Fedor Emelianenko And The Air Of Invincibility

Yahoo! writers Steve Cofield and Kevin Iole talk about Strikeforce heavyweight contender Fedor Ememelianeko as we approach this weekend's Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva event. Much of it isn't disagreeable. They both agree Fedor still belongs among the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world. They also both agree the tournament bracket is probably a touch too stacked on one side. But one idea they float is that Fedor's Tyson-esque intimidation of opposition and the impression that Fedor is seemingly unstoppable is dwindling if not gone.

There's no denying his reputation has taken a hit. It has. But I've always maintained the weight disadvantage - and probably Fedor's jejune attitude heading into the bout - affected how the fight against Brett Rogers is perceived. The loss to Fabricio Werdum doesn't help, of course, but Fedor's image is elastic. With as much capital as he built up, even with M-1 spending a ton of it, the idea that Fedor's invincibility has been diminished is only true as a snapshot of the moment. With a dominating performance over Antonio Silva, "The Last Emperor" can easily reclaim lost glory that, frankly, many fans are waiting to heap on him for even the flimsiest of reasons.