How long until a fight’s hype overcomes the fight itself? For Randy Couture and Fedor Emelianenko, that time is now.
For nearly a year, rumors of a clash between the two legends have filled the dreams of MMA fans across the world. Media and fans alike have been clamoring with predictions and proclamations for what they argue would be the greatest fight of all time. That simply isn’t possible.
While Fedor-Couture is one of the most intriguing fights in MMA history, how could it really live up to the hype?
Randy Couture’s comeback has been nothing short of spectacular. Every fight he’s been seen as an underdog, and every fight he seems to make a statement in victory. This run has been so spectacular that those who have witnessed the feat feel as if MMA history has taken place right in front of their eyes.
Still, it needs to be mentioned that this is the same Randy Couture that retired after his second TKO loss to Chuck Liddell. This is also the same man that has lost eight times in his career and been defeated by the likes of Josh Barnett, Vito Belfort and Ricco Rodriguez; Couture is a legend, but far from unbeatable.
What about Fedor? When was the last time we saw him fight another top ten heavyweight? You have to turn back the clock to 2005 when he fought Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic at Pride Final Conflict.
Is he still “the man”? Of course, until someone knocks him off of his thrown, he’s got to be number one.
But his inactivity is worrisome. When fighters fight tough opponents, they raise and maintain their game. By fighting less talented competition for so long, it’s possible that Fedor’s game is rusty.
In the end it doesn’t even matter who wins. If Fedor wins, people will say it’s due to Couture’s layoff and age; if Couture wins, those same people will blame Fedor’s layoff and ring rust.
It’s simple: no matter who good this fight is it will never live up to the hype that the Zuffa-Couture-Fedor circus has placed on it and people are realizing this. As a result, the MMA community has become relatively quiet since the announcement of Fedor’s possible free agency. Call it whatever you want, but MMA is realizing something about this fight:
Like many dream fights, the dream may be better than the reality.
