MMA legends Fedor Emelianenko and Dan Henderson squared off in a heavyweight event this past Saturday, July 30, at Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill., near Chicago.
This past weekend’s “Strikeforce and M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Henderson” event drew a 1.7 household rating with an average of 571,000 viewers Saturday night – the fourth-best showing for Strikeforce on the network.
Strikeforce first began appearing on the premium network in April 2009 and seems to be picking up steam – four of the five best ratings figures for the partnership have aired in 2011.
The match started fast, and with Fedor looking to take advantage he was struck with a hard right uppercut that took down the heavyweight. Referee Herb Dean intervened 4:12 into round one to call this one in Henderson’s favor.
“I think [the stoppage] was early. I don’t want to say anything bad about the referee or anything, but it seems to me it was early,” Emelianko said in his post-fight interview. “I was clearly hit, but I wasn’t hit flush and directly. I think I could have continued, but the referee decided to stop it.”
With his last loss coming in the 5th round to Jake Shields, Henderson has now gone on a rampage by landing three consecutive knockouts. The fight was the last on Henderson’s current contract, and the win over the Pride legend will only increase his ability to command a nice contract in the coming months.
“We’ll see what happens,” Henderson said. “I’d like to defend that belt in Strikeforce, but, right now, it’s all up to Strikeforce and Zuffa. I’m just going to enjoy this victory for a while.”
The TKO loss to Henderson was Fedor’s third straight defeat, and many are speculating that the fighter is thinking hard on his next move – possibly packing it in and calling it a career.
“As a fan of Fedor’s,” Henderson said, “I hope he keeps fighting.”
What do you think – will Fedor rebound from his string of three straight losses, or should he retire and preserve his legacy?