THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The result of the fight was nearly as surprising as what came afterward, when Fedor Emelianenko stood in the middle of a cage and contemplated retirement.
His mystique has been dashed after two straight defeats, but his legend burnished by 28 consecutive victories and nearly a decade of perfection. He is certain to go down as one of the pioneers of mixed martial arts, assuming he follows through on calling it quits.
"Yes, maybe it’s the last time. Maybe it’s high time," Emelianenko said through an interpreter after losing to Antonio Silva in the quarter-finals of the Strikeforce Grand Prix on Saturday night. "I spent a great, beautiful, long sport life. Maybe it’s God’s will."
His face showed the wear and tear from his sterling career, if not from the brutal beating he had taken from a much bigger man. Silva weighed close to 285 pounds on fight night, about 50 more than the Russian star, and it proved to be his biggest advantage. Silva spent the entire second round riding Emelianenko, clubbing him with punch after unguarded punch.
By the time the round ended, Emelianenko’s right eye had swollen shut, and the ringside physician refused to allow him to continue. His advisers later said he was taken to a hospital to check whether his orbital bone had been broken, or anything else, for that matter.
"It was the correct decision, because the health of the fighter, that has to be the first priority," said Emelianenko’s adviser, Vadim Finkelstein. "It was the right decision."
The crowd inside the Izod Center sure didn’t think so, with several people hurtling bottles into the cage when it was announced. All that angst quickly dissipated when the 34-year-old fighter revealed that he may be walking away from the sport.
"Something went wrong from the very beginning and I didn’t manage to re-adjust myself," Emelianenko said in quiet reflection. "Maybe it’s time to leave."
He certainly may elect to continue, and those closest to him believe he was simply caught up in the moment. Finkelstein said he’d encourage him to fight again, and Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker thinks he will honour his contract, which calls for several more fights.
"I think by far he’s the greatest heavyweight, and proven heavyweight, amongst all the years he’s fought," said Coker, who remembers watching Emelianenko fight in Japan when MMA was still considered "human cockfighting" by Sen. John McCain and outlawed in many states.
"It’s always a special moment when he’s in the cage, or in the ring. It was always exciting and he always brought it," Coker said. "I think he needs to go heal up and he’ll be back."
Coker has plenty of reasons to hope that’s the case.
Many fans thought Emelianenko would eventually land in the more established UFC several years ago. Instead, Strikeforce sent shock waves through mixed martial arts by signing him to a contract and co-promoting with M-1 Global, of which he’s part owner.
Coker acknowledged in an interview with The Associated Press that Strikeforce owed much of its recent success to the mysterious man from Stary Oskol. The promotion has expanded globally over the past few years and can even be seen in Vatican City, with a robust sponsorship roster and a lucrative output deal with premium cable provider Showtime.
While it certainly won’t be the death knell for Strikeforce if Emelianenko refuses to fight again, it could cause all the ground that it has made up on the UFC to slip away.
"What I can say is when you have a tournament of this magnitude, new stars are going to be born," Coker said. "I think that’s what is going to happen as this tournament unfolds."
One of those could be Silva, the massive Brazilian jiujitsu star, who will meet the winner of an April 9 quarter-final between Fabricio Werdum and Alistair Overeem. Sergei Kharitonov, who knocked out Andrei Arlovski on Saturday night, will face Brett Rogers or Josh Barnett.
Coker said that Emelianenko could rejoin the tournament as an injury replacement, but for now the eight-man single-elimination event staggers on without its biggest drawing card.
"About tonight, mixed emotions," said Overeem, who had been hoping to face Emelianenko during the Grand Prix. "I’m a little disappointed he’s out of the tournament. He brings a little glow to it. But, hey, you have to keep winning to stay in it."
