As Reddit/MMA reminds us, today is the seventh anniversary of Fedor Emelianenko and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic‘s meeting at PRIDE Final Conflict 2005, an instant classic that still ranks among the greatest heavyweight fights in MMA history. Emelianenko had already held the PRIDE heavyweight title for two-and-a-half years by the time he made his belt defense against Cro Cop, and entered the match with a PRIDE record of 10-0 with one no-contest. Meanwhile, Cro Cop had earned his shot at Fedor on the strength of a seven-fight PRIDE win streak that included victories over Alexander Emelianenko, Josh Barnett, Kevin Randleman, and Mark Coleman.
Though both fighters would later complain that they came into the fight less than 100% healthy, Emelianenko and Filipovic put on a thrilling war for the entirety of the three-round, 20-minute fight. Cro Cop started strong, breaking Fedor’s nose with punches and punishing him with kicks to the body, but Fedor regained momentum as Cro Cop’s cardio began to fade, slugging his way to a unanimous decision victory. It was Emelianenko’s toughest fight to that point, and arguably his most entertaining. As for Filipovic, he may have fallen short of the PRIDE heavyweight title that night, but his greatest career triumph was just around the corner.
After the jump: If you have the time to spare, the complete fight is below…
As Reddit/MMA reminds us, today is the seventh anniversary of Fedor Emelianenko and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic‘s meeting at PRIDE Final Conflict 2005, an instant classic that still ranks among the greatest heavyweight fights in MMA history. Emelianenko had already held the PRIDE heavyweight title for two-and-a-half years by the time he made his belt defense against Cro Cop, and entered the match with a PRIDE record of 10-0 with one no-contest. Meanwhile, Cro Cop had earned his shot at Fedor on the strength of a seven-fight PRIDE win streak that included victories over Alexander Emelianenko, Josh Barnett, Kevin Randleman, and Mark Coleman.
Though both fighters would later complain that they came into the fight less than 100% healthy, Emelianenko and Filipovic put on a thrilling war for the entirety of the three-round, 20-minute fight. Cro Cop started strong, breaking Fedor’s nose with punches and punishing him with kicks to the body, but Fedor regained momentum as Cro Cop’s cardio began to fade, slugging his way to a unanimous decision victory. It was Emelianenko’s toughest fight to that point, and arguably his most entertaining. As for Filipovic, he may have fallen short of the PRIDE heavyweight title that night, but his greatest career triumph was just around the corner.
After the jump: If you have the time to spare, the complete fight is below…
Despite his legacy-damaging losing skid in 2010-2011 under the Strikeforce banner, the Last Emperor still managed to go out on top. Judging from his dominant performance against Rizzo — in which Fedor showed flashes of the speed and power that established him as a legend in the first place — he could have gone another five years beating up faded legends and local cans. Instead, he walks away with his health and his dignity intact, and riding a three-fight win streak since November.
Raise a glass of vodka to one of the greatest of all time, and enjoy ten classic video moments from Fedor’s career after the jump…
Despite his legacy-damaging losing skid in 2010-2011 under the Strikeforce banner, the Last Emperor still managed to go out on top. Judging from his dominant performance against Rizzo — in which Fedor showed flashes of the speed and power that established him as a legend in the first place — he could have gone another five years beating up faded legends and local cans. Instead, he walks away with his health and his dignity intact, and riding a three-fight win streak since November.
Raise a glass of vodka to one of the greatest of all time, and enjoy ten classic video moments from Fedor’s career after the jump…
(Fedor knocks out Hiroya Takada in 12 seconds at RINGS: Battle Genesis Vol. 6, 9/5/00. My God this lack of human emotion.)
(Fedor gets rocked by Kazuyuki Fujita, comes back to win by rear-naked choke @ Pride 26: Bad to the Bone, 6/8/03)
(Fedor destroys Gary Goodridge @ PRIDE Total Elimination 2003, 8/10/03)
(Fedor pulls off the slickest armbar of his career against Mark Coleman @ Pride Total Elimination 2004, 4/25/04)
(Fedor survives the “Randleplex,” defeats Kevin Randleman by kimura @ PRIDE Critical Countdown 2004, 6/20/04)
(Fedor defeats Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for the second time at Pride Shockwave 2004, 12/31/04)
(Fedor harpoons Zuluzinho at Pride Shockwave 2005, 12/31/05)
(Fedor fends off a nasty keylock attempt by Mark Hunt before giving the Super Samoan a taste of his own medicine at Pride Shockwave 2006, 12/31/06)
(Fedor blitzes Tim Sylvia @ Affliction: Banned, 7/19/08)
(Fedor knocks Andrei Arlovski out of mid-air @ Affliction: Day of Reckoning, 1/24/09)
Fedor Emelianenko‘s hard work at the playground has paid off once again. Earlier today at an M-1 Global event in St. Petersberg, Russia, Fedor met Pedro Rizzo in his possible retirement fight, and knocked him out in the first round. “The Last Emperor” looked focused and light on his feet, and the stoppage — which came less than a minute-and-a-half into the fight — was classic Fedor. Watch as Emelianenko lands a crushing overhand right that topples Rizzo, then bounces the Rock’s head off the mat with some savage ground-and-pound.
Notable fight-fan Vladmir Putin was sitting ringside, and even more impressive was the appearance of Fedor’s brother Aleksander Emelianenko in his corner, so I guess those two knuckleheads have patched up their differences, which is nice to see. Without family, what do we really have, y’know?
