Breakdown of opponents for Fedor

No opponent has been announced for Fedor's next fight but I went to ELO MMA rankings ( http://www.mma-elo.com/ranks.php?r=3 ) to see which possible opponents would be the best according to who has accomplished the most. Points are added to or subtracted from a fighters score for each win or loss. Here is what I found:

Just as a reference point, Cain Velasquez, currently ranked #10 has 1991 points.

Babalu 2005 (he is at LHW but I believe your score travels with you since lots of guys jump weight classes a lot. Guys like Overeem and Henderson didn't have to start from scratch when moving to HW)
Kharitonov 1927
Tim Sylvia 1907
Arlovski 1906
Pedro Rizzo 1891
Rogers 1848 (has 1 loss and 1 NC since he was updated)
Sokoudjou 1821
Mizuno 1760
Todd Duffee 1757 (he has had another win since this score but it hasn't been updated yet)
Bobby Lashley 1704 (he has had another win since this score but it hasn't been updated yet)

Based on this, Babalu is the best opponent for Fedor based on accomplishment, followed by Kharitonov. Kharitonov is probably more dangerous but he has been inconsistent sometimes. Lashley may get a lot of points for his last win because his opponent had a lot of fights so it may bump him up a lot, but he would still probably be the lowest ranked guy on this list.

Personally, I want to see Fedor fighting name guys, so Babalu, Kharitonov, Rizzo would be the ones I am most interested in (though I will be excited and watching no matter who he fights).

*UPDATE* I am adding a poll, without Sergei in it because 1. I know everyone will pick him and 2. He said he doesn't want to fight Fedor.

Kharitonov, its what the world wants.

I agree, Sergei is the only man up there with the skills to push Fedor. I do like that Duffee fella, but I reckon he needs more fights. I'd like to see Duffee vs Big Tim.

PRIDE NEVER DIE wrote:Kharitonov, its what the world wants.

Yup, I agree, it's the most exciting and probably most challenging fight. Sounds like M-1 wants to make Aleks vs Sergei 2 though and I saw Sergei say he doesn't want to fight Fedor unless it's for a belt so I don't know if it will ever happen.

marchegiano wrote:I agree, Sergei is the only man up there with the skills to push Fedor. I do like that Duffee fella, but I reckon he needs more fights. I'd like to see Duffee vs Big Tim.

I wouldn't mind him fighting Duffee but I agree it would be better if Duffee fought a couple more guys, like Sylvia or Arlovski. If he can beat them, throw him at Fedor.

Kinosis wrote:

PRIDE NEVER DIE wrote:Kharitonov, its what the world wants.

Yup, I agree, it's the most exciting and probably most challenging fight. Sounds like M-1 wants to make Aleks vs Sergei 2 though and I saw Sergei say he doesn't want to fight Fedor unless it's for a belt so I don't know if it will ever happen.

I wanted Sergei too, but like you said, Sergei said he don't want to fight Fedor now. So things got hard. Hope he reconsiders it someday and fight both Emelianenkos.

... Is this a thread that is seriously using the concept of MMA-ELO as a basis for anything?

the ELO rankings are fucking nonsense.

Misowaman wrote:... Is this a thread that is seriously using the concept of MMA-ELO as a basis for anything?

the ELO rankings are fucking nonsense.

They are the best rankings out there. Thanks for adding nothing to the thread though.

^^
yea we should use zuffa rankings instead huh ?

Longtime Fan wrote:^^
yea we should use zuffa rankings instead huh ?

No kidding. Lesnar #1 HW, #1 P4P and GOAT! Dana told me so!

No, they aren't the best rankings out there. All rankings are shit, whether they're done by people or by some computer.

ELO rankings are more nonsense than anywhere, because at least with the opinions of some people, you can get SOME KIND of agreement, but on that shit system, you get things like Bigfoot Silva being a top 5 HW, Rashad and Hendo being higher than Jones and Hector Lombard as a top 3 MW. They're a FOCKING JAWK.

^It sounds more like your reasoning, or lack of, is "a FOCKING JAWK".

I'd like to see Fedor fight Konrad next. After that Kharitonov, Guram, Grabowski, or Malikov (revenge fight for Aleks) would all be sweet.

