|
Heavyweight Fighter Fedor Emelianenko
He was born on September 28th, 1976 in the Rubizhne, Luhansk region in what is now the Ukraine. His mother, Olga, works as a teacher, and his father, Vladimir, is a gas-electric welder. He was the second oldest child in the family, and he has one sister (Marina) and two younger brothers (Aleksander and Ivan). Aleksander is also a MMA fighter and has competed in PRIDE on numerous occasions. Fedor Emelianenko trained in wrestling as a youth, and his current coach Vladimir Mihailovich Voronov has stated that Emelianenko was physically weak as a young boy and had no innate skill at grappling. However, he did possess a strong will and perseverance. In 1991, Fedor Emelianenko completed high school and then graduated from a trade school in 1994. He then entered the Russian Army and served as a military firefighter from 1995 until 1997. In 1997, Emelianenko received the certification of “Master of Sports” in judo and sambo. He also became part of the Russian national team. He competed in the 1998 Russian Judo Championship and earned a bronze medal. In 1999, Fedor Emelianenko married his wife, Oksana, and the couple had their daughter, Masha, in the same year. During this time, he moved his training away from weight exercises and focused on grappling, kickboxing and boxing. In 2000, due to a lack of money, Emelianenko began to compete professionally in mixed martial arts and combat sambo events. He was 25 years old. In the beginning of his MMA career, Fedor Emelianenko trained with Russian Top Team. He trained with veterans of the RINGS organization and moved on to compete in RINGS himself. During this time, he suffered the first (and only, as of this writing) defeat of his career. During a bout with Tsuyoshi Kohsaka at the King of Kings 2000 event, Emelianenko’s head was struck by an elbow and the ringside physician stopped the fight 17 seconds into the match. Elbow strikes were not allowed under the rules (unless elbow pads were worn), and this would have normally resulted in a no contest or disqualification win for Emelianenko. However, since this was a tournament format and Emelianenko could not continue, Kohsaka picked up the controversial win. Emelianenko would later avenge the loss at PRIDE Bushido 6 on April 3rd, 2005. After winning the King of Kings 2002 tournament, Fedor Emelianenko competed in PRIDE against 6’11” Semmy Schilt. Emelianenko won by unanimous decision. He then went on to defeat Heath Herring by a doctor’s stoppage after the first round. This win got him a shot at the title against heavily favored Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at PRIDE 25 on March 16th, 2003. Emelianenko won by unanimous decision and became the second PRIDE Heavyweight Champion. After winning the title, a rift grew between Emelianenko and the manager of Russian Top Team. Financial disputes arose and Emelianenko and his brother eventually left for the St. Petersburg based Red Devil Sports Club. Fedor Emelianenko then proceeded to win 13 straight title defenses, dispatching every opponent put in front of him. Mark Coleman, Kevin Randleman, Mirko Filipovic, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Gary Goodridge - it seemed that nobody could stop Emelianenko. This dominant display earned him Shootfighter of the Year honors in 2005 from Wrestling Observer and the number one pound-for-pound ranking by Sherdog.com. On April 14th, 2007, a special clause in his contract allowed him to take on Matt Lindland in Russia for the BodogFight organization. With President Vladimir Putin looking on, Emelianenko won by armbar submission at 2:58 of the first round. With the UFC’s purchase of PRIDE and the expiration of Emelianenko’s contract, many wondered where the devastating Russian fighter would land. Some expected him to sign with BodogFight, but a public falling out between Bodog’s owner Calvin Ayre and Emelianenko’s manager Vadim Finklestein seemed to dash all hopes of that happening. UFC fighters ranging from Chuck Liddell to Randy Couture stated that they expected Emelianenko to sign with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, but negotiations between his management and UFC president Dana White did not go well. Emelianenko eventually signed a non-exclusive, two-year and six-fight deal with M-1 Global in October of 2007. The failure of the UFC to sign Emelianenko (as well as other factors) resulted in UFC heavyweight champ Randy Couture leaving the organization. Emelianenko has been dubbed “The Last Emperor” by his Japanese fans. He has also been called “Darth Fedor.” In his spare time, Fedor Emelianenko enjoys reading, listening to music and drawing. He lists Soviet weightlifter Yuri Vlasov as a personal hero. See also: |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
This site copyright 2007 MMA Wild. No unauthorized duplication. You can contact us by emailing mmawild -At- gmail *dot* com.\ |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
