Brock Lesnar confirmed his status as the Ultimate Fighting Championship's heavyweight monarch, but even at its biggest show of the year, UFC still couldn't get away from questions about mixed martial arts' Last Emperor.  "This Fedor thing has gone on and on and on," UFC President Dana White said on Saturday, during the post-UFC 100 press conference. "Eventually, Fedor's going to be here," White said. "We'll end up getting that deal done, and then we'll have Brock vs. Fedor, and it'll be a huge fight."  Lesnar's victory over Frank Mir crowned UFC's undisputed champion, but White's publicly expressed interest in Fedor "The Last Emperor" Emelianenko amounts to a tacit admission that the Russian superstar still has a grip on MMA as a whole. Based on the collective rankings of mixed martial arts' trade press, next month's Emelianenko vs. Josh Barnett match-up for Affliction Entertainment stands out as a more significant fight than Lesnar-Mir last Saturday.  Emelianenko and Barnett occupy the top two slots among heavyweights in the USA TODAY/SB Nation consensus rankings. That's not the opinion merely of a few writers at USA TODAY and our SB Nation partner, BloodyElbow.com, it's the view of the MMA community as a whole — our system compiles rankings based on lists from many MMA sites online.  Barnett would like nothing more than to derail UFC's pursuit of Emelianenko by toppling the Russian at the Aug. 1 main event of the Affliction Trilogy show. And Barnett just might be the man to do it.  Emelianenko has won 26 fights in a row dating back to 2001, but none of his opponents from that stretch — including five ex-UFC champions and two Pride Grand Prix winners — have Barnett's combination of size, knockout power and high-level submissions. Arguably no one in the sport, inside or outside UFC, deserves a shot at Emelianenko more than Barnett.  Yet he's been low key in his interviews since the match-up was officially announced because he has nothing bad to say about Emelianenko. They became friends years ago after what Barnett describes as a "chance meeting" that led to a long conversation over a bottle of sake, following an event in Japan.  "We share a lot of the same world philosophy," says Barnett, who spoke to me Monday night.  In a sense, Emelianenko-Barnett not only represents No. 1 vs. No. 2, it offers a reminder of the style battles that characterized the early days of MMA before it evolved — or devolved, in Barnett's view — into a melange of combat in which competitors often win because of athleticism rather than pure technique.  Granted, Emelianenko himself relies heavily on his physical abilities to win.  The No. 2 heavyweight doesn't expect new wrinkles from Emelianenko, whose style has varied little since he rose to prominence in 2003 by winning the Pride heavyweight title. The Russian's approach is straightforward in the most literal sense — he comes at opponents directly, often lunging with power punches that either knock the other man senseless or at least force him to pause long enough for Emelianenko to clinch.  Grappling experts will say that Emelianenko's sambo-based technique isn't the tightest on the ground, but Barnett says that hardly matters, because Emelianenko is always looking for quick, explosive submissions.  "He's not trying to grapple with you," Barnett notes.  It's an approach he can appreciate as a proponent of catch wrestling, whose practitioners aggressively hunt for submissions. Barnett touts the art not only for its effectiveness, but also its role in MMA's early history and the modern sport's nascent era.  UFC's promotional efforts leading up to UFC 100 included a countdown of 100 fights completely eliminated anything involving Barnett and another ex-champion with a catch-wrestling background, Frank Shamrock. The company's tally also omitted the many victories of pioneering titleholders such as Pat Miletich and Tito Ortiz. All four men have at least one thing in common: They're on the outs with UFC President Dana White.  Barnett describes UFC's selective version of history as a "disgraceful" and dishonest record that disrespects the true history of MMA. By matching up two longtime stars with distinct approaches, the upcoming showdown with his friend Emelianenko offers a reminder of everything else the sport has to offer.
Emelianenko-Barnett looms over heavyweight field - MMA Fighting Stances: Mixed martial arts intelligence from the cage and ring - USATODAY.com