Fedor Emelianenko
From Mixed Martial Arts Wiki
| |
| Born | September 28, 1976 Luhansk, Ukraine SSR |
| Nationality |  Russian
|
| Height | 6 ft 0 |
| Weight | 233 lbs |
| Reach | 74 inches |
| Division | Heavyweight |
| Organization | Strikeforce |
| Style | Boxing, Judo, Sambo |
| Fighting out of | Belgorod, Russia |
| Team | Red Devil Sport Club |
| Years active | 2000-present |
| MMA Record | |
|---|---|
| Wins | 31 |
| By knockout | 8 |
| By submission | 16 |
| By decision | 7 |
| Loses | 1 |
| No contests | 1 |
Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko (born September 28, 1976) is a Russian Heavyweight mixed martial artist, the current World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts heavyweight champion and the last holder of the PRIDE heavyweight championship.
Emelianenko has been considered the best heavyweight fighter in the world for the last five years by many major publications, including ESPN, the Orange County Register, The Fight Network, the Houston Chronicle, The Wrestling Observer, and Inside MMA. He has won numerous tournaments and accolades in multiple sports, most notably the PRIDE 2004 Grand Prix and the World Combat Sambo Championship on four occasions, as well as medaling in the Russian national Judo championships.
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Biography
Fedor Emelianenko was born in 1976 in Rubizhne, Luhansk, part of the Luhansk Oblast region of the Ukrainian SSR in the Soviet Union. On December 29, 2007, his second daughter Vasilisa was born.
Emeliananko's official biography erroneously states that he trained in Sambo during his army years. However, he has specified in a 2005 interview that this is incorrect, and his training in the army was limited to running and strength training in a makeshift gym he put together himself.
In 2005 Emelianenko started paying special attention to improving his kicking technique. He trained Muay Thai with kickboxer Ernesto Hoost in Netherlands, and added a Muay Thai coach, Ruslan Nagnibeda, “Seikin-do” league 78 kg title holder from 1998 to 2002 (33-3-1) and a former Tula State University Muay Thai instructor, to his team. Recently, Emelianenko has expressed interest in training young athletes.
Club affiliation
Fedor Emelianenko began his mixed martial arts as a member of Russian Top Team, training with the first generation of Russian RINGS competitors, such as Volk Han and Andrey Kopylov. After winning his PRIDE Heavyweight title, a rift grew between Emelianenko and the manager of RTT, Vladimir Evgenevich Pogodin. According to Emelianenko, Pogodin, who held the position of vice-president in the World Sambo Federation, attempted to control Emelianenko's career through threats and abuse of his position to deny "Master of Sports" titles to Fedor and his brother Aleksander, in addition to financial disputes between Pogodin and Emelianenko, with Fedor alleging he was deceived by Pogodin. After his bout with Gary Goodridge, the Emelianenko brothers left Russian Top Team and began to train with the St. Petersburg based Red Devil Sport Club, which is managed by Vadim Finklestein.
RINGS
Emelianenko's only loss in the sport is controversial and came at the hands of Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, at the King of Kings 2000 Block B event on December 22, 2000, via doctor stoppage due to a cut 17 seconds into the fight. Footage shows that the cut was caused by a missed looping punch where Kohsaka's elbow struck Emelianenko's head. Elbow strikes are illegal under RINGS rules unless the striker is wearing elbow pads, which Kohsaka wasn't. Emelianenko says that this elbow reopened a cut sustained in his previous fight against Ricardo Arona. Since the fight was in a tournament format, a winner and loser was required as draws or no contests could not be awarded. Since Emelianenko could not advance due to his injury, Kohsaka moved on (the match would have been a no contest or disqualification victory for Emelianenko otherwise). In spite of a hand injury, he avenged the loss at the PRIDE Bushido 6 event on April 3, 2005, defeating Kohsaka by technical knockout when the ring doctor stopped the fight after the first round.
Emelianenko was then signed to fight heavily favored Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira for PRIDE's heavyweight championship title at PRIDE 25 on March 16, 2003.
Three months later Emelianenko embarked on his title reign. His first match was against the former IWGP Heavyweight champion, amateur and professional wrestler Kazuyuki Fujita. A heavy favorite, Emelianenko was expected to make quick work of Fujita, but was caught by a wild right hook that stunned him—Emelianenko has claimed this is the only time he has ever been knocked down. After working his way to a clinch, Emelianenko knocked Fujita down and went on to submit him at 4:17 in the first round with a rear naked choke.
