Fedor Emelianenko: The Last Emperor's MMA and Career Story
The Life and Times of Fedor Emelianenko: The Last Emperor
Fedor Emelianenko is known to many as the greatest MMA fighter of all time. Titled “The Last Emperor” his legendary career commands respect like no other.
Apart from more than a dozen Sambo championship wins, he’s also a former Pride FC world heavyweight champion. Fedor is undeniably the greatest fighter to have never competed in the UFC.
He was undefeated for 10 years in the sport, in a span of 28 fights. This era saw him conquer some of the most dangerous men on planet Earth.
With his comeback recently in the news, let’s pay tribute to the original GOAT of MMA.
Fedor Emelianenko’s Early Life
Fedor was born on September 28th, 1976 in the small city of Rubizhne, in what is now Ukraine. Two years later, his family would move to Russia, the country he’d come to represent throughout his life. Fedor didn’t come from a combat sports background. He’d take up Sambo as a pre-teen, but he wasn’t very good at it.
That would change however as he worked on his craft. He’d practice wrestling, sambo, and judo throughout high school. He’d graduate in 1991, and he became an electrician in the next four years. Fedor then served in the military as a firefighter for two years.
Fedor Emelianenko’s Career
Fedor Emelianenko’s Amateur Career
Fedor continued enhancing his self-defence. He picked up the “Master of Sports” honours in both Judo and Sambo. This led to him joining the Russian Sambo team. Fedor won the domestic championships for Judo in 1997 and 1998. He came third in two national Sambo championships (1998 and 2000).
He would quit the national team as he wanted to make money in his pro career. Fedor still continued an acclaimed amateur career on the side. Despite his MMA success, he’d win two Sambo world titles in 2002. He won the tournaments in 2005 and 2007 as well, and 6 national ones from 2002 to 2012.
Fedor Emelianenko’s Pro Career
Fedor made his pro debut for Fight Network RINGS in 2000. He won four of his first five matches- three of them via stoppage. His loss was a controversial one to Tsuyoshi Kohsaka. The officials had let Kohsaka get away with an illegal elbow strike that cut open Fedor. He lost via doctor’s stoppage, and the rest is history.
He then won 6 fights in a row to enter PRIDE FC. His first task was to face the 6’11 monster Semmy Schilt. Fedor dominated him despite the physical disadvantage for a unanimous decision win. He then squared up against future UFC fighter, Heath Herring. Fedor dismantled Herring in the first round for a TKO.
Fedor Emelianenko’s Superstardom
His next match was against Pride heavyweight champion and future interim UFC champ Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira. This was Fedor’s biggest challenge till then and Nogueira was a heavy favourite. His submission skills superseded everyone else’s. But Big Nog couldn’t match him and got pummelled for three rounds.
Fedor became the Pride world champion and quickly defended his title four times. His next bout was against MMA pioneer Mark Coleman. Coleman was the inaugural UFC heavyweight champion. Fedor submitted him in two minutes. He then faced another former UFC champion in Kevin Randleman.
This was a more competitive fight and Fedor even got slammed on his head. But he got up and submitted Randleman to retain his title in less than two minutes. After submitting Judo legend Naoya Ogawa in about a minute, he faced Nogueira again. A great fight ended as a no-contest because of a cut on Fedor’s head.
Later in the year, the two faced off for the third time. Fedor dominated Big Nog like their first fight. He won the 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix as a result. He later faced another Pride bigshot in Mirko Cro Cop. The highly anticipated and competitive fight saw Fedor break his nose but still win a UD.
Soon after, he faced knockout artist Mark Hunt. Hunt tried his best but was submitted in the first round. He faced Matt Lindland and submitted him in three minutes despite a cut above his eye. He then ditched the UFC to sign with M1 Global. He beat kick-boxer Choi Hong-man via an arm-bar in his first fight.
Fighting for Affliction, he then faced Tim Sylvia who had just left the UFC. Sylvia was a two-time UFC heavyweight champion and one of the best heavyweights in MMA. Despite Sylvia’s resume and size advantage, Fedor choked him out in almost half a minute.
He then knocked out former UFC champion and the top-ranked Andrei Arlovski. He once again rebuffed the UFC; this time for Strikeforce. He laid rest to Brett Rogers’s undefeated record with punches. But his dominance was about to reach an inevitable end
Fedor Emelianenko’s Losses
A couple of months later, Fedor was scheduled to face former UFC fighter Fabricio Werdum. The fight was a quick one. Fedor got caught in a triangle arm-bar which forced him to tap. This was his second-ever loss in MMA, and his first one in 10 years. Several months later, he faced Antonio Silva.
Despite putting up a fight in the first round, Fedor was apparently blinded by punches in the second. This caused a doctor’s stoppage loss for him. In his next fight, Fedor was knocked unconscious by legend Dan Henderson. Fedor kept on fighting and racked up numerous wins. He retired temporarily for three years.
Fedor last competed for Bellator FC. His wins included prominent, but ageing fighters such as Frank Mir, Chael Sonnen, and Rampage Jackson. Fedor also picked up two more losses, against Matt Mitrione and Ryan Bader. Overall, he has a record of 39-6.
Fedor last fought at the end of 2019 and wants to return to the cage.
Fedor Emelianenko Outside MMA
We don’t really hear much from Fedor as he doesn’t have social media. He does utilise his time in politics and in the management of some Russian MMA attributes. Fedor co-owns the M1-Global promotion of Russia, has written books, and he has featured on several television shows. He is worth at least $18 million.
