Fedor Emelianenko

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Fedor Emelianenko

Statistics
Nickname	The Russian Experiment The Last Emperor Darth Fedor
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	101.7 kg (224 lb)
Nationality	Russian
Born	September 28, 1976 (age 30)
Fighting out of	Stary Oskol, Russia
Town of birth	Luhansk, Ukraine
Fighting style	Sambo, Judo, Boxing
Mixed martial arts record
Wins	25
By knockout	6
By submission	12
Losses	1
Draws	0
No contests	1

Fedor Emelianenko (IPA: ['fʲodər jemilʲja'nʲenkə], Russian: Фёдор Емельяненко), born September 28, 1976), is a Russian heavyweight mixed martial arts fighter and the current PRIDE World Heavyweight Champion. He has been the reigning heavyweight champion in PRIDE since March 16, 2003.

Fedor has been considered the best heavyweight fighter in the world for the last three years by virtually all major MMA publications ^[1]^[2], and holds particularly notable wins over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mirko Filipović, Mark Hunt and Mark Coleman.

He is a three time World Sambo Champion, the 2002 World Combat Sambo heavyweight champion, the 2002 World Combat Sambo open-weight champion, 2005 and 2007 World Combat Sambo heavyweight champion. He was also the 2002 Russian Combat Sambo Champion. He was the 1998 bronze medalist in the Russian Judo championships open-weight division and the 1999 bronze medalist at the Moscow International Judo Tournament heavyweight division. He is also the RINGS: King of Kings 2001 heavyweight tournament champion and the RINGS: King of Kings 2002 open-weight tournament champion. He was also the PRIDE 2004 World Grand Prix Champion.

1 Biography
2 Club affiliation
3 Mixed martial arts record
4 Championship and accomplishments
5 See also
6 Notes
7 External links

[edit] Biography

Fedor Emelianenko was born in 1976 in the Rubezhnoe town in Luhansk region^[3], presently a part of Ukraine (part of the Soviet Union at the time). Fedor's family moved to Stary Oskol, Russia in 1978. His mother, Olga Feodorovna, is a teacher. His father, Vladimir Alexandrovich, is a gas-electric welder. Fedor is the second child in the family and has an older sister, Marina, and two younger brothers, Aleksander (born 1981) and Ivan (born 1988). Aleksander is also an MMA fighter in PRIDE, and Ivan is currently in training.

Fedor finished high school in 1991 and graduated with honors from a professional trade school in 1994. From 1995 until 1997, Emelianenko served in the Russian Army as a military firefighter^[4].

In 1999 he married his wife, Oksana, who had their first daughter, Masha, in the same year. In his spare time, Fedor has stated he likes the sun and going to the beach. He has stated he likes art and some of his paintings can be viewed on his official website.

[edit] Martial arts background & training regimen

Emelianenko's enthusiasm for fighting began with Sambo and Judo. He initially trained under Vasiliy Ivanovich Gavrilov, and later under his current coach, Vladimir Mihailovich Voronov. Voronov remembers that ten-year-old Fedor was relatively weak physically and did not have an innate grappling talent; instead, Fedor's biggest strength was his perseverance and strong will.^[5]

Emeliananko's official biography erroneously states that he trained in Sambo during his army years. However, Fedor has specified in his 2005 Amsterdam interview^[6] that this is incorrect, and his training in the army was limited to running and strength training in a makeshift gym he put together himself.

In 1997, Emelianenko received the official certification of a "Master of Sports" in Sambo and Judo and became part of the Russian national team.^[7] Fedor earned a bronze medal in the 1998 Russian Judo Championship. In 2000, he started studying striking with arms and legs under coach Alexander Vasilievich Michkov. Fedor started competing in combat sambo and mixed martial arts in 2000, because he "didn't have any money".^[8]

Fedor used to weight train extensively, but in 1999 he almost completely substituted his weight exercises with sport-specific training in grappling, boxing and kick-boxing. His strength training consists of daily pull-ups, push ups on parallel bars, and crunches.^[9] Emelianenko also runs 12-15 kilometers (7.5 - 9.3 miles) every day.^[10] Fedor is a proponent of high altitude training, and he travels to Kislovodsk, Russia with his team once or twice a year to train in high altitude.

Fedor's team consists of coach Voronov (grappling), coach Michkov (boxing), coach Ruslan Nagnibeda (Muay Thai), Oleg Neustroev (doctor, masseuse and psychologist all in one), and his training partners, including Roman Zentsov, another PRIDE fighter, and, until June 2006, Fedor's brother, Aleksander Emelianenko^[11].

