbelt. And he certainly has never done it while mounted by a monster like Silva. Sure Fedor has won via armbar against guys like Lindland, Coleman, Ogawa, and Schall but all were relatively one-dimensional wrestlers with very limited BJJ background. He also got an arm bar on Hong Man, but do we really need to discuss that? And in THIS fight Fedor tried a kimura but wasn't in position and Silva quickly used it to escape. He likely gets away with it against guys he beat via kimura like Kevin Randleman, but against an experienced BJJ black belt with a size advantage, it looked silly. Silva has great top control. People want to discredit this guy because he looks like an oaf, but he is legitimately a top 10 HW.
While silva is good on the ground, i do beleive he is overrated. Silva could have definately applied an ambar on him earlier in his career. Silva was very sloppy with his hands. If Fedor was as you mentioned with regards to fighting BJJ blackbelts, Silva would have submitted him. But he couldnt. And he was missing LOTS of shots. Its all a guesssing game from here, but i dont see this being a tough fight for fedor 3 years ago.
