Monson calling out Fedor?

[mls]

Jeff Monson is calling for DREAM to set him up for a fight with Russian heavyweight supremo Fedor Emelianenko.

Monson (30-8) beat tough Russian veteran Sergei Kharitonov - a former training partner of Emelianenko’s - at DREAM 8 yesterday (pictured).

“My goal in DREAM is to fight the best. Ultimately, I want to fight Fedor. If DREAM could set that up it would be great,” he said after disposing of Kharitonov in just 1:42 of the first round.

The American Top Team heavyweight scrambled for an early takedown, patiently worked for side control and then moved to North-South position to apply his patented Monson Choke.

“I am happy that the fight ended quickly as I know Sergey is a tough fighter with good conditioning. I wanted to end it quickly and am glad I managed to do so,” he said.

“I was a little surprised that I caught him like that so early. Normally that sort of hold is something that would take awhile to get. I have been training with Roy Nelson at American Top Team and there are many great ground fighters there.”

He added that he was “training that move just last night so it was very fresh in my mind. Of course when the opening was there, I took it“.

Monson also explained that he is grateful for the chance to fight in Japan as he is, as he puts it, having “some legal issues in the U.S. due to my stance against the Iraq war”.

The long-time anarchist and political activist is in trouble for applying graffiti to a building on the Washington State Capitol complex.




http://www.fightersonlymagazine.co.uk/news/viewarticle.php?id=2187

[JT42]

He used that in the UFC as well so I just figured that was somewhat of a go-to move for him. He would be murdered by Fedor though. I dont think he would even get near the ground game with Fedor and would quickly be TKO'd on the feet

[vikingpride]

I'm just waiting for Toxic to come in here and back up his boy Monson.

I really don't see how Monson could possibly win this fight. I don't mean that in any way to discredit Monson i just don't see one area where he is really better then Fedor. Unless of course tagging has become a part of mma?

[MilesHackett]

I'm just waiting for Toxic to come in here and back up his boy Monson.

I really don't see how Monson could possibly win this fight. I don't mean that in any way to discredit Monson i just don't see one area where he is really better then Fedor. Unless of course tagging has become a part of mma?

I like Jeff Monson, but I don't think he'd get Fedor to the ground. Fedor's a lot faster and more explosive than Sergei, and he'd punish Monson on the feet or put Jeff on his back and pound him from inside the guard.

[PirateNinja415]

if nog couldn't submit fedor, monson wouldn't be able to. that being said, he looked great in his last fight, just what he needed to lift him from that unimpressive win over nelson

[Negative2]

I didn't expect Monson to take out Sergei that quickly. It sure gives him confidence for a battle against Fedor but I don't think there is anywhere he would win.

He is pretty short and rather bulky. His frame would be too slow to keep up against Fedor's. Unless he crept in closely to Fedor and dragged him down. He could probably hang onto Fedor to get beaten into a decision but thats probably about it.

[Toxic]

Id love to see the fight but man thats a damn near impossible fight for him, Monson is a real threat to Fedor if he can get him on his back but I just dont know how Monson is supposed to get him there. Im sure Monson is still bitter about the way it all went down last time he was supposed to fight Fedor, for those who arent familiar Monson actually asked to be realeased by the UFC after the Sylvia fight because Bodog wanted him to come in and fight Fedor, unfortunatly by the time he got his realease straightened out it was to late and Bodog had already moved on which is how Lindland/Fedor ended up happening.

[XitUp]

Fedor would destroy the roid-hippy.

[bleSs]

WHY??? lol He couldn't even beat Big Tim lol

[Thaispider]

i wouldnt really see the point in this match-up fedor out matches him in every aspect . maybe monson should think about another few big wins before a bout with fedor.

[Toxic]

i wouldnt really see the point in this match-up fedor out matches him in every aspect . maybe monson should think about another few big wins before a bout with fedor.

Like Tim Sylvia who had lost 2 of his last 3 with the loan win over Vera or do you mean like Arlovski who had beat Rothwell and Nelson? Monsons recent record is just as impressive as what either of them had recently done when they got there crack at Fedor.

