SCRAPP! FIGHT MAGAZINE
October - 2016
15
ONE FC? Not deep enough in that weight
class for the likes of Carwin, who even
after years away from the sport would
likely walk through most of the competi-
tion found there. The WSOF? Oh, there
are some interesting bouts to be had, es-
pecially against Rosholt, Jordan, champi-
on Blagoy Ivanov, or even fellow ex-UFC
fighter Josh Copeland, but all of those
seem like fights Carwin should win. In
contrast, Bellator has Cheick Kongo and
Matt Mitrione, and those two fights
alone are more enticing than anything
on a competitor’s roster, save the UFC
itself.
That’s not the only factor here. Bellator
has shown that, if nothing else, it knows
how to entertain. The walkout videos,
the freakshow fights, the dynamite
cards. It can be a double-edged sword at
times, but for Carwin, it just feels like a
better fit. A couple of fights in, and he’s
fighting for a belt on national TV with a
pretty hefty audience – more so, frank-
ly, than the other options combined, at
least in North America.
Then there’s the possibility of cross-pro-
motional fights with Rizin FF, something
Bellator has wisely got on board with.
While there aren’t a massive amount of
heavyweights awaiting Carwin in Rizin,
there’s the golden ticket known as Fedor
Emelienenko, who is rumoured to have
been offered a cool two million to ap-
pear at the company’s New Year’s Eve
show. While the rumored opponent at
this point is Wanderlei Silva, nothing is
set in stone — and this year or next, a
hefty payday for fighting The Last Em-
peror could be quite enticing.
Realistically, it’s the perfect situation for
Carwin, who should easily draw similar
numbers to Kongo on Spike TV. He may
not have much time left this late in his
career, but a couple of big fights with
widespread exposure is exactly how a
top caliber fighter should go out — as
long as they keep him away from com-
plete freakshow territory.
