I figured this would be the best way to get in contact with Jeff Monson since, as Mike Thomas Brown said in jest via youtube video, “I know the fucker can’t pay his phone bill.” Monson has been linked to fights with heavyweight division kingpin Fedor Emelianenko on multiple occasions. Recently there were rumors he was going to be the man for Affliction: Trilogy, but then Josh Barnett remembered that his friendship with the WAMMA champ was not a relationship on par with The Golden Girls and accepted the highest profile fight of his career.
Now it would not be prudent for me to argue that Monson deserves the shot more than Barnett. Naturally, Barnett is a top ranked heavyweight, and actually holds a recent victory over Monson. However, it still doesn’t seem right that promoters keep dangling the Fedor fight in front of the “Snowman” only to pull it away at the last minute.
The man claims to have the tools and talent to defeat the now legendary heavyweight. For whatever reason fans do not take his claim seriously and promoters will not make the fight happen, but there is a solution.
Apparently one of the reasons Fedor refused to sign with the UFC is because he needs to compete in Combat Sambo. Unlike most people, Fedor needs food, water, and Combat Sambo. Recently his exploits in the Russian and World championships have been well documented by the media. If Jeff Monson wishes to track down a fight with Fedor, he simply needs to enter one of these tournaments and win his way to a showdown with Mr. M-1 Global himself.
Now, obviously, I realize this idea seems a bit ridiculous — after all it did come to me when the guy next to me on a plane was haggling with the stewardess to get the full can of coke. However, this idea seems to be a lot more realistic than Kimbo Slice competing on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter, and that is actually going to happen.
An anarchist like Monson is the type of guy who would love to earn a chance on his own, instead of waiting for a call from some promoter. On top of that, Monson has been known to compete outside the realm of MMA on multiple occasions. He is a multiple time ADCC, NAGA, Grapplers Quest, and FILA veteran. In addition to grappling, he has also had three professional boxing matches.
If he were to try this route, he would not be the first MMA fighter besides Fedor to contend for the Combat Sambo World Championship. However, he would clearly be the best. In the 2007 World Championships, Kristof Midoux, a UFC veteran with an overall MMA record of 6-10, made it all the way to the semifinals before losing.
The similarities between MMA and Combat Sambo would make the conversion rather easy for the “Snowman.” The major difference is the gi top that is worn during competition, which provide grips and handles for throws. This should not faze Monson, since he has an extremely low center of gravity and regularly trains with former Olympic judo player Rhadi Ferguson.
Even if Monson beats Fedor on his way to becoming a Combat Sambo World Champion, dissenters may cry that it is still just a victory in Sambo, and therefore has no bearing on the MMA landscape. Anyone who thinks that, need only look at the last man to defeat Fedor in the sport. Blagoi Ivanov, who defeated Fedor in the semifinals of the 2008 World Championships, is slated to make his MMA debut against Kazuyuki Fujita. You get the feeling that if he wins, something is going to happen with Fedor around New Year’s Eve.
The chance of this actually happening remains extremely low, but if Monson were somehow able to further tarnish Fedor’s Combat Sambo record, promoters would once again be offering him the fight. This time I have a feeling it would not get pulled away at the last minute.