Fedor needs UFC

As Fedor Emelianenko gets ready for his upcoming bout with Andre Arlovski this month at the latest Affliction PPV, one has to wonder what will really be left for the man to do after this show. While history will likely be kind to the man, with his domination of PRIDE and his crushing under-a-minute dismantling of former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia, one has to wonder exactly what Affliction will have to truly offer Fedor if he gets past Arlovski. I know Affliction has Josh Barnett under contract, but Barnett has little name appeal to causal fans in America. I doubt the Arlovski/Fedor PPV will be a big hit and Barnett/Fedor is even less likely to bring home the big dollars needed for any company to compete with UFC.

While it is clear Fedor isn't worried about signing the biggest offer sheet, and wants the freedom to compete in Sambo and other events, the question of his legacy will always be there. the PRIDE crossovers to UFC, in the form of Wanderlei Silva, Mirko Cro Cop, and Shogun Rua have been less then successful in the octogon.

I mean it seems moronic to say something like "Frank Mir or Brock Lesnar would kill Fedor" but wouldn't have predicting Forrest Griffin over Shogun or Chieck Kongo and Gabe Gonzaga would beat Cro Cop?

Given the unpredictable nature of MMA and knowing that it really only takes one punch or one mistake to end up losing, Fedor walks into his fight with Arlovski with nothing to gain and everything to lose. The folks watching this fight will be the hardcore MMA fans who knew about PRIDE and know of the legend of Fedor, maybe a few casual fans might tune in due to Arlovski's name, but it's doubtful. A win merely shows his supporters what they already knew, that Fedor is an unstoppable force. A loss would effectively end UFC's efforts to recruit him, having been 'exposed' by Arlovski, who himself might find a large contract forthcoming from UFC for being the "Fedor Killer".

UFC is the biggest stage for MMA in the world today. One could make the arguement for PRIDE back when it existed, but it hasn't existed for nearly 2 years now and there is no true rival on the level of UFC currently. While most people would believe that Fedor would make short work of anyone in the UFC, until he does so and shows America, and it's casual fans, what he is capable of, he will remain the subject of acclaim only to hardcore MMA fans in America. Maybe he believes his hype and thinks he doesn't need the UFC, but to put the final stamp on his career, he needs to walk through UFC's heavyweight division and show everyone that he is as good as all the talking heads say he is.