Fedor: An Uncertain Future

If all goes as expected tomorrow night Fedor Emelianenko will defeat Fabricio Werdum. Yet the fighting future for Fedor remains as foggy as a morning on the Russian Steppes.

Here's what we know: Fedor will have one more fight on his Strikeforce contract on Sunday and that's about it. Everything else is pure speculation.

Much like when Fedor signed with Affliction there were limited options in Strikeforce. With Affliction the road map was clear, Tim Sylvia, Andrei Arlovski (who went through a mini-resurgence with wins over Ben Rothwell and Roy Nelson) and Josh Barnett. The same could be said of Strikeforce which offered Alistair Overeem, Brett Rogers who had just KO'd Arlovski prior to the Fedor signing and Fabricio Werdum. A victory over Werdum would leave Overeem as the obvious final opponent but the gulf between the two camps --something D.W. of Head Kick Legend has touched upon during our podcasts-- raises doubts about such a fight ever truly materializing.

Who does that leave left as an opponent? Antonio Silva? Josh Barnett in Japan? Even the Overeem fight, something hardcores yearn for, has marketing serious difficulties in North America. Simply put the cupboard is almost bare.

Due to the impending shortage of contractual fights not to mention opponents, speculation naturally turns to the UFC, which becomes even hazier with Fedor's recent contradictory comments (possibly due to issues with translation) but even that talking point is ill informed as the classic issue of co-promotion will, in all probabilitty, forever forestall any signing.

Thus we look upon the greatest heavyweight fighter in MMA's short history staring into an uncertain future with seemingly few paths to tread. Will tomorrow night provide a beacon of light through the Cossack fog or will we continue to wander through the haze.