Fedor can show the world just how much separation there is between him and the rest of the MMA world with a win. Although, some people won’t be content until he fights in the UFC.

It’s worth asking who Fedor’s next opponent will be if he validates himself as the best heavyweight in the world. The clear choice would be Affliction’s other top heavyweight fighter Josh Barnett. However, Josh seems reluctant to take the fight and has avoided it in the past.

Also, it may be optimistic to believe Affliction will still be around after their “Day of Reckoning” card. President Tom Atencio has remained confident about Affliction’s future, but much hinges on how many PPV buys this fight card garners.

An obvious move for Fedor would be to sign with DREAM if Affliction folds in 2009. Many fans would like to see Fedor sign with the UFC and fight Brock Lesnar – but that doesn’t appear likely to happen anytime soon. MMA fans will have to rely on a handful of heavyweights who can provide Fedor with a glimmer of competition.

Three worthy foes

One such fighter is Alistair Overseem. Alistair has looked vicious as of late. Even Joe Rogan was impressed by Overseem’s most recent performance:

“I just watched the Badr Hari fight, and all I have to say is, Holy Shit. He looked like he was two weight classes above Hari. If Fedor continues to fight in Japan I would love to see him fight Alistair.”

It’s hard to believe Overseem used to make light heavyweight – some suggest steroids played a part. One thing that makes Overseem such a dangerous fighter is that he is equally dangerous both standing and on the ground. You may not think Overseem holds 17 career submission wins after watching his recent K-1 fight over Badr.

Another opponent is Fabricio Werdum. Werdum was recently cut by the UFC for his KO loss to Dos Santos but he is still a top 10 heavyweight. Affliction had expressed interest in his services but the price tag seemed to be too high. If Affliction does fold DREAM will be Werdum’s only viable option – like it will be for most MMA fighters not interested in or invited to the UFC.

Werdum is known for his top level BJJ, but has an ever improving stand up game. He has two TKO victories over Gabriel Gonzaga and another over Brandon Vera. He’s also submitted other top level heavyweights including Overseem and Aleksander Emelianenko (Fedor’s brother).

Sergei Kharitonov, a fellow Russian, is a third heavyweight which would be a dangerous opponent for Fedor. Sergei is another fighter who can win by TKO or submission. He traded T(KO) wins with Alistair Overseem and holds a decision win over Fabricio Werdum. Sergei does have a loss to Fedor’s brother Aleksander so a rematch between the two may be in order first.

A Dream Scenario

I would personally like to see DREAM put together a Heavyweight Grand prix tournament and recapture some of the magic of the PRIDE tournaments of old. Imagine a tournament that could include:

Fedor Emelianenko,  Andre Arlovski, Josh Barnett,  Alistair Overseem, Fabricio Werdum, Tim Slyvia, Mirko Cro Cop, Sergei Kharitonov, Aleksander Emelianenko, Pedro Rizzo, Jeff Monson, Roy Nelson, Ben Rothwell,  Antonio Silva, Mark Hunt, Travis Wuff, Semmy Schilit, Gilbert Yvel,  and Brett Rodgers.

Many of these fighters may not end up in DREAM but there would be enough great names to make it one of the best tournaments in MMA history.  It also shows that the HW division outside of the UFC is still better than the HW division inside the UFC.

Fedor’s Future

Fedor enjoys the diversity provided by not signing a long term and restrictive MMA contract – one reason he will never fight in the UFC. But he also likes the elite competition that MMA can provide him. Affliction may very well fold in 2009 but as long as Fedor finds competition he should have several more years of MMA dominance. 

And if Brock Lesnar continues to improve to the level that most expect…we can all hope for the fight that we will all inevitably want to see – just don’t expect it to happen.

The Pacquiao-Hatton fight will be the biggest fight for the first half of 2009. The second half, however, could bring many different options. If Oscar De La Hoya decides to keep fighting, we will create an intriguing matchup with whomever he fights. There are also grumblings about Floyd Mayweather Jr coming back to fight the winner of Pacquiao-Hatton. As anything with Mayweather, though, don’t believe it until you see it.

Oscar De La Hoya, should he return, is being linked to a fight with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. It’s an interesting fight as De La Hoya’s breakout came against Julio Cesar Chavez. The storyline rights itself. Chavez Jr is hyped as being the next coming in Mexican fighters but he is as of yet been untested. De La Hoya would take the fight, but it would be in Chavez Jr’s best interest if he let his handlers continue to protect him.

In heavyweight rumors, Wladimir Klitschko may be fighting Chris Arreola, according to FightNews.com. Arreola is undefeated and is an exciting brawler but he is too raw and unpolished to hang with the best heavyweight in the world. It’s difficult to pass on a world title shot but Arreola isn’t ready for this step yet.