[KJ Brophy]

This is the reason why he is out of the UFC because he thought he could go to Pride and get a fight with Fedor. I think he gets merc'd by Fedor

[Toxic]

It was Bodog where he was supposed to fight Fedor Legend, he was supposed to get the fight Lindland got but he didnt get his formal UFC release in time.

[Aaron]

hopefully Monson is put in jail instead

[FunkYou]

hopefully Monson is put in jail instead

Gotta keep grafitti artists in line.

[bbjd7]

Monson gets beaten by Fedor, Arlovski, Barnett again, Sylvia again, Werdum, and Overeem.

God everytime I list the HW's outside of the UFC I get kinda sad.

And Toxic both those guys were former UFC HW champs. Monson isn't.

[KJ Brophy]

I don't know if I would be all that upset that Sylvia isn't in the UFC because I am not sure if he would be a contender there anymore.

[bbjd7]

Cheick Kongo is a contender in the UFC HW division.

Tim Sylvia is a better fighter then Kongo.

[Toxic]

Monson gets beaten by Fedor, Arlovski, Barnett again, Sylvia again, Werdum, and Overeem.

God everytime I list the HW's outside of the UFC I get kinda sad.

And Toxic both those guys were former UFC HW champs. Monson isn't.


Fedor should beat Monson thats a given but he is a legitimate threat to every other fighter you mentioned, he is a better grappler than Arlovski is so to say he cant win? , His fight with Barnette was close so to infer that he has no chance is ridiculous, hell the closest that fight came to a finish was when Monson dropped Josh. Sylvia Im not sure about I like to think Monson would have an answer to Sylvia's size the second time but he should have had it the fist time. Werdum is so blatantly overated its ridiculous, I doubt Werdum could sub Monson and would bet on Monson taking it by decision by scrambling and keeping the fight mostly standing in what would surely be a horrible fight, Monson may not be a feared striker but his striking is miles ahead of Werdums. Lastly Overeem who may be the most overated man in MMA right now, Overeem has done nothing in MMA to deserve this new found placement second only to Fedor in the HW division. He manhandled Cro Cop but this was Cro Cop circa 2008 who looked pathetic in that fight and was not the guy who was once one of the most feared men in MMA, he also knocked out Hari in K-1 which is extrememly impressive and proves he could probably beat any Hw in MMA in K-1 but it means alot less when you talk about MMA, other than that he has beat Paul Buentello who isnt exactly an top Hw and he beat Hunt who isnt an MMA fighter, he is a kick boxer. Im not sold on Overeem and Im not buying into all the recent hype around him.

[bbjd7]

Fedor should beat Monson thats a given but he is a legitimate threat to every other fighter you mentioned, he is a better grappler than Arlovski is so to say he cant win? , His fight with Barnette was close so to infer that he has no chance is ridiculous, hell the closest that fight came to a finish was when Monson dropped Josh. Sylvia Im not sure about I like to think Monson would have an answer to Sylvia's size the second time but he should have had it the fist time. Werdum is so blatantly overated its ridiculous, I doubt Werdum could sub Monson and would bet on Monson taking it by decision by scrambling and keeping the fight mostly standing in what would surely be a horrible fight, Monson may not be a feared striker but his striking is miles ahead of Werdums. Lastly Overeem who may be the most overated man in MMA right now, Overeem has done nothing in MMA to deserve this new found placement second only to Fedor in the HW division. He manhandled Cro Cop but this was Cro Cop circa 2008 who looked pathetic in that fight and was not the guy who was once one of the most feared men in MMA, he also knocked out Hari in K-1 which is extrememly impressive and proves he could probably beat any Hw in MMA in K-1 but it means alot less when you talk about MMA, other than that he has beat Paul Buentello who isnt exactly an top Hw and he beat Hunt who isnt an MMA fighter, he is a kick boxer. Im not sold on Overeem and Im not buying into all the recent hype around him.
Arlovski also has a great sprawl and Monson doesn't have a great shot. Monson gets knocked out no question.

I'm one of the biggest haters on Arlovski shit ground game but he has TDD. Hell he stuffed Fedor pretty well.

Barnett was clearly the better fighter against Monson. Rematch would be more of the same.

