Anderson Silva v Fedor Emelianenko at UFC 200?
Could it be? COULD IT FLIPPIN’ BE?
Chael Sonnen often has an inside scoop on the goings-on at UFC HQ and he’s claimed on Wednesday’s episode of his You’re Welcome podcast that the Las Vegas promotion are working on the biggest fight in the history of the company.
“I can confirm that this is being tried to be put together,” Sonnen said. “This is happening at the UFC. They’re trying to put a fight together at 205 lbs, Fedor Emelianenko versus Anderson Silva.”
Sonnen made the revelation in an interview with former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir and continued to explain why that super-fight would be so very compelling.
“I’m a little critical when people ask me about Fedor… The guy was amazing but my points, when I look at it more from the business side are that he’s really famous in Japan but the Japanese market has dried up. He’s not (as famous) in America when you compare it to the $5million pricetag that comes along with him. When you compare it to that, it’s like that guy has got to be able to sell out some pretty good sized venues, he’s got to be able to sell a lot of pay-per-views. I know the hardcore fans are excited for him but that’s a very small number of the market share. When you put him with Anderson, though, that changes everything.
“That’s one of those superfights in that it’s a parity that we never thought could exist because Anderson’s not a 205 lber and neither is Fedor. So you have them meet in the middle. You have this fight that nobody thought they could get.
“When I heard it, I was like ‘WOW! I want to see that fight.'”
Newer UFC fans may not be familiar with Fedor Emelianenko but many regard him as the greatest fighter of all time after the Russian went 31-1, 1 NC in his first 33 bouts and became the face of Japanese promotion Pride.
For those who don’t consider The Last Emperor the greatest of all time, it’s likely Anderson Silva who gets their vote as he became the most dominant middleweight champion in UFC history.
The Spider is currently serving a one-year retroactive suspension for testing positive for steroids in January but would be able to compete at UFC 200 which is slated for July 9, 2016, and is being pegged as the biggest event in the promotion’s history.
Could we get a definitive answer as to who truly is the greatest of all time. Chael Sonnen says “yes!”
