How would have history treated Fedor Emelianenko if he went to the UFC before signing with Strikeforce?

In the world of sports, there's a constant stream of "What-If's" poised. What if Kobe and Shaq stayed lovers forever and never quarrelled? What if Tiger Woods didn't have to sleep with a bunch of women and kept his marriage stable? What if Michael Jordan decided to retire rather than try to play Baseball? What if Anderson Silva decided not to clown with Chris Weidman? There are endless questions like these, but one I want to talk about is MMA related in regards to a simple but seemingly complicated man known as The Last Emperor in Fedor Emelianenko.

In order to know Fedor, you'd have to look back at his history. Upon first glance, you see a Russian man who looks fairly pudgy and doesn't necessarily look to be your modern nearly chiseled body of a normal MMA fighter, journeyman or champion. But looks can be deceiving and during his heyday, Fedor was THE MAN. Not just any man, but the PRIDE Heavyweight Champion of the world. he took on men bigger, stronger, more skilled, even tougher than him who could be considered masters of their respective martial arts, and he would beat them. He defeated Mark Coleman who was an outstanding and very powerful looking wrestler, the infamous picture of Coleman's bruised and battered face as he was console his daughters ringside after the fight is testament to Fedor's skill. Or Kevin Randleman, a teammate and fellow collegiate wrestler of Coleman who suplexed Fedor astoundingly on his own head. A move of that caliber and the landing of a person's own head can have catastrophic effects, at worse possible paralysis or a broken neck. But Fedor shook it off like it was nothing, and later on in the fight, Fedor submits him with a Kimura. He faced Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera, the elder of 2 well known Nogueira brothers who established themselves as top class talent in PRIDE Fighting Championships, known for their toughness and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu skill. Fedor was the first to dethrone then champion Rodrigo Noguiera showing that his ground skills is enough to survive and defeat whatever "Big Nog" threw at him. Then came Fedor's next big test, skilled striker and the man who is beloved for his headkicks across MMA and even a bit in kickboxing, the man who headkicked Fedor's own brother Alexander - Mirko "Cro Cop" Flipovic. Cro Cop was an enigma, here was a man who was seemingly 1 dimensional, and outstanding striker with the power to finish practically anyone he could. Fedor wasn't daunted, if anything Fedor was motivated and angry that Mirko hurt his own brother. In a rare glimpse seen, we see the usual stoic Fedor Emelianenko backstage angrily talking to someone in regards to what happened to Alexsander, most likely in the context of what Mirko did. During that time, this was a fight to build up plenty of hype upon. It did just that, both men fought with ferocity. But Mirko was getting outstruck in his own domain - the standup game. From there, Fedor went to prove, even someone as dangerous as Cro Cop, even he can defeat. Fedor earned the decision and retained his title. Further cementing his legacy as possibly greatest P4P ever, and at that time, easily best Heavyweight MMA fighter ever.

From here, Fedor would fight in the now defunct Bodog Fight against light heavyweight UFC veteran Matt "The Law" Lindland and would get a decision win. Of course Fedor had fights in between that and Cro Cop, and even fights after, but his reputation took a hit as he faced "freakshow' opponents like the 500+ lbs Zuluzino, or the 7'2 tall Hong Man Choi, who he still easily defeated. These fights were seemingly just fights to keep Fedor busy and to give him a paycheck as the Japanese loved their Russian champion. But Fedor moved on to another now defunct MMA organization that got it's start in selling clothes, especially on UFC's advertising - Affliciton. Fedor fought and defeated 2 former UFC heavyweight champions in Affliction before they eventually closed down. They couldn't keep up the costs of paying fighters huge amounts of money. Tim Sylvia who Fedor defeated in about 36 seconds in round 1 was paid anywhere from $766,000 to nearly a million depending on your source. Fedor probably got paid in similar amount if not more as well. But that business plan was not sustainable whatsoever, it was intriguing to see a company that made their money with help from the UFC originally, go out on their own, sign 2 former UFC Heavyweight Champions to fight PRIDE's Heavyweight Champion. Fedor was able to prove once again that he at that time was the best HW in the world bar none. The mystique and aura of Fedor was at it's apex, and despite Andrei Arlovski looking like he was doing well in the fight, his flying knee attempt to Fedor opened up a huge opportunity for Fedor to swing a massive right hook as Arlovski was in the air, that landed flush. Arlovski ate the punch, and was subsequently knocked out.