Werdum isn't a terrible striker. Because of his shit performance against Dos Santos people think he is but he lands nice flurries and he knocked out Gonzaga standing and did fine against Arlovski and Vera. Werdum is the better grappler and standing it's actually pretty even when you add in Werdum's height advantage and flurries.

Overeem is a good enough grappler that Monson won't submit him and standing that is a dream fight for Overeem. Monson is a midget how the hell is he going to get close enough to take Overeem down? Especially with Overeem's knees.

Monson really is screwed in the non UFC HW division.

If he went back to the UFC I think he would stand a much better chance.

[JT42]

It was Bodog where he was supposed to fight Fedor Legend, he was supposed to get the fight Lindland got but he didnt get his formal UFC release in time.

I actually did not know this so thanks for the info!

[Toxic]

Overeem is a good enough grappler that Monson won't submit him and standing that is a dream fight for Overeem. Monson is a midget how the hell is he going to get close enough to take Overeem down?

Im pretty sure a whole bunch of people used this argument before the Kharitonov fight as well..

[Aaron]

Im pretty sure a whole bunch of people used this argument before the Kharitonov fight as well..

and rightfully so...the problem is that overeem's grappling is much better than sergei's ever was...

Monson is one of the most one dimensional fighters still around....he's only good from the top position...and even there he can be controlled

[bbjd7]

Sergei also hasn't been fighting very often and Overeem is in his physical prime right now.

Also Alistair is the only guy who is probably as phyiscally powerful as Monson.

[Toxic]

Is Overeems grappling that much better though? Go back and watch Sergei and Overeems fights again, hell Overeem manages to get Sergeis back lots and never manages to come even remotlely close to doing anything with it, I could be wrong there are plenty of Overeem fights I havent seen but please direct me to which one I need to see that shows his stellar ground game.

[bbjd7]

Overeem doesn't have a stellar ground game it's just good enough to hold Monson at bay.

The only guy to submit him was Werdum and Werdum is just a different level of grappler then anyone at HW really right now with Nogueira on the downside.

Alistair in the first fight with Sergei, in his fights with Hunt, and Buentello showed real good grappling.

[Toxic]

I wasnt overly impressed witht the first Sergei fight, Overeem keeps getting Sergei's back but Sergei keeps trying the same stupid throw over and over and it keeps having the same result, that doesnt prove Alistairs grappling skills to me especially considering Sergei really does more while Alistair has his back then Overeem does.

Hunt and Buentello are so far off from Monson in grappling skills even using one as an example against the other is prettty ridiculous

[Aaron]

I wasnt overly impressed witht the first Sergei fight, Overeem keeps getting Sergei's back but Sergei keeps trying the same stupid throw over and over and it keeps having the same result, that doesnt prove Alistairs grappling skills to me especially considering Sergei really does more while Alistair has his back then Overeem does.

Hunt and Buentello are so far off from Monson in grappling skills even using one as an example against the other is prettty ridiculous

monsons got some big problems even w/ his ground game tho

a) he is useless of his back....
b) he's useless from the closed guard..his guard passing is terrible if that's his starting position

[bbjd7]

Toxic I'm not saying those performances show he can outgrapple Monson I'm saying they show he is good enough to survive.

[Toxic]

Toxic I'm not saying those performances show he can outgrapple Monson I'm saying they show he is good enough to survive.

I think Monson can outgrapple Overeem and put him away I dont think Overeems grappling is much of a problem its his stand up that is the huge problem for a guy like Monson.

[Aaron]

I think Monson can outgrapple Overeem and put him away I dont think Overeems grappling is much of a problem its his stand up that is the huge problem for a guy like Monson.

if there is a difference in the ground game, it's much smaller than the difference in the standup game...

[Toxic]

if there is a difference in the ground game, it's much smaller than the difference in the standup game...

I think Monson's stand up is ridiculously underated but come on standing Overeem is a monster, saying Overeem is a way better striker isnt taking alot away from Monson the same could be said of the majority of the HW division. I will say though that the diffrence in grappling is way more than what your describing it as, IMO your underating Monsons grappling as well as overating Overeems. I think the best thing that has happened to Monson was the loss to Rizzo because it reminded him that he isnt a striker and I doubt you'd see him try to bang with Overeem.

