By: Raul Rangel
June 22, 2012 – In what amounts to the last fight in a long and storied career, Fedor Emelianenko stepped into the cage opposite Pedro Rizzo in St Petersburg, Russia at an M-1 event past weekend, knocking him out in typical fashion to nab his third win a row, and apparently his last with the Russian great announcing his retirement during his post-match address.
And so it goes. After years and years of being called the most indestructible man in MMA and a subsequent bad string of losses on US soil, “The Last Emperor’s” career came to an end with a three fight win streak.
Looking back at his career, it is clear that Fedor was clearly at his best while fighting in Japan for the Pride Fighting Championship organization. He made his name there as a calm and composed killer – steamrolling is opponents or scoring amazing comebacks when necessary. From April 2001 to June 2010, Emelianenko Fedor went undefeated in 28 straight fights – an unheard of feat at the top of the sport.
Yet for all his accomplishments and the praise others shower upon him, there are those who question whether he should be considered one of the best ever. Make no mistake about it, Fedor in his prime was legendary but who did he really fight that could challenge his record?
There are people that have claimed that Fedor’s record was padded while in Japan and with M1-Global. Most of the people listed on Fedor’s record would make the non hardcore fans scratch their head. Not to take anything away from the fighters who faced Fedor, but this was the early stages of MMA when people were fighting out of weight classes that they did not belong in. Some would even say Fedor owns the most protected record in MMA, which would make him the most overrated fighter of all time.
Now, there are fighters that Fedor did face that were great, key word being were. Guys like Mark Coleman, Jeff Monson, and Pedro Rizzo; not really fighters who are or were tearing up the heavyweight division at the time. There were plenty of fighters that Fedor could have fought during the heavyweight’s darkest times in the early to mid 2000’s; fighters like Randy Couture, Frank Mir, or Josh Barnett. Unfortunately those fights did not happen, and when Emelianenko did face fighters that were in their prime (read: Mirko CroCop, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira) he mostly fought them to a decision.
It was when Fedor fought for the Strikeforce promotion that many saw holes in Fedor’s game and realized that the MMA God they saw in Emelianenko was really just a man. Brett Rogers gave him problems in his first match going into a standup battle. Fabricio Werdum was able to submit Fedor in just 1:09 in the first round. Both Dan Henderson and Antonio Silva were able to beat down Emelianenko with strikes. Fedor was exposed as mortal in those fights… but it does not mean he was not a good fighter.
Many will say that never fighting for the UFC also tarnishes his legacy. Those ‘should have been’ matchups with guys like Couture or even Lesnar that never happened leaves a bad taste in people’s mouths. Some of those bouts could have been among the highest-grossing PPV’s of all time and cemented Fedor as the “All-time greatest” had he come out victorious. Now, much like Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather’s case in boxing, we’ll simply never know what would have transpired if Fedor faced his contemporaries in his prime.
In the end one thing that won’t be questioned is Fedor’s good nature and respect for fighting. If there is one thing fighters should take from Emelianenko it is his personality, the quiet warrior – nobody it better. Now as for his legacy as one of the greats, his career now ends with as many questions as answers.
How will you remember Fedor Emelianenko?