In 2005 Emelianenko started paying special attention to improving his kicking technique. He trained Muay Thai with kickboxer Ernesto Hoost in Netherlands,^[12] and added a Muay Thai coach, Ruslan Nagnibeda, “Seikin-do” league 78 kg title holder from 1998 to 2002 (33-3-1) to his team.

[edit] RINGS

Emelianenko's only loss in MMA came at the hands of Tsuyoshi Kohsaka at the King of Kings 2000 Block B event on December 22, 2000, via a TKO (doctor stoppage due to a cut) 17 seconds into the fight [1]. The cut was caused by an elbow strike reopening a cut sustained in his previous fight against Ricardo Arona, a blow illegal under RINGS rules unless the striker is wearing elbow pads.^{[citation needed]} Since the fight was in a tournament format, a winner and loser was required (no draws and no no-contests) and as he could not go on in the tournament due to the cut Kohsaka moved on (the match would have been a NC or DQ for Kohsaka otherwise). He avenged the loss at the PRIDE Bushido 6 event on April 3, 2005, defeating Kohsaka by TKO due to doctor stoppage after the first round. If Emelianenko had progressed, he would have met Randy Couture in the next round [2].

[edit] PRIDE Fighting Championships

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Emelianenko debuted at PRIDE 21 on June 23, 2002 against the 6'11, 256 lbs (211 cm, 116 kg) Dutch 2005 and 2006 K-1 World Champion Semmy Schilt, whom he defeated by unanimous decision. His next opponent was heavyweight Heath Herring, in a contest for a shot at the heavyweight belt. Emelianenko, considered an underdog at the time, defeated Herring by doctor stoppage after the first round due to strikes to the head.

Emelianenko was then signed to fight heavily favored Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for PRIDE's heavyweight championship title at PRIDE 25 on 16 March 2003. After dominating the champion for three rounds, the judges rendered a unanimous decision, and Emelianenko became the second PRIDE Heavyweight Champion.

Three months later Emelianenko embarked on his, as yet undefeated, two-and-a-half year title defense. His first match was against the former IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, amateur and professional wrestler Kazuyuki “Ironhead” Fujita. A heavy favorite, Emelianenko was expected to make quick work of Fujita, but was caught by with a wild right hook that stunned him. Emelianenko was able to work his way to a clinch to recover his composure. He then 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 Gary “Big Daddy” Goodridge at PRIDE Total Elimination 2003. Emelianenko dominated the veteran MMA fighter with a ground and pound technique, winning in the first round by referee stoppage after delivering a flurry of uncountered strikes to Goodridge on the ground. Emelianenko broke his hand in this fight[3], resulting in him having to undergo surgery. He has since reinjured this hand, leading to the postponement of several bouts.

His next fight against New Japan pro wrestler Yuji Nagata at Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2003 ended the same way, but with Emelianenko first knocking Nagata to the ground twice with well-timed punches. Emelianenko fought at this event as opposed to the PRIDE Shockwave 2003 event 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.[4]

Four months later at PRIDE Total Elimination 2004 he met PRIDE tournament 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 proceed in the 2004 Pride heavyweight tournament. Emelianenko has indicated his respect for Coleman, who popularised the ground and pound technique that has become Emelianenko's trademark.

A notable match with Coleman’s protégé Kevin “The Monster” Randleman followed just two months later at the tournament second round, PRIDE Critical Countdown 2004. Randleman, a two time Division I NCAA Wrestling Champion for Ohio State University and a former UFC heavyweight champion, used his aggressive style to quickly work into a clinch with Emelianenko and then deliver a dazzling suplex, slamming the Russian to the canvas headfirst. Emelianenko quickly recovered and forced Randleman to submit with a kimura armlock only 1:33 into the first round. Following these two wins, on 15 August 2004, he faced 6-time All-Japan Judo Champion Naoya Ogawa and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at PRIDE Final Conflict 2004 for the semi final and final of the tournament. Quickly submitting the outmatched Ogawa with an armbar, he faced Nogueira who had won a decision against Emelianenko's former teammate, Sergei Kharitonov earlier that night.

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 rematch was thus scheduled for PRIDE Shockwave 2004, which was won by Emelianenko by unanimous decision as Nogueira was unable to impose his boxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu style upon Emelianenko.

In other notable bouts, Emelianenko won a unanimous decision over former K-1 star Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović, a bout he calls his toughest to date. The fight had been delayed previously due to Emelianenko's hand injuries and Cro Cop's loss to Kevin Randleman derailing their expected tournament meeting at PRIDE Final Conflict 2004. Surprising many observers, Emelianenko managed to dominate Cro Cop in stand up fighting, landing many hard body shots, and controlled the bout on the ground. He has later stated that his hand injury took away his grip strength and so prevented him from trying submissions.

