Fedor Emelianenko Looks Primed for Strikeforce Heavyweight Tournament

Fedor Emelianenko is one of the most talented fighters in MMA regardless of weight class. The 34-year-old Urkainian last fought in June when he suffered his first true loss, tapping out a minute into his fight with Fabricio Werdum after getting caught in an armbar. As skilled as Fedor is, one knock against him is that he hasn’t always entered the ring in the best shape possible. The crafty Russian generally has some pudge around his belly for his bouts, but it hasn’t slowed him down. Coming off his first real loss though, Fedor isn’t messing around.

LBS contributor Alan Hull passed along some pics of Fedor who is trying out some new training methods and the guy looks great (no homo). Check it out:

He’s working with Ernesto Hoost’s team including Gegard Moussasi to try and mix it up with new coaches and practice partners. The change in regimen should serve him well in the eight-man tournament; after Big Foot, the winner of Alistair Overeem/Werdum awaits. Oh yeah, Josh Barnett, Sergei Kharitonov, Andrei Arlovski, and Brett Rogers are on the other half of the draw. The UFC usually gets all the pub in the MMA world, but Strikeforce’s heavyweight tournament blows away anything they have planned in the near future.