The recent podcast episode of Joe Rogan Experience UFC London featured Brendan Schaub, Eddie Bravo, Joey Diaz, and Rogan. During the podcast, the conversation turned to Fabricio Werdum and what made his triangle submission of Fedor Emelianenko one of the most significant finishes in MMA history.
The crew had been discussing heavyweights who deserved more credit when Werdum’s name surfaced alongside a debate over who holds the best guard in heavyweight MMA history.
“Fedor had the scariest ground in jiu-jitsu,” Rogan said. Finding yourself on the mat with Fedor was among the worst positions a heavyweight could end up in, and yet Werdum dragged him there and finished him.
At the time the two met, Fedor had not lost a match. He was coming off a finish of Andrei Arlovski in a bout where Arlovski had been getting the better of him on the feet before leaping forward and getting caught with a perfect overhand punch.
Rogan stated, “Fedor hadn’t experienced any losses. He was f**king everybody up. Nobody thought he was going to lose.”
That was the man Werdum walked into a match against. The result was a triangle choke that changed the conversation around what was possible in the heavyweight division during that time.
“He caught him in a triangle,” Rogan noted.
The discussion then moved to where Werdum’s guard ranked historically among heavyweights.
“Maybe best guard in the history of the heavyweight division,” Rogan stated. “Honorable mention Frank Mir,” he continued.
“Werdum number one,” someone else said.
“But in MMA, you got to say number one. Best guard ever. But just for the Fedor match, 100%. Those legs, man. They lock on,” Rogan stated.
Additionally, Werdum had served as Cro Cop’s jiu-jitsu coach before making his own run through the sport. After that loss to Wedum, Fedor went on to fall to Bigfoot Silva, closing out his long unbeaten run.
