Photo by Esther Lin/Strikeforce

“The one who does not fall, does not stand up.”

At 1:09 into the first round of his fight against 2009 Abu Dhabi grappling champion Fabricio Werdum, Fedor Emelianenko tapped out for the first time in his life during professional MMA competition.

There is always a silence immediately following events such as these. It happened for many the first time Chuck Liddell was knocked unconscious.

It is a silence of the inexplicable. The mind does not know what to do. The mind gets used to thinking a certain way, looking at things a certain way, believing in something a certain way, and when that image gets shattered the mind is stunned.

If someone never loses, it is likely they just have not fought enough people.

When Gus Johnson interviewed Fedor after the fight, he asked him, “How are you feeling right now?” And through his interpreter Fedor replied, “Frankly nothing. The one who does not fall, does not stand up.”

Everyone falls sooner or later.

Whether in competition or death, everyone will fall.

Fedor never became “big time”. He never went “Hollywood”. As they said during the broadcast, he still lives in his small town of Stary Oskol. He takes pleasure being with family and friends. He rarely trains with people others would consider the superstars of the sport.

It is very likely this loss will affect Fedor’s fans, the MMA community, and those around him more than it will Fedor himself.

Fedor is going to be okay. He has one more fight on his Strikeforce contract and he said he intends to fulfill that obligation.

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