It’s time to unfold the truth about Fedor’s only real loss to Fabricio Werdum. After reading numerous online posts regarding his loss, I thought I would try and dispel some of the myths surrounding it.

It was Luck

First and foremost, Werdum was not lucky. Luck, as someone once put it, is when preparation meets opportunity. The triangle choke is one of the most elementary yet effective moves in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. And the setup? One arm in, one arm out. THAT was the opportunity Fedor gave to Werdum. Fedor used hammer punches on Werdum from the side while leaving his left arm between the legs of Werdum. Fedor’s posture was also up, thus allowing the hip movement Werdum needed to get his left leg around Fedor’s head to set up the triangle. Fedor shrugged the first triangle off. Moments later, he was put back in the exact same position. Luck, by any definition, doesn’t happen in intervals such as that. Had Werdum put Fedor in some bizarre, never-before-seen toe-locking crotch hold neck crank, then yes folks, we could call it “luck.”

Fedor was on the Decline

This is probably my favorite untruthful allegation. Had Fedor won the fight, fans wouldn’t be saying that his health was questionable, or that his skill had declined. Fedor himself has said in recent interviews that he feels his game is still making improvements. Did he look “off” during that fight? I don’t think so. He looked just like Fedor always looks--quick, explosive, calm, and ready to kill.

Fedor should now Fight Light-Heavyweight//Change Strategies//Retire

So the man looses ONE fight, and now some think he needs to retire, change weight classes or alter strategy? Brilliant logic. To give a sports-related analogy, that is like saying this: I just shot 31 free throws and finally missed one. Now I need to question my shooting form or think about stop shooting altogether. MMA is an extremely unpredictable sport. One minor mistake, and a fighter can loose. To fight thirty-one fights and only loose one probably has statisticians questioning their algorithms.


My Thoughts about the Fight

Like many of you who didn’t see the fight live, when you read the results online you probably were so taken aback that you thought it was some sort of joke or misprint. Yes, when I thereby checked multiple sources and saw the actual footage Sunday morning, the truth set in. My favorite fighter had loss. The dog had had his day.

Once the loss set in, I suppose it wasn’t too shocking to hear he lost via a triangle. After all, Nogueira had quite a few attempts when he fought Fedor. I’m sure Werdum and his team studied those fights religiously, and knew that Werdum would have similar attempts. And I’m sure Fedor and his team thought that this would be just like the Noguiera fight, minus Nog’s fortified chin. They probably thought Fedor could stun him on the stand up, take him down, and then knock him out on the ground.

I think the reason this fight went awry for Fedor was because 1) the punches he delivered to Werdum on the standup didn’t phase Werdum enough to not worry about his submissions 2) Fedor didn’t respect the power of Werdum’s triangle--which is why he allowed Werdum a 2nd attempt at it 3) it was too early in the round to simply shrug off a deep-set triangle--the sweat factor wasn’t on Fedor’s side. For those reasons, he lost.

So there you have it. The Fedorian myths about his first loss are debunked. And, in my opinion, the Last Emperor still reigns. :)