A Look at Legacies: A Comparison Between Tito Ortiz and Fedor Emelianenko

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In the past two weeks we've seen two of the all time greats continue
their falls from grace. For one, it's been a five year struggle to
remain relevant in an ever changing light heavyweight division. For
another, the fall from grace was much more sudden and completely
unexpected. For both Fedor Emelianenko and Tito Ortiz,
two men who one ruled their respective divisions, the most recent years
have been unkind. At one point both were considered the best, now only
shells of the men they used to be. Let's take a look at their legacies
and how these most recent string of losses have affected how fans and
media view their accomplishments.

It's easy for fans to write off Tito Ortiz. He's become a caricature
of his once great self and honestly, his recent record is dismal. For
those that are Ortiz fans, they are quick to point out that his losses
have only been to the top light heavyweights the UFC has to offer. They
will attempt to argue that he almost defeated Rashad Evans if not for the point deduction and came extremely close to finishing Lyoto Machida
by a triangle choke when the two squared off. For those that hate
everything about the Huntington Beach Bad Boy, it's easy to hate the
most decorated light heavyweight champion in history. A loss to Matt Hamill is inexcusable. Claiming to have a cracked skull after fighting Forrest Griffin is more so.

The excuses following every fight were more than enough for MMA fans
to begin writing Ortiz off. He gained back some good will with his gutsy
win over Ryan Bader
and for stepping in on short notice against Rashad Evans, but it is
hard to ignore the shenanigans he's pulled over the years with his
excuses and poor performances. The fight game is one where it's not what
you have done, it's what you have done lately, and for Tito Ortiz, his
recent history has been underwhelming.

For Fedor Emelianenko, his fall from grace has been much more sudden.
Long considered not just the best heavyweight but also pound for pound
the best fighter in the world, dropping his last three fights has
surprised many fight fans. Fedor is one of those fighters that people
either love or hate, there really isn't a middle ground. His fans have
such an unadulterated love for him, that they aren't willing to accept
that the sport may have passed him by. In contrast, his detractors are
unable to reflect on his record and see that he has been at the top of
the sport for the greater part of a decade. This division in fandom is
based on the excuses from both sides. In order to justify their
arguments, they are willing to write off any opponent he faces.

The two fighters differ in who makes the excuses. For Ortiz, it is
the fighter who makes the excuses following losses. For Emelianenko, his
fans are those that make the excuses. For both, their legacies are at
risk should they continue fighting. Many expected that Fedor would
retire following his third straight loss, the most recent to the Strikeforce light heavyweight champion. Dan Henderson's stoppage in Chicago was a cause for concern. Fedor's losses to Fabricio Werdum and Antonio Silva
could be viewed as a fighter no longer able to compete with a much
bigger and talented heavyweight division. The loss to Henderson showed
that Fedor's speed had faded as well.

When both men choose to walk away from the sport is anyone's guess.
But when they do, how will they be remembered? What will UFC fans choose
to remember about Ortiz? Will he be the man who ruled the light
heavyweight division and showed that above average wrestling mixed with
competent grappling could dominate his peers? Or will fans choose to
remember him as the fighter who ducked Chuck Liddell
for years and get stopped by his rival twice? For Emelianenko, his fans
will choose to remember him as the best. But what about the rest of us?
When the dust settles and the gloves are hung up, will Fedor be on the
MMA Mount Rushmore? Is he the prototype for future heavyweights or was
he just a fighter who benefitted from matchmaking?

A fighter's legacy will always have two points of view. Both Tito and
Fedor have their fans who will always remember their high points. But
for those that don't share that kind of love, the legacy is one where it
really comes down to a view on history. For both, the longer that they
choose to stick around means that they have a greater chance to justify
the detractors. There is nothing left for either to accomplish in the
sport. A run at a title is unlikely for both at this point and it would
be far more beneficial to keep whatever name they have

Bloodyelbow

Interesting the article really doesnt talk about Tito's 5 title defenses. Now I could be mistaken but did the Paper Emperor ever defend a title five times?

As a matter of fact he did.

He fought (and beat) a lot of top competition in Pride (Nog, Cro Cop, Herring, Coleman, Randleman, etc) but he also had a few circus/gimme fights too which is why some people think he was fed cans the whole time. The fact that he didn't go to the UFC afterwards and fought sub-par opponents definitely hurt his legacy.

Say what you want about Tito being a douche/jackass/egomaniac, but the guy has had tough fights his whole career

Tito is tito. Even without winning a fight for six years or whatever it was he still packs the house making a shit load of douh and will only fight top notch opponents. No doubt one of the greatest champs ever. But i feel the same way about fedor even tho he was fed cans it was m1 who bruised him imo. Fedor still holds the most wins over top notch hws than any other hw ever...

drainbamage wrote:

As a matter of fact he did.

I'm curious... what titles has he defended five times? And really I don't think WAMMA counts does it?

Well.... he never defended the WAMMA Title did he.... or was that against Arlovski and Rogers... and then magically when he lost, it wasn't for the title...
WAMMA Title = Fuckin Clown Shoes!

Oh that silly Kreiger...

I just wanna know what sins Fedor keeps talking about. That dude thinks he's in for some shit when he dies... perhaps feeling guilty about the WAMMA title?

Chrom wrote:

Well.... he never defended the WAMMA Title did he.... or was that against Arlovski and Rogers... and then magically when he lost, it wasn't for the title...
WAMMA Title = Fuckin Clown Shoes!