Fedor's loss

As the saying goes, anything can happen in sports, especially MMA.  

At Strikeforce's latest event Fedor vs. Werdum, Emelianenko, who earlier this evening was said to be the number one heavyweight fighter in the world, was defeated by Fabricio Werdum via submission 69 seconds into the first round.  

By winning the match, Werdum (now 14-4-1) has broken "The Last Emporer's" 28 fight winning streak and earned a title shot against Strikeforce's current heavyweight champion, Alistair Overeem.  Emelianenko (now 32-2-1) is speculated to fall in the heavyweight rankings. 

With Emelianenko's loss in the record books, does this spell trouble for Strikeforce, who since singing Emeliankenko to a contract in 2009, has pretty much used the Russian fighter as one of their headliners and faces, in their rise of becoming a top MMA promotion.  While Emeliankenko losing may seem like a normal upset, it could spell bad consequences for Strikeforce's business.

Back in October 2008, the former fight promotion EliteXC had filed for bankruptcy not too long after Kimbo Slice, who at the time had been one of EliteXC's headliners, had lost his match to Seth Pertuzelli by TKO, 14 seconds into the first round.  

However, where Slice's loss came with controversy and EliteXC was in its toddler stage when it was shut down, Emelianenko 's loss was just a simple mistake and Strikeforce has been in business since 1986, when it began as just a kickboxing promotion.

A fighter can not be judged on just one fight alone, and there have been several fighters who have suffered losses in their careers and have gone on to make big comebacks.  One example is Brock Lesnar, who suffered his first loss to Frank Mir by submission, 90 seconds into the first round, back in Feburary 2008.  Lesnar has since avenged his loss against Mir and is now the current UFC heavyweight champion

Whether or not Strikeforce survives, Emelianenko still has a career ahead of him.  He may makit it back to the top of the mountain once more, but it's going to be one hell of a climb.