Reem: Fedor not the heavyweight G.O.A.T.

#3 ranked UFC heavyweight Alistair Overeem spoke recently with FightHub TV about Fedor Emelianenko, and whether he is the division G.O.A.T. On the plus side:
•Fedor’s 29-fight streak started on April 6, 2001, and ended on June 26, 2010, for more than nine years. Add four fights and a year if you discount the bogus cut stoppage.
•Ten wins were against fighters who at some point in their careers held major MMA championships, and that doesn’t include his high profile career win over Mirko Cro Cop.
•Holds career wins over Andrei Arlovski, Mark Coleman (twice), Cro Cop, Mark Hunt, Matt Lindland, Big Nog (twice), Kevin Randleman, and Tim Sylvia.

Overeem, however, is not a believer.

What can you say about it?” said ‘Reem, as transcribed by Jed Meshew for MMA Fighting. “I think Fedor had a great run in 2002-2005 and after that – people talk about 10 years undefeated and blah, blah, blah but after 2005, who did he fight? He fought cans. He declined to fight me on two occasions, in 2009 and 2010.

The other thing is that he never tested himself in the UFC. That’s something that bothers me. He should have done that. He should have went to the UFC and went to that mix. There’s always gonna be that little thing over his career.

He’s not the greatest heavyweight because he declined to fight me on two occasions while I was the Strikeforce heavyweight champion. You want to fight for the belt, right? I wanted to fight him, he’s a name. And secondly, because he didn’t go to the UFC.

To answer Reem’s question about who Fedor fought after 2005 …
October 21, 2006: Tapped former UFC heavyweight champion Mark Coleman.
December 31, 2006: Tapped future UFC heavyweight title challenger Mark Hunt.
April 14, 2007: Tapped former UFC middleweight title challenger Matt Lindland.
December 31, 2007: Freakshow vs. Hong-man Choi.
July 19, 2008: Tapped former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia.
January 24, 2009: Knocked out former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski in Round 1.
November 7, 2009: Knocked out Brett Rogers in Round 1.

Overeem also thinks Fedor should retire.

I’m a fan of [Fedor’s],” said the Dutchman. “I like him as a person but I’m having talks with my staff and my crew and my coaches about when is a good time to hang up the gloves. When does your performance start to diminish your legacy and your career? All legit questions I think and I think it goes for him too. He should have those conversations.

When you’re looking good in your performances, then you don’t need to have that talk. But when you’re looking bad in your performances, then I think you should need to have that talk. When you’re racking up some consecutive losses then you should start having those talks with yourself, with your foundation, with the people around you.

I know him but I don’t know him that well. I don’t know if the people around him are being honest with him. You don’t know if money is a factor, if money is a motivator because of course Fedor is making good money when he fights. Maybe his money ran out. You don’t know. There’s multiple factors always going on but I hope that he doesn’t destroy his legacy more.

Alistair Overeem has a trilogy fight with Fabricio Werdum at UFC 213 on Saturday.