When Fedor Emelianenko steps into the cage for the final time of his career, he will be taking on another legend in the sport, Pedro Rizzo. While this fight would have been great to see anywhere from five to ten years ago, the fans will still be given a chance to watch these two heavyweights fight in M-1 Global. While Fedor may not be fighting like he was when he was the greatest heavyweight in the sport, he still has strong hands. Despite that, he may attempt to look past Rizzo, but he isn't a slouch either. Despite not fighting in nearly two years, Rizzo is also a dangerous fighter, but who do the odds makers favor?
Fedor Emelianenko -1000 vs. Pedro Rizzo +2000
Fedor is 33-4 in his career and has won two straight after dropping three straight to Fabricio Werdum, Antonio Silva and Dan Henderson. The Last Emperor was once believed to be the greatest fighter in the history of the heavyweight division, but those losses ended that talk. He holds major victories in his career against former UFC champions, including Andrei Arlovski, Tim Sylvia, Mark Coleman and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
The 38-year-old Rizzo is 19-9 in his career and is riding a three fight winning streak. The only problem with that is he hasn't fought since beating Ken Shamrock in July 2010. This could realistically be the final time he has a professional fight, so one has to imagine he will do his best to put up a solid performance.
Fedor is the heavy favorite to end his career with a victory, but as we have seen, favorites aren't guaranteed to walk away with a victory. When Silva beat Fedor, nobody had given the tough Brazilian a chance and he shocked the world. Whether Rizzo is capable of pulling off the upset remains to be seen, but it may be a bet worth making.
For a look at the best fights for some of the most popular fighters in the UFC and 2011 division recaps, go here.
More from this contributor:
UFC 147: A Struggle for Success
Kenny Florian Announces Retirement from MMA
Complete List of "The Ultimate Fighter" Winners
Top Fighters that Didn't Win TUF
What if Brock Lesnar Returned to UFC?
Hobson Lopes has been a fan of mixed martial arts since the days of Tank Abbott and can be followed on Twitter @HobsonLopes.
