Is Fedor the Best Heavyweight Currently?

[El Hardee]

Fedor is a slow starter, he is one of the GOAT's but he seems to always take damage early in the fight. If he got behind on someone as big/strong/explosive as Brock there's no catching up. This isnt Randleman or Coleman, this is a mountain of a man that is also a Nat Champ wrestler. Didnt SHogun whup on both Coleman, and Randleman while they were roided? So that means Shogun could beat Brock, right?

[SDM]

It's not that I'm skeptical of the sports science numbers (well, assuming Fedor has been tested before)... It's just that from my own eyes, it looks like Fedor hits much harder.

[funkatron101]

"

"Ive never been hit so hard in my life. I dont think he's human" Tim Sylvia.

Until Ray Mercer that is.

[Cammo101]

"

"Ive never been hit so hard in my life. I dont think he's human" Tim Sylvia.

Until Ray Mercer that is.

Exactly. No offense to Fedor, who does have heavy hands, but Sylvia and Arlvoski have both proved to be less than iron jawed.

[cowboyronnie]

What does Ray Mercer hitting hard as well prove? He's a HW boxer in 4oz gloves. Doesn't diminish Fedor at all.

Watch the Fedor vs Sylvia fight. For one thing, Fedor hits him in the neck with the initial punch, not the chin. Second, you can see the power in Fedor's combos. They're ridiculous.

[funkatron101]

What does Ray Mercer hitting hard as well prove? He's a HW boxer in 4oz gloves. Doesn't diminish Fedor at all.

Watch the Fedor vs Sylvia fight. For one thing, Fedor hits him in the neck with the initial punch, not the chin. Second, you can see the power in Fedor's combos. They're ridiculous.

Oh, i'm just saying that Slyvia would probably revise that statement if asked. Well maybe, I bet he didn't feel a thing, until maybe the next day.

[Zeitgeister]

What does Ray Mercer hitting hard as well prove? He's a HW boxer in 4oz gloves. Doesn't diminish Fedor at all.

Watch the Fedor vs Sylvia fight. For one thing, Fedor hits him in the neck with the initial punch, not the chin. Second, you can see the power in Fedor's combos. They're ridiculous.

If anyone doubts Fedor's punching power, they should listen and see the whole Fedor vs Nogueira battle (the first one). Especially the punch at 8:35, probably the hardest punch I've ever seen someone throw while being in the other fighters guard.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDyAs7BW3A4[/youtube]

[CPT]

1. Cain
2. Brock/Fedor
3. Brock/Fedor

I was one of the people that always thought Brock would handle Fedor, but his last few fights have made me reconsider. I still think it would be a very tough fight to call, and I still think I'd give the edge to Lesnar, but now I'm a lot more open to the possibility of the fight looking a lot more like the Carwin/Cain fights than his fight against Mir.

I think Brock's achilles heel has been exposed, and it's not a weak chin per se, it's just that he clearly folds when he gets hit in the face. I say it's not a weak chin because I still don't really think we've seen Brock get hurt all that badly, and I still can't picture him ever getting knocked clean out, but the end result is pretty much the same. He gets hit in the face, folds, and can't really defend himself. I think against most guys he would be able to get the fight to the ground and avoid getting hit, but against the guys that can stop him from doing so, he'll always be at risk. The thing is, this is not a weakness that will improve with more experience, like his submission defense or striking...this is just who he is.

If there's anyone who can pinpoint a weakness and exploit it, it's probably Fedor, so it makes this fight more of a coin flip than I previously thought, but usually when there's a guy who wants to take it to the ground (and will likely be able to do so) vs. a puncher's chance, I take the guy trying to take it to the ground, so I'd still pick Brock.

But anyway, since this is about the best heavyweight, how about that Cain Velasquez? I think we are often too quick to say a guy as unbeatable, but really, does this guy have a weakness? Great wrestling, great striking, cardio for days, elite athleticism, and a sufficient ground game and chin (from what we've seen so far). I can't think of a guy I'd pick to beat him, but I definitely want to see JDS, Carwin, and Fedor try.

[SDM]

I think Brock's neck/jaw is simply too big and too muscular for him to have a weak chin, but yeah, like you said, he has poor recovery and crumbles once hit. He can be overwhelmed and I think smaller heavyweights can attack him with speed.

[skflives]

1. Cain
2. Brock/Fedor
3. Brock/Fedor

I was one of the people that always thought Brock would handle Fedor, but his last few fights have made me reconsider. I still think it would be a very tough fight to call, and I still think I'd give the edge to Lesnar, but now I'm a lot more open to the possibility of the fight looking a lot more like the Carwin/Cain fights than his fight against Mir.

I think Brock's achilles heel has been exposed, and it's not a weak chin per se, it's just that he clearly folds when he gets hit in the face. I say it's not a weak chin because I still don't really think we've seen Brock get hurt all that badly, and I still can't picture him ever getting knocked clean out, but the end result is pretty much the same. He gets hit in the face, folds, and can't really defend himself. I think against most guys he would be able to get the fight to the ground and avoid getting hit, but against the guys that can stop him from doing so, he'll always be at risk. The thing is, this is not a weakness that will improve with more experience, like his submission defense or striking...this is just who he is.