Fedor Emelianenko‘s hard work at the playground has paid off once again. Earlier today at an M-1 Global event in St. Petersberg, Russia, Fedor met Pedro Rizzo in his possible retirement fight, and knocked him out in the first round. “The Last Emperor” looked focused and light on his feet, and the stoppage — which came less than a minute-and-a-half into the fight — was classic Fedor. Watch as Emelianenko lands a crushing overhand right that topples Rizzo, then bounces the Rock’s head off the mat with some savage ground-and-pound.
Notable fight-fan Vladmir Putin was sitting ringside, and even more impressive was the appearance of Fedor’s brother Aleksander Emelianenko in his corner, so I guess those two knuckleheads have patched up their differences, which is nice to see. Without family, what do we really have, y’know?
Fedor Emelianenko‘s next fight against Pedro Rizzo is just two weeks away, and judging by this training video recently shot at the Vital Skills facility in the Netherlands, Fedor still prefers to work out under the sun. But unlike his previous outdoor training camp, where he swung hammers alongside Stary Oskol locals in bombed-out playgrounds, there’s a sense of organization and modernity to his current strength-and-conditioning drills, and his set of trainers — which include kickboxing legend Ernesto Hoost — don’t seem to give him any special treatment whtsoever. And just from a physical standpoint, it’s impressive that Fedor can still jump up onto a pair of stacked tractor tires with such ease.
It’s never too late in life to re-invent yourself, and the fact that Fedor is seeking out new environments to prepare for his fight suggest that he’s still taking his career seriously. I’m not saying that he’ll ever return to the top of the heavyweight food chain — but there might still be a lot of fight left in this dog.
(Props: 2themaXmmaFitness)
Fedor Emelianenko‘s next fight against Pedro Rizzo is just two weeks away, and judging by this training video recently shot at the Vital Skills facility in the Netherlands, Fedor still prefers to work out under the sun. But unlike his previous outdoor training camp, where he swung hammers alongside Stary Oskol locals in bombed-out playgrounds, there’s a sense of organization and modernity to his current strength-and-conditioning drills, and his set of trainers — which include kickboxing legend Ernesto Hoost — don’t seem to give him any special treatment whtsoever. And just from a physical standpoint, it’s impressive that Fedor can still jump up onto a pair of stacked tractor tires with such ease.
It’s never too late in life to re-invent yourself, and the fact that Fedor is seeking out new environments to prepare for his fight suggest that he’s still taking his career seriously. I’m not saying that he’ll ever return to the top of the heavyweight food chain — but there might still be a lot of fight left in this dog.
(Fight starts at the 2:38 mark.And is that Fedor’s new lady at the 29:22 mark? Alright, buddy. Upgrade. / Props: valetudorus via MMAMania)
It’s been a tough couple of years for heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko. First, a brilliant MMA strategist named Damian Demento went public with a groundbreaking strategy on how to defeat him, which involved putting the boots to Fedor’s belly and intentionally mispronouncing his name. Then, his next three opponents beat him by stoppage. Coincidence? I don’t know. You tell me.
What’s important is that Fedor finally got back in the win column on Sunday, winning a unanimous decision over American grappler Jeff Monson at M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Monson, in front of a crowd of over 20,000 at Moscow’s Olympic Stadium that included Vladimir Putin. The full fight video is above, which shows Fedor in more controlled, measured form than his recent appearances, choosing to stay on the outside and score with leg kicks and long punches for the majority of the fight.
Monson, unfortunately, had nothing for him. In fact, the only times the Snowman was able to get the fight to the ground is when he fell over after getting punched in the face.
(Fight starts at the 2:38 mark.And is that Fedor’s new lady at the 29:22 mark? Alright, buddy. Upgrade. / Props: valetudorus via MMAMania)
It’s been a tough couple of years for heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko. First, a brilliant MMA strategist named Damian Demento went public with a groundbreaking strategy on how to defeat him, which involved putting the boots to Fedor’s belly and intentionally mispronouncing his name. Then, his next three opponents beat him by stoppage. Coincidence? I don’t know. You tell me.
What’s important is that Fedor finally got back in the win column on Sunday, winning a unanimous decision over American grappler Jeff Monson at M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Monson, in front of a crowd of over 20,000 at Moscow’s Olympic Stadium that included Vladimir Putin. The full fight video is above, which shows Fedor in more controlled, measured form than his recent appearances, choosing to stay on the outside and score with leg kicks and long punches for the majority of the fight.
Monson, unfortunately, had nothing for him. In fact, the only times the Snowman was able to get the fight to the ground is when he fell over after getting punched in the face.
So, is Fedor “back”? Since we don’t know if he’ll ever face top-ten competition again, it’ll be hard to answer that question. He’ll reportedly return at DREAM’s New Year’s Eve show against Japanese judoka Satoshi Ishii (4-1-1), who most recently fought to a draw against Paulo Filho at Amazon Forest Combat. Full results from M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Monson are below.
– Fedor Emelianenko def. Jeff Monson via unanimous decision
– Daniel Weichel def. Jose Figueroa via KO, round 1 (becomes new M-1 lightweight champion)
– Alexander Yakovlev def. Juan Manuel Suarez via TKO, round 2
– Yuri Ivlev def. Jerome Bouisson via TKO, round 1
– Mairbek Taisumov def. Joshua Thorpe via KO, round 2
– Mikhail Malyutin def. Seydina Seck via KO, round 1
– Albert Duraev def. Xavier Foupa-Pokam via submission (triangle choke), round 2
– Salim Davidov def. Sergey Kornev via unanimous decision
