During the Pride 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix, Fedor Emelianenko continued his dominance by defeating some of the best heavyweights in the organization.
In a semifinal bout with 1992 Olympic Silver Medalist Naoya Ogawa, Emelianenko showed what made him such a dominant force in the division for over a decade.
Ogawa came into the fight with a 7-0 record with every fight ending by submission or knockout. Ogawa’s confidence was at an all-time high, and it showed when the two fighters met in the center of the ring to hear final instructions and touch gloves.
Ogawa declined Emelianeko’s show of respect, not knowing he would pay the ultimate price for his refusal to touch gloves. Instead of having glove-to-glove contact, Emelianenko met him with a glove-to-face approach that rocked him and nearly sent him down just seconds into the bout.
Emelianenko got Ogawa down and immediately moved into mount. Ogawa tried to hold on but could only last so long before losing by armbar submission 54 seconds into the round.
Emelianenko would go on to fight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in the finals. He would defeat Nogueira for the second time and remain unbeaten for six more years.
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