Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva - The End for the Last Emperor?

There is a very real possibility that we just saw the last of Fedor Emelianenko competing in mixed martial arts. The Last Emperor's Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix quarterfinal bout against Antonio Silva ended following the second round, as the legend was left sitting on his stool while all parties involved fumbled to figure out whether or not the fight had actually been stopped.

Once the confusion was cleared and Antonio Silva interviewed after the biggest win of his MMA career, we were greeted with a truly unfortunate sight: a defeated Emelianenko standing in the Strikeforce cage, talking to Gus Johnson while cameras captured the extent of his swollen right eye. What's more, the signs of the unfortunate business choices that have plagued Emelianenko seemed to be everywhere. Vadim Finkelstein stood at a distance over the Russian legend's left shoulder as he raised his hands, slipped inside of gloves stamped with the M-1 logo, to reach for Gus Johnson's microphone and somewhat casually offer that it might be God's will for his fighting career to be over.

Perhaps that is the only positive thing that I can highlight with regard to the post-fight happenings. Potentially ending his career in the wrong sort of situation, in the wrong place, and surrounded by the wrong people, Fedor Emelianenko remained the cool professional that diehard fans have long told outsiders that they just needed to see to believe. Emelianenko may have held on to the stoic distance which helped forge his unmatched aura, but it was evident that the gravity of the moment was not lost on the former Pride heavyweight champion.

Personally, I believe that it would still be premature to claim that Fedor Emelianenko has been passed by in the evolution of the mixed martial arts heavyweight division. He remains a well-rounded fighter with the skills to put opponents away. Unfortunately, he also remains a fighter with the tendency to show real disinterest in assessing risk while pursuing his opponents. In his submission loss to Fabricio Werdum and tonight's stoppage against Antonio Silva we have seen two results that I believe are both rightly attributed to that quality.

Emelianenko definitely lost the second round of his bout tonight and, during that round, the situation often looked hopeless for the Last Emperor. Be that as it may, he survived being mounted by the larger Silva and escaped dangerous submission attempts. Again, I would like to believe that Emelianenko has shown us enough to indicate that he could walk away with a few more victories if some minor adjustments are made. However, while I can't speak for the will of any deity or other man, I do have to wonder if that is what the former heavyweight kingpin wants. After all, the sun must eventually set on the reign of even the greatest of rulers.