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EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FEDOR EMELIANENKO

Often regarded as the greatest MMA fighter of all time, Fedor Emelianenko, also known as ‘The Last Emperor,’ is a true legend of MMA and one of the most respected fighters in the sport.

A former Pride FC world heavyweight champion, Emelianenko also has over a dozen Sambo Championship wins under his belt. With such a record, it is undeniable that Emelianenko is the one of the greatest fighters the UFC and MMA has ever witnessed. 

Undefeated for 28 fights over the span of 10 years, Emelianenko fought and conquered some of the most fierce men in the world. To this day, he continues to fight and win UFC matches against some of the best UFC fighters.

This original GOAT of MMA was born on September 28th, 1976, in Rubizhne, a small city in modern day Ukraine. In 1978, at the age of two, Emelianenko’s family moved to Russia. And, it is this country that he has represented throughout his playing career. 

Although one of the oldest MMA fighters, Fedor Emelianenko continues to be a safe bet when he competes. You can try your luck by heading to UFC Odds where you can place bets on all the latest UFC fights today.

Although a heavyweight mixed martial artist, judoka, and sambist, Emelianenko’s background was not in combat sports. Taking up Sambo as a pre-teen, he found this wasn’t his best skill at the time. But, of course, with hard work and graft, he practiced his wrestling techniques, as well as judo and Sambo during high school. But, MMA fighting wasn’t his main occupation from the get go.

After graduating in 1991, Emelianenko worked as an electrician for four years before serving as a firefighter in the military for two years. 

Amateur Career

During his time as a firefighter, Emelianenko continued to work on his self-defense skills. This led him to picking up the Master of Sports honors in Sambo and Judo, which, in turn, helped him gain a place on the Russian Sambo team. 

In 1997 and 1998, Fedor won the domestic championships for Judo, whilst coming third in the 1998 and 2000 national Sambo Championships. 

Although relatively successful in these teams, Emelianenko decided to leave the national team in order to pursue a solo pro career. During this time, though, Fedor continued to succeed in his amateur career.

In 2002, as well as his MMA success, Fedor won two Sambo World Titles, as well as tournaments in 2005 and 2007. This is on top of six national wins from 2002 to 2012. 

Professional Career 

In 2000, Fedor Emelianenko made his professional debut for Fight Network RINGS. Out of his fist five fights, he won four, with three coming via stoppage. And, that one loss was very controversial. Fighting Tsuypshi Kohsaka, the officials allowed Kohsaka to get away with an obviously illegal elbow strike. This caused a gaping wound on Fedor, leading to his loss via a doctor’s stoppage. 

After this, Fedor won six continuous fights and entered PRIDE FC. Here, the 6-foot Emelianenko’s first job was to fight the 6 foot 11 inches Semmy Schilt. No small feat, literally! But, despite Emeleianenko’s smaller frame and physical disadvantage, he dominated Schilt and won via a unanimous decision. 

After this, Fedor squared up against Heath Herring, a future UFC fighter. But, during the first round, Fedor won for a TKO, 

The Best Years 

Fedor Emelianenko’s biggest challenge came in his next fight against pride heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Nogueira was the firm favorite thanks to his submission skills but, to everyone’s surprise (not Fedor’s, though), Nogueira didn’t come close for three rounds. 

Fedor Emelianenko was the new Pride World Champion and went on to defend this title four times. Some of his most memorable fights came during this period.

In 2004, Fedor and Nogueira faced off the third time but, just like the first fight, Fedor dominated. This cemented Emelianenko as the heavyweight Grand Prix champion.

A later fight against another Pride heavyweight, Mirko Cro Cop, ended up with a broken nose for Emelianenko. But, despite this, he still went on to win a UD.

Not long after this fight, Fedor was up against knockout artist Mark Hunt. Again, Emelianenko was too much, as Hunt submitted in the first round. The same results came against Matt Lindland and kick-boxer Choi-Hong-man.  

A big fight beckoned against the two-time UFC heavyweight champion, Tim Sylvia, who had recently left the UFC but remained one of the best in MMA. Although Sylvia had an advantage in terms of size, and an impressive record behind him, Emelianenko managed to choke in out in less than a minute. 

Emelianenko’s dominance continued against the top-ranked UFC champion Andrei Arlovski. And, he brought to end the undefeated record with punches of Brett Rogers. 

This dominance came to an end as he experienced his second ever loss in MMA, and first in ten years, only a few months after defeating Brett Rogers. 

Despite winning more fights, the losses were becoming more common and Fedor retired for three years before making a return in 2021. 

In Summary

With a record of 39-6, Fedor Emelianenko is undoubtedly one of, if not the greatest MMA fighters the world has ever seen. And, with his comeback in 2021, we can hopefully enjoy much more entertainment from The Last Emperor.

 

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