Can Couture vs. Emelianenko Live up to the Hype??

This was a post I wrote on January 28th but it bears repeating. You can also click on the original post in the sidebar to see the great comments that were made in regards to this topic. More comments are welcome, especially in this case.

The mess that has ensued because promotions are not putting together Randy Couture vs. Fedor Emelianenko is growing by the day. The main question is will this fight, if it takes place, ever live up to the hype it's receiving?

Couture says that defeating Fedor is the very last accomplishment he wants to achieve in his fighting career. This fight won't take place any time soon which means that Couture could possibly be 45 years old when they fight. Laws of nature will eventually catch up to him. There's no way to delay it any longer. He can train all he wants but age sneaks up on you like a...um...well something that sneaks up on someone.

Do we want to see a 45 year old man fighting the most dangerous man on the planet? Ok I know we should never doubt Couture but c'mon, at his age reflexes aren't as sharp, balance and stability aren't what they once were. Don't forget, this guy was fed his cake by Chuck Liddell twice not too long ago and now there's talk of Liddell not being what he once was.

While it's extremely impressive that Couture came out of retirement and won the heavyweight title from Tim Sylvia, it was only Tim Sylvia. Think about it, Tim Sylvia said he wasn't going to use it as an excuse but he did have a legitimate back injury which required surgery so he clearly wasn't 100%. Not to mention, the consensus says Tim Sylvia sucks.

So Randy Couture defeated an injured Tim Sylvia and then took on Gabriel Gonzaga, whom he TKO'd in the 3rd round to retain his title. Gonzaga had just come off knocking Cro Cop's head off to earn the right to face Couture. Then we see Gonzaga in his fight against Fabricio Werdum and he stunk up the joint.

So Couture beat two average fighters and now he's supposed to conquer Fedor. I don't want to say this but given the opponents, maybe Couture isn't that great and this fight shouldn't get the hype it's getting.

Fedor hasn't fought any real competition in about a year and it's looking like he still won't. A comment was written by 'God of Thunder' regarding the heavyweight division and he ended it with, "I wanna see Couture vs. Fedor!"

Well this fight needs to happen yesterday before it loses every bit of lust it's attained. But while I know not to doubt Randy Couture, I don't see how this fight can live up to its billing. If and when it does happen, don't say I didn't warn you of a disappointment.