Now at this point, Fedor is riding high off his career, and this is before he signed to Strikeforce. But what if the UFC was able to make an offer Fedor couldn't refuse. This is long before the UFC got a deal with FOX and was still well established having their lower tier cards like Ultimate Fight Nights on SpikeTV here in the United States. Say Dana and the Fertitas did cave to Fedor and his management's terms. Zuffa would build a stadium in Russia, all cards Fedor was in to fight would be labeled M-1 Global/UFC, and probably Fedor himself would get paid as much if not more than what he got from Affliction or PRIDE. While I doubt Fedor is what you'd consider a greedy man, he is a man who is very quiet, keeps to himself, and quite simple. Although very religious, he seems to have put in a huge amount of faith into his management  of Vadim Finklestein and M-1 Global. Even if the Zuffa and the UFC did cave in negotiations and gave Fedor everything he wanted, and a pony to boot. How would  have history treated Fedor? Would his hype finally live up to itself as he will be tested and challenged in MMA's greatest and most powerful organization in the world? It's hard to say. But here's what I think on a wide variety of matchups if he never participated in Strikeforce and went to the UFC instead...

• Fedor would face a similar challenge to what Brock Lesnar had to face in his first fight: Frank Mir. Here was a man who was a former champion as well, but well versed on the ground. Fedor's Sambo and Judo background would make it interesting to see who can assert their will of dominance on the ground, but Fedor's Ground and Pound was more active albeit a bit more reckless for Mir to try to exploit of. I think Mir would eat too much leather and get finished in the 2nd round.
• Up next would be another former UFC HW Champion and a fight many wanted to see, but never came to fruition: Randy Couture. The Natural himself would have a difficult time, but both men who were long established undersized at Heavyweight proved they can still be heavyweight champs. I would side with Fedor's youth, explosiveness, and wellrounded capabilities to overwhelm Randy, but Randy's wrestling, and most especially his clinch game would be able to keep him competitive enough to win. Also Fedor may have a tougher task adjusting to the clinch in the cage as Randy has proven he is quite able there. But Fedor's mastery of Judo and Sambo could nullify Randy's Greco Roman style - both in the ground and on the clinch. Decision for Fedor.
• The next fight would have been huge, and Pay Per View profits probably could have skyrocketted far greater than Lesnar vs. Mir 2 or Lesnar vs. Couture. Who else but Brock? This would assume that Brock wasn't struck with Diverticulitis. Fedor would face another ground type fighter, but this fight may go similarly to what he faced in Coleman or Randleman. Fedor could get ragdolled, Brock has a massive amount of strength simply by looking at his body. But Fedor has been put to the test countless times before, assuming Brock can't get his Ground and Pound in to damage Fedor enough, Fedor will eventually work his way out of it and land some good shot standing on Lesnar. One thing known is that Lesnar doesn't look like he can take a punch all too well. If Brock eats the fast powerful hooks from Fedor standing, he'll go down tumbling and will be eating punches until the ref pulls Fedor off him. Fedor by TKO or KO in the 3rd.

From here, assume it's around mid to late 2010 and the Strikeforce HW Grand Prix ended. There's too many what-if's and X-Factors here, but I'll do a shorter rundown on how I think Fedor will do with Strikeforce fighters entering the UFC.