Yeah, dude. I don't get the mentality of joining our friendly conversation, and not contribute to the prompt. I'm not exactly saying your wrong in point, but in where it's coming from. To clarify, I agree that all mma ranking systems are pretty bogus, but this isn't a thread about which ranking system or if a system at all should used to judge. I'm still rather curious who up there you'd pick to fight Fedor.

In the absense of promotional cooperation and a truely global MMA tournament the the ELO ranking is the best we have at the moment.

ELO is much better than the joke ZUFFA ranking system. JDS, Cain, Brock et al had their ranking boosted up simply because they fought in the UFC not because of their experince and skills.

Sergei would be one of the best opponent for Fedor. This one would be a better matchup than anything the UFC could do. I would rate Sergei as a better fighter than Cain and JDS.

Barnett would be the best and most dangerous opponent for Fedor though. Both experinced, both proven, both well rounded, and both have great cardio. I would rank Barnett as second only to Fedor (he overtook Overeem because of Overeems questionable use of performance enhancing drugs).

^I agree with Barnett being the toughest fight for Fedor. In the past I thought Fedor would take it but Fedor has perhaps declined some and Barnett seems to be fighting smarter than ever so it would be a good one. If it stayed on the feet I think Fedor could do it, but if Barnett uses his newer get a takedown, make sure the position is secure, then try to submit him gameplan he could take it.

In the past Barnett didn't always control position and tire guys out as much before trying to submit as he does now. I think it will only make him better. In fact, I would argue Barnett is the best now that he has ever been.

Great post Kin, I holistically agree.

Out of the ones in the poll, Duffee.
Outside of ufc but not quite outside of zuffa, Barnett, Sergei, that guy who ko'd Big Foot.

As far as rankings, not sure why anyone would be so against MMA-ELO. At the very worst they would
be as bad as the man-made up on a whim rankings of self-proclaimed mma experts who's main purpose
is pandering to the masses. At the very worst.

Is it because they take out personal bias?

Now if you wanna argue that all mma rankings are useless you'd be correct,
but that's not what you're arguing for is it?

Fedor vs. Minowaman for the Super Hulk strap ASAP at KSW or at a NYE event.

In all seriousness though, I'd like to see Fedor fight Werdum, Big Foot, and Henderson again to avenge those BS losses.

pish-posh-preposterous. I love Fedor, but those are legit losses.

At the very least the henderson fight was an early stoppage IMO. The Bigfoot fight as well wouldn't have been stopped under the best Mma rules system since its inception: Japanese rules.

I hate American mma

Rizzo is the best matchup from this list but I don´t want to see Rizzo getting destroyed. If Lashley beats JT in devastating fashion I would like Fedor to smash him in the first round.

Pretty much Fedor is going to have to fight the same guys Barnett was fighting when he wasn't with Strikeforce or the ufc (plus a few newer names that have come along since then). More guys may open up down the line but it is what it is.

Frankly Fedor gave us 10 years at the top, fighting the best guys, so now at the end of his career if he fights some non top 10-15 guys, I am okay with that. I can understand not wanting to be locked down to a ufc contract where they basically own you. Unlike most of the guys in the ufc, the ufc did not make Fedor, so why should he be under their control? He doesn't need them to sell out events.

Eventually the ufc will be cutting some guys, and that will open up some names for Fedor to fight. Plus things happen, the ufc could flop even more on fox, some scandal may hit, dana and his mob boys could die in a plane crash and someone decent will take over the ufc which could make Fedor interested in being there.

The UFC would have Fedor fight maybe once a year, and I don't really see them giving him the level of comp they could anyway. Basically, and you remember I gave Fedor shit for Monson, I reckon fellas like Ishi and Monson are on par with or better than Kongoish level of UFC HWs. I could be wrong because Zuffa would rather put their feet in their mouths than lose a buck, but I'd be surprised if they gave Fedor their top tier fighters. I believe we as fans get a better deal with him getting his own fights. About same level of comp and more often. Not to mention how hard it is to deal with Zuffa and streaming right now.

It's funny you mention that marchegiano. I was literally thinking the exact same thing today, about how these guys are on Kongo's level.

The hater's won't appreciate anything Fedor does either way, so I am not worried about them. I just enjoy watching Fedor fight and whoever is available will just have to be enough. I do hope he gets to fight a couple more top 10 guys before it's over though.