Next came a one-sided bout against heavy underdog Gary Goodridge at Total Elimination 2003. Emelianenko took down Goodridge after wobbling him with standing combinations, then finished him with a ground and pound technique in the first round by referee stoppage after delivering unanswered punches and kicks to the head. Emelianenko broke his hand in this fight, resulting in surgery. He has since reinjured this hand, leading to the postponement of several bouts.
His next fight against New Japan professional wrestler Yuji Nagata at Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2003 ended the same way, with Emelianenko first knocking Nagata to the ground twice with punches. Emelianenko fought at this event as opposed to Shockwave 2003 on the same day due to being offered a higher fight purse because of the great deal of competition between the Japanese television networks screening these events and K-1 Premium Dynamite!! on the same night.
Four months later at Total Elimination 2004, he met PRIDE 2000 Grand Prix winner and former UFC heavyweight champion Mark Coleman for the first time in the ring and submitted him with an armbar at 2:11 of the first round to advance in the 2004 heavyweight Grand Prix. Emelianenko has indicated his respect for Coleman, who popularized the ground and pound technique that has become his trademark.
A notable match with Coleman’s protégé Kevin "The Monster" Randleman followed just two months later at the tournament's second round. Randleman, a two-time Division I NCAA Wrestling Champion for Ohio State University and a former UFC heavyweight champion, quickly worked into a clinch with Emelianenko and then delivered a suplex, slamming him to the canvas headfirst. Emelianenko recovered immediately and forced Randleman to submit with a armbar armlock 1:33 into the first round.
On August 15, 2004, Emelianenko faced six-time All-Japan Judo Champion Naoya Ogawa in the semifinals of the 2004 Grand Prix. After submitting Ogawa with an armbar, he advanced to face Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, who had won a decision against Emelianenko's former teammate Sergei Kharitonov earlier that night. This match was not only to decide the winner of the 2004 Grand Prix, but to unify the heavyweight championship as Nogueira was awarded the interim title due to Emelianenko's inability to defend his championship in a timely manner. In this rematch with Nogueira, the fight was stopped due to a cut to Emelianenko's head from an accidental headbutt he delivered to Nogueira. A third meeting was thus scheduled for Shockwave 2004, which Emelianenko won. Emelianenko overpowered the Brazilian on the feet in the first round, beating him to the punch for the first nine minutes of the first round. During the second and third rounds, Emelianenko's takedown defense and counter-punching earned him a unanimous decision victory to retain the heavyweight championship. In a June 2007 interview with the Baltimore Sun, Chuck Liddell suggested that Emelianenko was on his way to the UFC. Dana White has also expressed interest in signing Emelianenko, but considers his management team to be the primary barrier left to the inking of a contract, whereas Finklestein has cited difficult negotiations as the reason. A main point of contention between the two is Finkelstein's request for the UFC to work with his Russian M-1 promotion, extending contractual offers to other members of the Red Devil Sport Club, and permitting Emelianenko to compete in combat sambo tournaments. At UFC 76 however, UFC president Dana White stated that he expected Emelianenko to sign with the UFC in late 2007 or early 2008, after Emelianenko was to compete in a Sambo competition that White would not allow him to participate in if he were under a UFC contract. He also revealed his intent to set up a unification bout with UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture as his first UFC fight. Nevertheless, these negotiations broke down, as Emelianenko committed to a non-exclusive, two-year and six-fight deal with M-1 Global in October 2007.
Monte Cox, the president and CEO of M-1 Global, confirmed Emelianenko would face South Korean Kickboxing Hong-Man Choi in a New Year's Eve event, Yarennoka!, taking place in Japan and organized by the former PRIDE staff with support from M-1 Global, FEG, and DEEP. The fight was broadcasted live in the United States on HDNet. Emelianenko defeated Choi in the opening round by submission via an armbar.
DREAM and the future
On February 13, 2008, Emelianenko attended a press conference held by DREAM (mixed martial arts), a newly-formed Japanese mixed martial arts promotion. His manager, Finkelstein, confirmed that the organization had a tightly knit alliance with M-1 Global and that he would be fighting on the new organization's fight cards. After Emelianenko parted ways with M-1 Global, At Affliction's inaugural event, promoted as Affliction: Banned, Emelianenko defeated former two-time Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia via submission at 36 seconds in the first round.