• Alistair Overeem - Would have been really good to see if it did happen. But it's safe to say, if Overeem can't finish Fedor in the first or 2nd rounds, he'll gas. Could possibly lose a decision if he keeps himself composed.
• Antonio Silva - Let's forget what happened when Fedor and Bigfoot Silva actually did fight. I think the same process may happen again, Silva will find a way to bring it to the ground, and work some devastating GNP to prove he can GNP better than Fedor.
• Fabricio Werdum - Can Fedor win this? It's possible, albeit quite difficult. Werdum has proven to show that he's not to be taken likely many times over. Multiple time world BJJ Champion who's had his fair share as an experienced HW MMA veteran. Werdum can submit Fedor again if need be in this hypothetical situation. But would it be the infamous triangle armbar? Who knows...
• Daniel Cormier - I think we would see something similar to what Fedor vs. Randy might have been, but DC is much younger, hungrier, and in my opinion tougher and faster. Both men are also undersized for HW and could even fight it at Light Heavyweight if they wanted to. But in the end, I see DC getting his hands raised with a 29-28 victory using his wrestling, not necessarily by taking Fedor down, but just overwhelming him with clinches and negating as much offense as possible.
• Josh Barnett - Despite the supposed "Friendship" both men have to each other. This fight can also happen, whether in the UFC or not. It's hard to tell at what point Josh is in this stage of both men's respective careers. Josh is shown to be extremely formidable on the ground with his Catch Wrestling background. Josh can probably cut a really mean intro too due to his pro wrestling stints in Japan as well. Though for the fight itself, it's hard to say. Flip a coin and there's your result. Josh's Catch Wrestling in my opinion could potentially negate Fedor's Judo and Sambo at least for the clinch and ground, I guess what lies left is the striking game standing. Fedor may have the edge there, but Josh is a tough guy. I see an uneventful 3 rounds of clinching, takedowns, ground work, a little GNP, even sub attempts by both men, but nothing so damaging it could warrant a finish.

Lastly we have to consider how Fedor irregardless of him winning or losing will face against the now current generation of UFC's notable Heavyweights. I'll only go over a few people though.

• Junior Dos Santos - A fun brawl I think. But I do think Junior if he can avoid getting clinched or taken down should be able to win this handily. He has the power to even put Fedor down though. Even if JDS lost, he is still quite young and in due time can improve to eventually beat Fedor.
• Cain Velasquez - As close as it gets to being the most well rounded Heavyweight there is and already a future legend in the eyes of many. Honestly I don't think Fedor has much chance here unless he swings hard and does what JDS did in the first fight in the trilogy of JDS vs. Cain. Hit him with a big powerful punch to drop him, then unload until the ref pulls him off. That being said. Cain by endless cardio, and unrelenting pressure for a stoppage, but would be interesting as he is facing a HW smaller than him that isn't his friend and teammate Daniel Cormier.
• Roy Nelson - Maybe if Roy would use his vaunted Renzo Gracie BJJ Black Belt offensively (assuming he takes someone down too). Roy has a small chance to win here against Fedor. But truth be told, Roy has an amazing chin, but he's slower, and is clearly a plodding type of fighter. He'll swing for big hooks and overhands hoping to knock the opponent out. Unless Fedor gets caught, Fedor should win this as well.

So in the end, depending on who Fedor fights and how often he decides to fight in the UFC. I would at least maintain he'd have an even ratio of wins to loses. It's impossible to really know how each and every fight would turn out though, Fedor for all intents and purposes is very well rounded, but rather uncharacteristically calm even mere moments leading up to the fight let alone in the fight. He doesn't show panic, or overreact, his mental game seems to be forged of iron. Yet he's very humble and is always willing to thank God for all the fortune he has acquired in his career as a fighter nearly of myth. It's a sad state of affairs whether it's Dana's fault, or Fedor's management's fault that a deal was never worked out. Neither side seemed willing to compromise to bring forth a fighter who was seen undisputedly as the best heavyweight ever at the time and already went down as a legend. The fans all lost a chance to see if Fedor could be tested in the octagon. And it's likely that Fedor will stay semi retired, he may take a fight here and there against fighters of yester-year, or opponents who are still clearly over-matched. But many fans, pundits, and even other fighters would agree, Fedor in the UFC would have been some very interesting and amazing times for MMA if it happened.