In this edition we unveil the inaugural TCC pound for pound Top 10. We are excited about the rankings and believe they are the most accurate in the business. I will also profile Fedor Emelienko and why he is the greatest fighter in the sport.
I went to the Randy Couture book signing this week. Randy was classy as always. Randy signed his autobiography Becoming the Natural: My Life In and Out of the Cage for a throng of fans. To get your copy of the book, visit Randy's website www.xtremecouture.tv/shop_Book_Item_BecomingTheNatural.html
If you order anything from Randy's site or from any other interviews I conduct, I would greatly appreciate if you mention The Triangle Choke. That will help maintain the momentum and recognition the column is generating. The more publicity, the more notable interviews The Triangle Choke will conduct.
Now, on with why I believe Fedor Emelianenko (seen in the photo after his victory over Tim Sylvia) is quite simply the best the sport has ever seen. Fedor, up until this point, hasn't gotten the publicity he greatly deserves. You will hear UFC President Dana White state Fedor hasn't fought anyone in years and other pundits downplay his successes in Pride Fighting.
Let's look at the facts. First and foremost, Fedor is 28-1 with victories over many of the greats of the game. I watched Fedor battle current UFC Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira on a DVD from 2002. During the fight, the likes of Bas Rutten stated for Fedor to win, he had to avoid the ground and the best submission artist in the game, Nogueira. Bas kept stating throughout the fight, Fedor needed to get the fight in the stand-up to win. Time after time, Nogueira tried his patented submissions, only to watch Fedor escape and unload ferocious strikes. The fight ended with Fedor winning by a unanimous decision.
I'm sure Fedor had been given the advice by many to stay away from Nogueira on the ground. As result, Fedor took Nogueira to the ground and quite simply dominated the great submission fighter at his own game. Fedor will compete against any fighter at their own game and make them look helpless.
I then watched Fedor struggle against Kazuyuki Fujita in a fight from 2003. Fujita is 6'0" weighing in at 240 pounds with a gigantic head. Fujita landed a massive overhand right followed by a left hook. A normal mortal would have been down if not knocked out. Instead, Fedor's legs were rubber; he swayed, showed off his incredible balance, then grabbed Fujita with a double over hooks. They went to the ground, only for Fedor to regain his composure.
The fight then went back to the stand up, Fedor landed a massive kick to the liver, a crashing combination to the head, he then pounced on Fujita like a graceful lion and finished the fight with a rear naked choke. Simply incredible.....
I watched Fedor battle Kevin Randleman. Randleman has the strength of a raging bull. He caught Fedor out of position and suplexed him on his head. Fedor's neck crunched under his bodyweight. At that moment, the crowd reacted, believing the upset was about to occur. However, within a few moments Fedor rolled on top of Randleman and finished him with a kimura. After the fight, Fedor described how he was trained to relax his body while in the air, which results in less chance of injury.
A few weeks ago, Fedor destroyed former UFC champion Tim Sylvia. Sylvia, win or loss, almost always extends fights as he did with Randy Couture. Not against Fedor, as he charged Sylvia with an array of strikes. Fedor finished the fight with a rear naked choke in 36 seconds. After the fight, Sylvia exclaimed he had never been hit so hard.
In summary, in all my years of watching both boxing and MMA, I have never witnessed an athlete with the combination of power, balance, athleticism and accurate striking as Fedor. If you haven't watched Fedor, you should. You can find some videos on YouTube and can purchase Pride Fighting DVDs which contain many of today's stars.
Fedor was scheduled to face former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski in an October event in Las Vegas. However, Fedor could be out for an extended period of time due to a hand injury. According to Randy Couture, it is still likely he and Fedor will square off. This is a dream matchup. However, as much as I respect Couture, I don't believe he can defeat Fedor.
The TCC Pound for Pound Top Ten: 1. Fedor; 2. Anderson Silva; 3. Georges St. Pierre; 4. Randy Couture; 5. B.J. Penn; 6. Urijah Faber; 7. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira; 8. Forrest Griffin; 9. Rampage Jackson; 10. Chuck Liddell.
In the next edition of The Triangle Choke, I will recap UFC 87, which was filled with excellent matchups. I will also share my interview with an all-time great, Matt Hughes.
If you have topics you would like to see included in The Triangle Choke feel free to send them to thetrianglechoke@yahoo.com.
