Strikeforce and CBS had the honor this weekend of introducing Fedor Emelianenko to the millions that tuned in to watch the free card. However, the success of Emelianenko’s presence was astronomically better than many had expected.
Prior to Saturday night, questions loomed as to whether or not Emelianenko was marketable to the American public; whether or not Emelianenko would meet the approval of the casual fans, or those watching the sport for the first time.
Those questions no longer remain.
Whenever Emelianenko’s face would grace the big screens surrounding the Sears Centre, the spectators would erupt in cheers. Rogers’ image brought on a different display of emotions. The fans clearly had picked sides with the Russian phenomenon.
The love for Fedor Emelianenko continued throughout the night, all the way to the main event.
Brett Rogers walked out to the resounding sound of disapproval, as the fans booed the undefeated heavyweight all the way to the cage.
Emelianenko’s welcome was the warmest of the evening, as the crowd reached its loudest state as the No. 1 heavyweight made his way to the battlefield.
The trend continued as the fight began, as on-lookers continued to scream for Fedor to win the fight. Perhaps the only moment when the crowd was not 100% behind Emelianenko was when a “U.S.A” chant broke out through a few sections of the stands.
However, those cheers were quickly muffled when a solid right hand dropped Rogers, leading to a technical knockout victory by Emelianenko.
The knockout immediately sent an undeniable electricity throughout the arena. Fans screamed in approval as Emelianenko calmly raised his hand in victory.
Emelianenko’s win was just another win for so many fans who had seen him fight before. But for the many who were watching him or the sport for the first time, it was so much more.
Fedor was cheered and appreciated by both the hardcore and casual fans alike. The entire crowd was behind the Russian and exploded in excitement when the calm heavyweight knocked out the American, answering the question of Emelianenko’s marketability.
Emelianenko may not be the same type of fighter or person as Brock Lesnar, but he is certainly closer to the UFC heavyweight champion in terms of marketability than most thought he would be by the end of the weekend.
With the exposure given by Showtime and CBS, Emelianenko has become one of the most famous and notable mixed martial artists in America.
His mystical manner and devastating style have brought mixed martial arts to the mainstream once again, and the next time around, you can be sure Fedor Emelianenko will again be the main attraction to the millions watching.
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He’s jus likable,nuff said.
I wanted him to win haveing been a fan since I first saw him rip Heath Herring apart,my mother wanted him to win because he looked like he was always smiling. We watched the showtime special together and she loved that his priest was a part of his profile. She loves him now. I respect him for his accomplishments, and his size and normal looking body means he’ll always be the underdog to people who don’t know he’s a beast. I’m black and from Chicago and Fedor is my families HW and PFP champ!
last sentence means he has “cross-over” appeal, nothing more
First time seeing fedor fight the guy is AMAZING!! He dropped the black guy with one solid blow. Damn Fedor guy is incredible. Speechless.
Wow, he got taken to the 2nd round by a borderline Top-10 HW. And the TV ratings were about half of what Kimbo-freakin-Slice got on CBS last year. Yeah, sounds like a HUGE star….
Arlovski was a star in the UFC. Tim Silva was a star in the UFC both were knocked out by Fedor. Arlovski’s worst KO was to Bret Rogers. Lesnar has had 5 fights with 4 being against legit competition. Let’s look at his comp:
Mir: best wins came against Lesnar (2nd pro fight) and Tim silva by submission (KO’d by Fedor) and an injured Minotoro (Beat 2x in his prime by Fedor).
Heath Herring: 3 round desision by Lesnar that was never in doubt and dominating (TKO’d and Was absolutely destroyed by Fedor when Herring was in his prime)
Randy Couture: recently lost to a healthy Minotoro and was dominated for 3 rounds (again Fedor beat Nog 2X in Nog’s prime)
Fedor beat Cro cop in his prime and Cro cop was once very formidable as evidenced by KOing Wanderlie Silva who beat Rampage 2X who beat Chuck Liddel 2X who beat Randy Couture 2X
All this is flawed logic but it is a historical trend. One thing is missing and that is any of these people beating Fedor. Nuff said.
He’s fedorable what do you expect?
Borderline top 10 HW, Greg? Are you crazy? The UFC is gonna scoop Rogers up ASAP. And as for going to the second round, I think it was pretty obvious by the ending of the fight that he was timing his opponent. Fedor was in control the whole fight and if you’ve ever seen him fight you would know that he isn’t in trouble from any position. Fedor has beaten every different type of opponent, whether it be a giant, a wrestler, BJJ, Muay Thai…what does he have left to prove by kicking Lesnar’s ass???Unfortunately for most MMA fans who have not had the pleasure of watching Fedor, the best of him is gone, but he is still kicking ass. Looks to me like Dana has possibly the third or fourth best heavyweight and it might not even be Lesnar.