After Japan's Satoshi Ishii won the gold medal in heavyweight judo this week, he made a bold statement: Ishii said he wants to fight the top heavyweight in mixed martial arts, Fedor Emelianenko. Dave Meltzer reports that Ishii is a national hero in Japan, and that if he did fight Fedor, it would probably be a bigger draw in that country than an experienced, legitimate MMA heavyweight taking on Fedor would be.
Fedor is currently sidelined after breaking a bone in his hand while punching the daylights out of Tim Sylvia, but he has said he expects to be ready to participate in his annual New Year's Eve fight in Japan. So could Ishii be his opponent?
It sounds like a long shot, but not totally out of the question. There's no such thing as professional judo, and if Ishii wants to make a living off his skills, MMA might be the best bet. I'd prefer to see Fedor fight an experienced MMA heavyweight, but if Ishii is his next opponent, I'll be watching.
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