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With my comments towards Fedor's statement yesterday that his fight with Fabricio Werdum was more important than the UFC 116 main event between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin, I've gotten a couple of responses to argue the other side of the coin.
The main crux of the argument for Fedor's fight with Werdum being the more important surrounds the possibility that he loses the fight. If there's a chance Fedor could lose, it makes all of his fights a must-see because the first time he loses it becomes the biggest MMA story in a long time.
But there's a difference between "must-see" and important.
The problem with saying Fedor vs. Werdum is the more important fight is the fact that there is zero significance to the bout unless Werdum wins. That is the only outcome that gives this fight any real story, because a Fedor victory means he's beaten another fighter that isn't Alistair Overeem or Brock Lesnar or a number of other UFC competitors..
That only makes it important in retrospect, and I don't see that as being nearly as important as just about any title fight, let alone a heavyweight title bout that could potentially be the UFC's biggest heavyweight fight ever.
The fact that a significant segment of the fanbase will see Lesnar's return in the bout against Shane Carwin as quite possibly the biggest UFC Heavyweight Championship fight in the company's history brings it more importance at this time.
Looking back on the fights after they've been completed may bring different thoughts to their level of importance or significance, but in terms of heading into the fights Fedor vs. Werdum simply is not the more important fight. If Fedor loses, that may change, but once again that would be in retrospect and it does not hold more importance going into the fight.
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