MMA record
| 31 Wins - 1 Loss - 1 No Contest | |||||||
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | Brett Rogers | KO | Strikeforce: Fedor vs Rogers | 11/7/09 | 2 | 1:48 | |
| Win | Tim Sylvia | Submission (rear naked choke) | Affliction: Banned | 7/19/08 | 1 | 0:36 | |
| Win | Hong-Man Choi | Submission (armbar) | Yarennoka! | 12/31/07 | 1 | 1:54 | |
| Win | Matt Lindland | Submission (armbar) | BodogFIGHT - Clash of the Nations | 4/14/07 | 1 | 2:58 | |
| Win | Mark Hunt | Submission (kimura) | PRIDE Shockwave 2006 | 12/31/07 | 1 | 8:16 | |
| Win | Mark Coleman | Submission (armbar) | PRIDE 32: The Real Deal | 10/21/06 | 2 | 1:15 | |
| Win | Zuluzinho | Submission (strikes) | PRIDE Shockwave 2005 | 12/31/05 | 1 | 0:26 | |
| Win | Mirko Filipović | Decision (unanimous) | PRIDE Final Conflict 2005 | 8/28/05 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Tsuyoshi Kohsaka | TKO (doctor stoppage) | PRIDE Bushido 6 | 4/3/05 | 1 | 10:00 | |
| Win | Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira | Decision (unanimous) | PRIDE Shockwave 2004 | 12/31/04 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| NC | Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira | No contest (accidental headbutt) | PRIDE Final Conflict 2004 | 8/15/04 | 1 | 3:52 | |
| Win | Naoya Ogawa | Submission (armbar) | PRIDE Final Conflict 2004 | 8/15/04 | 1 | 0:54 | |
| Win | Kevin Randleman | Submission (kimura) | PRIDE Critical Countdown 2004 | 6/20/04 | 1 | 1:33 | |
| Win | Mark Coleman | Submission (armbar) | PRIDE Total Elimination 2004 | 4/25/04 | 1 | 2:11 | |
| Win | Yuji Nagata | TKO (punches) | Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2003 | 12/31/03 | 1 | 1:02 | |
| Win | Gary Goodridge | TKO (strikes) | PRIDE Total Elimination 2003 | 8/10/03 | 1 | 1:09 | |
| Win | Kazuyuki Fujita | Submission (rear naked choke) | PRIDE 26: Bad to the Bone | 6/8/03 | 1 | 4:17 | |
| Win | Egidijus Valavicius | Submission (kimura) | RINGS Lithuania - Bushido Rings 7: Adrenalinas | 4/5/03 | 2 | 1:11 | |
| Win | Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira | Decision (unanimous) | PRIDE 25: Body Blow | 3/16/03 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Heath Herring | TKO (doctor stoppage) | PRIDE 23: Championship Chaos 2 | 11/24/02 | 1 | 10:00 | |
| Win | Semmy Schilt | Decision (unanimous) | PRIDE 21: Demolition | 6/23/02 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Chris Haseman | TKO (lost points) | RINGS - World Title Series Grand Final | 2/15/02 | 1 | 2:50 | |
| Win | Lee Hasdell | Submission (guillotine choke) | RINGS - World Title Series 5 | 12/21/01 | 1 | 4:10 | |
| Win | Ryushi Yanagisawa | Decision (unanimous) | RINGS - World Title Series 4 | 10/20/01 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Renato Sobral | Decision (unanimous) | RINGS - 10th Anniversary | 8/11/01 | 2 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Kerry Schall | Submission (armbar) | RINGS - World Title Series 1 | 4/20/01 | 1 | 1:47 | |
| Win | Mihail Apostolov | Submission (rear naked choke) | RINGS Russia - Russia vs. Bulgaria | 4/6/01 | 1 | 1:03 | |
| Loss | Tsuyoshi Kohsaka | TKO (cut) | RINGS - King of Kings 2000 Block B | 12/22/00 | 1 | 0:17 | |
| Win | Ricardo Arona | Decision (unanimous) | RINGS - King of Kings 2000 Block B | 12/22/00 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Hiroya Takada | KO (punches) | RINGS - Battle Genesis Vol. 6 | 9/5/00 | 1 | 0:12 | |
| Win | Levon Lagvilava | Submission (choke) | RINGS - Russia vs. Georgia | 8/16/00 | 1 | 7:24 | |
| Win | Martin Lazarev | Submission (guillotine choke) | RINGS | 1/1/00 | 1 | 2:24 | |
