Randy Couture has always desperately wanted to fight Fedor Emelianenko, once going so far as to leave the UFC in an unsuccessful attempt to fight Fedor elsewhere. But while Couture's fight with Fedor is probably never going to happen, Couture does hope that his friend Vitor Belfort gets that chance.And Couture says that Belfort would have as good a chance as Josh Barnett -- or anyone else -- of beating Fedor, if Belfort is, as many expect, the man who steps in for Barnett and challenges Fedor on August 1 at Affliction Trilogy.
Couture tells Jake Rossen and Sacha Feinman:"The fact that he's a southpaw and Fedor hasn't prepared for a southpaw, the fact that he is very, very agile and explosive and a great boxer all lend well to him having a great performance," Couture said. "It's really a win-win for Vitor to fight one of the top guys in the sport, being a smaller guy stepping up on such short notice. ... He's got just as good a chance as anybody. Certainly he has as good a chance as Barnett had at fighting Fedor."Couture, as always, shows that he has a deep understanding of MMA strategy and various fighters' skills. But is his assessment realistic?
I don't think it is. Yes, Belfort has knocked out his last two opponents and has a puncher's chance, but I think he's going to have an almost impossible task ahead of him if he steps into the ring with Fedor in nine days. Belfort was preparing himself to fight at middleweight on the Affliction card. I don't see him beating the heavyweight champion of the world. And I certainly don't think he'd have as good a chance as Barnett.
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