In other heavyweight news, the WBA is reviewing the fight between Nikolai Valuev and Evander Holyfield last month. Due to backlash from both the media and fans, the WBA found it prudent to review the fight. Valuev-Holyfield was named Inisde Fights 2008 Most Dissapointing Fight. The WBA will release a statement at some point in the next few weeks based on their findings.

HBO is airing two solid welterweight fights this month. First, on Jan 17, Andre Berto will defend his welterweight title against Luis Collazo. Second, Antonio Margarito will face Shane Mosley the following week on January 24.
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We had 27 voters this year consisting of our own staff members and a selected group of MMA journalists from around the world. A first place vote is worth five points, a second place vote is worth three points, and a third place vote is worth 4 points.

FIGHTER OF THE YEAR
This award is all-encompassing, meaning it goes out to the person with the best combination of wins, exciting fights, and drawing power. This award is not solely for the best technical fighter, as that has its own award below.

1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Brock Lesnar
3. Anderson Silva

Surprisingly, St. Pierre barely edged rookie heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar for the most coveted of our awards. St. Pierre’s margin of victory was a mere 3 points, or one second place vote. St. Pierre had a stellar year, defeating Matt Hughes at the start of our voting period, and then going to beat Matt Serra to unify the welterweight championship and then defeating a very game Jon Fitch in August.

Lesnar recovered from a loss to Frank Mir in his debut fight in January to beat Heath Herring and then TKO Randy Couture to capture the heavyweight championship. The strength of Lesnar’s drawing power is a big reason voters have placed him in this position; he drew over 2 million PPV buys in the voting period, the only UFC not named Tito Ortiz to accomplish the feat.

Anderson Silva gets third place after a year in which he defeated top challenger Dan Henderson and James Irvin. He also beat Patrick Cote, but that was due to a fluke injury sustained by Cote.

PROMOTION OF THE YEAR

1. UFC
2. WEC
3. DREAM

This award never had a chance of going to anyone else, at least not in a year when UFC is considered by many to be the sole major mixed martial arts company in the world. They are poised for an even bigger year in 2009, with marquee matchups on the horizon like Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir, Georges St. Pierre vs. B.J. Penn, and Shogun Rua vs. Chuck Liddell.

FIGHT OF THE YEAR
The fight considered to be the most exciting, the biggest and the best.

1. Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva
2. Chris Lytle vs. Paul Taylor (tie)
2. Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Couture (tie)
3. Eddie Alvarez vs. Joachim Hansen

Chuck Liddell’s standup war with Wanderlei Silva was the showcase fight of the year, not really for technical ability. It was the second biggest fight of the year from a marketing perspective, and it did not disappoint: Liddell and Silva engaged in a standup war with both men wildly throwing punches with little regard for their own safety.

SHOW OF THE YEAR

1. UFC 91
2. DREAM 3
3. UFC 87

UFC 91 featured one big fight: Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Couture. The main event delivered, as Lesnar knocked out Couture to capture the heavyweight championship in his fourth pro fight, but it was the undercard that sent the show over the top for our voters. 

BEST KNOCKOUT

1. Rashad Evans KO’s Chuck Liddell
2. Anthony Johnson KO’s Kevin Burns
3. Josh Koscheck KO’s Yoshiyuki Yoshida

It was the shot heard ’round the world, and almost quite literally. Rashad Evans caught Liddell with a right hook full of torque, and in the process ruined Dana White’s dream of Liddell challenging Forrest Griffin for the light heavyweight championship at The Ultimate 2008. 

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

1. Brock Lesnar
2. C.B. Dolloway
3. Junior Dos Santos

Lesnar was the overwhelming favorite for our voters, scoring 91% of available first place votes. If we had a Most Improved category, he’d certainly win that one as well, as he rebounded from his loss to Frank Mir in January to score decisive wins over Heath Herring and Randy Couture, capturing the UFC Heavyweight Championship in the process and landing in second place in our Fighter of the Year results.

BEST SUBMISSION

1. Fedor Emelianenko submits Tim Sylvia
2. Frank Mir submits Brock Lesnar
3. Demian Maia submits Ed Herman

BIGGEST DRAW

1. Brock Lesnar
2. Chuck Liddell
3. Georges St. Pierre

BEST TECHNICAL FIGHTER

1. Anderson Silva
2. Georges St. Pierre
3. Joachim Hansen

BEST KNOCKOUT ARTIST

1. Anderson Silva
2. Thiago Alves
3. Anthony Johnson

BEST SUBMISSION ARTIST

1. Dustin Hazelett
2. Shinya Aoki
3. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira