The fight for which we’ve been waiting the past several months is finally taking place. Dan Henderson and Fedor Emelianenko will square off Saturday at Sears Centre Arena outside Chicago in an M-1/Strikeforce card on Showtime. Fedor has lost two straight fights after winning 27 in a row. Hendo has won back-to-back fights as a light heavyweight and is stepping up in weight to face Fedor. He knows he’ll have his hands full.
“I am expecting a very dangerous Fedor in this fight,” Henderson wrote in a post on Yahoo! Sports. “I don’t buy that he is past his prime. I think people are reading too much into his losses against Fabricio Werdum and Antonio Silva.
“I watched both of those fights, and I believe I’d be wrong to think Fedor will not being at his best this Saturday. I think anybody who has his back to the wall coming off two losses is definitely more dangerous.”
Hendo says he feels like Fedor got cocky with his submission against Werdum. He thinks The Emperor was somewhat out of shape against Big Foot Silva, and acknowledges the weight difference was a factor.
Hendo also revealed some of his plans for the fight. He says he’ll use the clinch to control things and his wrestling to set up his monster right hand.
Like Henderson, I don’t believe Fedor is done. Emelianenko got caught by Werdum and was mismatched against Silva. Against someone his size like Hendo, I’m expecting a win. If he can’t get the victory, then it may be time to give it up.
