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Fedor Emelianenko - MMA Profile
Nickname The Last Emperor, The Baddest Man on the Planet
Height 6 ft 0 in
Weight 230 lb
Reach 74 in
Nationality Russian
Born September 28, 1976
Team/Association Red Devil Sport Club
Primary fighting style Sambo, Judo, Boxing
Wins 29
By knockout 7
By submission 15
By decision 7
By other 0
Losses 1
By other 1
No contests 1
Martial arts background
Emelianenko's enthusiasm for fighting began with Sambo and Judo. He initially trained under Vasiliy Ivanovich Gavrilov, and later under his current grappling coach, Vladimir Mihailovich Voronov. His coach remembers that ten-year-old Emelianenko was relatively weak physically and did not have an innate grappling talent; instead, his biggest strength was his perseverance and strong will. Although Emelianenko's official biography states that he trained in Sambo during his army years, he specified in a 2005 interview that this is incorrect. His training in the army was limited to running and strength training in a makeshift gym he put together himself.
Emelianenko received the official certification of a "Master of Sports" in sambo and judo in 1997, and he became part of the Russian national team. After earning a bronze medal in 1998 in the Russian Judo Championship, he started studying striking under coach Alexander Vasilievich Michkov. Emelianenko started competing in combat sambo and mixed martial arts in 2000 at the age of 25, because he "didn't have any money".
Emelianenko trains two or three times per day to maintain and improve his skills. He uses basic training methods like running, ropes, and weightlifting. Emelianenko used to weight train extensively, but in 1997 he almost completely substituted his weight exercises with sport-specific training in grappling, boxing, and kickboxing. His strength training consists of daily pull-ups, dips, and crunches. Emelianenko also runs twice daily for a combined distance of 12–15 kilometres (7.5–9.3 mi), and is a proponent of high altitude training, travelling to Kislovodsk, Russia with his team once or twice a year to train in high altitude. Emelianenko's team consists of grappling coach Voronov, boxing coach Michkov, Muay Thai coach Ruslan Nagnibeda, doctor, masseur and psychologist Oleg Neustroev, his training partners, including Roman Zentsov, and, until June 2006, his brother Aleksander.
Improving his kicking technique became a focus for Emelianenko in 2005. He trained Muay Thai with kickboxer Ernesto Hoost in Netherlands, and added Nagnibeda, who was a "Seikin-do" league 78 kilograms (170 lb) title holder from 1998 to 2002 with a record of 33-3-1, and a former Tula State University Muay Thai instructor to his team. Recently, Emelianenko has expressed interest in training young athletes.
Emelianenko defended his title at the 2007 World Combat Sambo Championships, which brought together 780 representatives from 45 countries. When his opponent in the quarterfinals failed to show up, he received a bye to the semifinals, where he submitted a Bulgarian fighter with a choke in 40 seconds. The other finalist declined to compete, defaulting victory to Emelianenko. On November 16, 2008, Emeliankos's first loss in Sambo in eight years came at the Combat Sambo World Championships in St. Petersburg, Russia, where he fell in the semifinals of the over 220 lb (100 kg) division to 23-year-old Bulgarian Blagoi Ivanov on points, 8–5. Emelianenko finished the tournament in third place.
On February 21, 2009, Emelianenko won the gold at Russian Combat Sambo Championship. Quarter- and semifinal were over in 14 and 26 seconds while the final lasted 20 seconds.
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 was not. 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).
Pride Fighting Championships
Entering the Pride Fighting Championships on the heels of winning the Rings King of Kings 2002 tournament, Emelianenko debuted at Pride 21 on June 23, 2002 against the 6 ft 11 in (2.1 m), 256 lb (116 kg) Dutch fighter Semmy Schilt, whom he defeated by unanimous decision. His next opponent was heavyweight Heath Herring, in a contest to establish the number-one contender for the heavyweight title. Emelianenko, considered an underdog at the time, defeated Herring by doctor stoppage after the first round. This victory against a perennial contender brought him into title contention
Emelianenko was then signed to fight heavily favored Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira for Pride's heavyweight championship title at Pride 25 on March 16, 2003. The judges rendered a unanimous decision, and Emelianenko became the second Pride Heavyweight Champion.
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. 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 "Big Daddy" 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.
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 kimura 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. Nogueira faced great difficulty in attempting to put his opponent on his back, save for the final 30 seconds 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.
BodogFight
With a special clause in his Pride contract that allowed him to fight under the banner of any mixed martial arts organization as long as the event was held on Russian soil, Emelianenko accepted a match in BodogFight against Matt Lindland. The fight was held on April 14, 2007 at the "Clash of the Nations" event in St. Petersburg, Russia. Lindland moved up two weight classes (from middleweight to heavyweight) for the match and came in weighing 218 lb (99 kg) to Emelianenko's 233 lb (106 kg).
Early in the fight, Lindland opened a cut above Emelianenko's left eye and clinched with him, pushing him into the corner and working for a takedown. At this point, the referee warned Emelianenko against grabbing the ropes and Emelianenko corrected himself. After a few seconds of working in the clinch, Lindland attempted a bodylock takedown. When Lindland lifted Emelianenko from his feet, Emelianenko reversed Lindland's takedown and landed in his half guard. The fight then remained on the ground where Emelianenko won by submission via armbar at 2:58 of the first round.
M-1 Global
Since the purchase of Pride by the majority owners of UFC and the expiration of Emelianenko's contract with Pride, there has been speculation about the possibility of him fighting in the UFC, especially since a public falling out between Bodog's Calvin Ayre and Emelianenko's manager, Vadim Finklestein. 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.
Yarennoka
Monte Cox, the president and CEO of M-1 Global, confirmed Emelianenko would face South Korean kickboxer Hong-Man Choi in a New Year's Eve event, Yarennoka!, taking place in Japan and organized by the former Pride FC staff with support from M-1 Global, FEG, and Deep. A special rule was used for this fight to not allow any knee strikes on the ground. The fight was broadcasted live in the United States on Mark Cuban's HDNet. Emelianenko defeated Choi in the opening round by submission via an armbar.
Dream
On February 13, 2008, Emelianenko attended a press conference held by Dream, 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.
Affliction
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.
In his next fight with Affliction, Emelianenko defeated former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski at Affliction: Day of Reckoning on January 24, 2009. Arlovski had some early success in the stand-up game. However as the champion came off the ropes, Arlovski attempted a flying knee and Emelianenko was able to counter with an overhand right, knocking out Arlovski at 3:14 of the first round to retain his title.
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Fedor Emelianenko - MMA Profile
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