[Aaron]

I think Monson's stand up is ridiculously underated but come on standing Overeem is a monster, saying Overeem is a way better striker isnt taking alot away from Monson the same could be said of the majority of the HW division. I will say though that the diffrence in grappling is way more than what your describing it as, IMO your underating Monsons grappling as well as overating Overeems. I think the best thing that has happened to Monson was the loss to Rizzo because it reminded him that he isnt a striker and I doubt you'd see him try to bang with Overeem.

w/ respect to the striking, monson is at a severe disadvantage in all facets....power, speed, accuracy, diversity of strikes, and reach.....monson's effective mma standup is pretty bad....unless he's fighting fatass nelson

w/ respect to ground work, as i mentioned, monson has big holes in his game....he's not good off his back at all, and there is no way in hell he's getting out of Overeem's closed guard....Overeem while not having the greatest ground game, it's very solid, and definitely capable of stalling out an overrated fighter like monson. Monson's best bet is avoid full guard like the plague and get into side control during the takedown, but that's not likely to happen....Monson's takedowns can be defended, and Overeem way bigger than Monson...

[Toxic]

w/ respect to the striking, monson is at a severe disadvantage in all facets....power, speed, accuracy, diversity of strikes, and reach.....monson's effective mma standup is pretty bad....unless he's fighting fatass nelson[QUOTE] Huh? I thought Monsons striking looked horrid in the Nelso fight, the best his striking has probably looked was against Barnett.

[QUOTE]w/ respect to ground work, as i mentioned, monson has big holes in his game....he's not good off his back at all, and there is no way in hell he's getting out of Overeem's closed guard....Overeem while not having the greatest ground game, it's very solid, and definitely capable of stalling out an overrated fighter like monson. Monson's best bet is avoid full guard like the plague and get into side control during the takedown, but that's not likely to happen....Monson's takedowns can be defended, and Overeem way bigger than Monson... How is Monson overated? The guy can rack up wins over legitimate opponents like Nelson, Sergei and even Ricco Rodriguez is a pretty solid opponent and yet nobody gives him his due anytime he ever faces a solid opponent he is the underdog,when a fighter is beating guys everyones saying will beat him that makes him underated not overated. Also Overeem is about the same size as Sergei so to say he cant because Overeem is bigger doesnt make sense.

[Aaron]

[QUOTE=Aaron;14533]w/ respect to the striking, monson is at a severe disadvantage in all facets....power, speed, accuracy, diversity of strikes, and reach.....monson's effective mma standup is pretty bad....unless he's fighting fatass nelson[QUOTE] Huh? I thought Monsons striking looked horrid in the Nelso fight, the best his striking has probably looked was against Barnett.

How is Monson overated? The guy can rack up wins over legitimate opponents like Nelson, Sergei and even Ricco Rodriguez is a pretty solid opponent and yet nobody gives him his due anytime he ever faces a solid opponent he is the underdog,when a fighter is beating guys everyones saying will beat him that makes him underated not overated. Also Overeem is about the same size as Sergei so to say he cant because Overeem is bigger doesnt make sense.

firstly, i think your the only one who believes monson won the fight against Roy Nelson...fact is that was one of the worst decisions in mma history...roy should have won an unanimous

and i don't know many underrated fighters that lose to a guy like this

http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/048rgZD0BeeSE/610x.jpg

overeem is larger than Sergei since he's been going w/ his all natural supplement plan imo

the reason monson is overrated is because the only guys he is beating are guys that are perfectly suited to his style.....if you can be taken down and have a bad ground game, you will lose by submission.....if you have a good ground game and bad tdd, you'll lose by decision.....every other combination of fighter should beat jeff monson...basically if you have any kind of tdd, you should win.

and he's the exact same fighter he was 5 years ago....

[bbjd7]

I'm kinda in the middle on this. Monson is an above average HW and would give a ton of guys in the UFC problems. But he's not a great HW and outside of the UFC there are a ton of great HW's.

I mean Monson would be way better off facing guys like Kongo, Mir, Gonzaga, and Carwin.

All guys who have holes in their games Monson could take advantage of.

But Monson can't take advantage of Fedor, Arlovski, Barnett, Werdum, Sylvia, or Overeem they are too talented. And they are terrible match ups for him.