If there's anyone who can pinpoint a weakness and exploit it, it's probably Fedor, so it makes this fight more of a coin flip than I previously thought, but usually when there's a guy who wants to take it to the ground (and will likely be able to do so) vs. a puncher's chance, I take the guy trying to take it to the ground, so I'd still pick Brock.

But anyway, since this is about the best heavyweight, how about that Cain Velasquez? I think we are often too quick to say a guy as unbeatable, but really, does this guy have a weakness? Great wrestling, great striking, cardio for days, elite athleticism, and a sufficient ground game and chin (from what we've seen so far). I can't think of a guy I'd pick to beat him, but I definitely want to see JDS, Carwin, and Fedor try.

I have always thought that Fedor's toughest matchup in the UFC was Cain Velesquez and this weekend proved it. What makes Cain a tougher matchup is that unlike most potential heavyweight matchups Fedor will not enjoy a significant handspeed advantage in a potential fight with Cain. Cain's got the handspeed and some of the boxing ability to give Fedor problems on the feet plus he has great cardio.

But I always thought Carwin and Lesnar would be much easier opponents than most people realized because of the very reason people would think they'd be tough matchups. Their size makes them big targets for Fedor's shots and they don't have very good head movement because of their limited striking skills. They would be there to be hit and they have shown they don't take punches well.

[jman3134]

How do you all think that Anderson Silva would fair against a Fedor etc.? (obviously assuming he jumped weight classes)

[Posey H8er]

Anderson has said before that he would lose that fight, but I think he was just being humble. That's a good question. Fedor really should be fighting at 205 if he lost his fat and he could in reality cut down to 185 (not that he would ever cut weight). Silva's striking is far more crisp but Fedor has all the intangibles to match up with him. I don't know how that would look.

1. Cain
2. Brock/Fedor
3. Brock/Fedor

I was one of the people that always thought Brock would handle Fedor, but his last few fights have made me reconsider. I still think it would be a very tough fight to call, and I still think I'd give the edge to Lesnar, but now I'm a lot more open to the possibility of the fight looking a lot more like the Carwin/Cain fights than his fight against Mir.

I think Brock's achilles heel has been exposed, and it's not a weak chin per se, it's just that he clearly folds when he gets hit in the face. I say it's not a weak chin because I still don't really think we've seen Brock get hurt all that badly, and I still can't picture him ever getting knocked clean out, but the end result is pretty much the same. He gets hit in the face, folds, and can't really defend himself. I think against most guys he would be able to get the fight to the ground and avoid getting hit, but against the guys that can stop him from doing so, he'll always be at risk. The thing is, this is not a weakness that will improve with more experience, like his submission defense or striking...this is just who he is.

If there's anyone who can pinpoint a weakness and exploit it, it's probably Fedor, so it makes this fight more of a coin flip than I previously thought, but usually when there's a guy who wants to take it to the ground (and will likely be able to do so) vs. a puncher's chance, I take the guy trying to take it to the ground, so I'd still pick Brock.

But anyway, since this is about the best heavyweight, how about that Cain Velasquez? I think we are often too quick to say a guy as unbeatable, but really, does this guy have a weakness? Great wrestling, great striking, cardio for days, elite athleticism, and a sufficient ground game and chin (from what we've seen so far). I can't think of a guy I'd pick to beat him, but I definitely want to see JDS, Carwin, and Fedor try.

Great post. I'd also like to add Overeem to that list. He looks like a much different fighter these days with his superb striking and obvious physical change. Granted his competition isn't as good but he absolutely threw Rogers around like a rag-doll in a couple minutes when Fedor took 1.5 rounds to finish him.

[Zeitgeister]

How do you all think that Anderson Silva would fair against a Fedor etc.? (obviously assuming he jumped weight classes)

Anderson probably could be a small heavyweight, I've heard he drops a lot of weight to get down to middle weight. Some have also said that Fedor could probably drop weight to be a light heavyweight guy and possibly even a middleweight. Fedor has some excess fat that he could get rid of pretty easily, but he doesn't really seem to care.

Anyway, I think Fedor wins as a heavyweight. Anderson has a really good size advantage against middleweights and a reach advantage. That really helps him. I think regardless of the weight they fight at, Fedor would win. Mainly because one is a career heavyweight and the other is a career middleweight. Fedor routinely fights the tougher competition so I think he'd be better prepared for Anderson. Anderson's never faced a talent like Fedor.

[jman3134]

I guess I have a follow up question: do any of you think Machida could hold his own as a heavyweight? (given he is only one weight class down as opposed to two)

[Posey H8er]

I don't think he would be able to, especially with how big the heavyweights are these days. Compared to Anderson, Machida has a smaller frame and isn't a powerful dude. Someone like Velasquez would be too big for him on the ground. Though Machida's unorthodox style of striking could keep fights interesting.

If there were a 225 cruiser-weight division then there would be more fair matches. That's really where Brandon Vera or Tito Ortiz should have been fighting in their careers.