Emelianenko's most recent title defense was against former K-1 champion Mark Hunt at PRIDE Shockwave 2006. Sporting a broken toe during the contest, Emelianenko nevertheless secured an armbar in the second minute of the first round, but Hunt was able to escape and counter by stepping over Emelianenko, ending in the sidemount position. At five minutes into the first round Hunt made two attempts at an Americana on Emelianenko’s left arm but failed to cinch them in. In the end, Emelianenko submitted Hunt with a Kimura at 8:16 in the first round.

His next opponent has been announced as Matt Lindland on April 14 in St. Petersburg Russia for the Bodog organization.

[edit] Club affiliation

Fedor Emelianenko began his mixed martial arts as a member of Russian Top Team, training with the 'first generation' of Russian RINGS competitors, such as Volk Han and Andrey Kopylov. After winning his PRIDE Heavyweight title, a rift grew between Fedor and the manager of RTT, Vladimir Evgenevich Pogodin. According to Emelianenko, Pogodin, who held the position of vice-president in the World Sambo Federation, attempted to control Emelianenko's career through threats and abuse of his position to deny 'master of sport' titles to Fedor and his brother Aleksander, in addition to financial disputes between Pogodin and Emelianenko, with Fedor alleging he was deceived by Pogodin.^[13] After his bout with Gary Goodridge, the Emelianenko brothers left Russian Top Team and began to train with the St. Petersburg based Red Devil Sport Club, which is managed by Vadim Finklestein. To date, Finklestein is still Fedor Emelianenko's manager.

[edit] Mixed martial arts record

Total		Wins	Loss
27 matches	(T)Knockout	6	1
Submission	12	0
Decision	7	0
Draw	0
No Contest	1

Result	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time
Win	Mark Hunt	Submission (Kimura)	PRIDE Shockwave 2006	2006-12-31	1	8:16
Win	Mark Coleman	Submission (Armbar)	PRIDE 32: The Real Deal	2006-10-21	2	1:15
Win	Zuluzinho	Submission (punches)	PRIDE Shockwave 2005	2005-12-31	1	0:26
Win	Mirko Filipović	Decision (unanimity)	PRIDE Final Conflict 2005	2005-08-28	3	5:00
Win	Tsuyoshi Kohsaka	TKO (doctor stoppage)	PRIDE Bushido 6	2005-04-03	1	10:00
Win	Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira	Decision (Unanimity)	PRIDE Shockwave 2004	2004-12-31	3	5:00
No Contest	Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira	No Contest - Accidental Cut	PRIDE Final Conflict 2004	2004-08-15	1	3:52
Win	Naoya Ogawa	Submission (Armbar)	PRIDE Final Conflict 2004	2004-10-15	1	0:54
Win	Kevin Randleman	Submission (Kimura)	PRIDE Critical Countdown 2004	2004-06-20	1	1:33
Win	Mark Coleman	Submission (Armbar)	PRIDE Total Elimination 2004	2004-04-25	1	2:11
Win	Yuji Nagata	TKO (Punches)	Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2003	2003-12-31	1	1:02
Win	Gary Goodridge	Referee stoppage (strikes)	PRIDE Total Elimination 2003	2003-08-10	1	1:09
Win	Kazuyuki Fujita	Submission (choke)	PRIDE 26: Bad to the Bone	2003-06-08	1	4:17
Win	Egidijus Valavicius	Submission (kimura)	RINGS Lithuania -Bushido Rings 7: Adrenalinas	2003-04-05	2	1:11
Win	Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira	Decision (Unanimity)	PRIDE 25: Body Blow	2003-03-16	3	5:00
Win	Heath Herring	TKO (Doctor stoppage)	PRIDE 23: Championship Chaos 2	2002-11-24	1	10:00
Win	Semmy Schilt	Decision (Unanimity)	PRIDE 21: Demolition	2002-06-23	3	5:00
Win	Chris Haseman	TKO (lost points)	RINGS-World Title Series Grand Final	2002-02-15	1	2:50
Win	Lee Hasdell	Submission (Guillotine choke)	RINGS-World Title Series 5	2001-12-21	1	4:10
Win	Ryushi Yanagisawa	Decision (unanimity)	RINGS-World Title Series 4	2001-10-20	3	5:00
Win	Renato Sobral	Decision (Unanimity)	RINGS-10th Anniversary	2001-08-11	2	5:00
Win	Kerry Schall	Submission (Armbar)	RINGS-World Title Series 1	2001-04-20	1	1:47
Win	Mihail Apostolov	Submission (rear naked choke)	RINGS- Russia-Russia vs Bulgaria	2001-04-06	1	1:03
Loss	Tsuyoshi Kohsaka	TKO (cut)	RINGS-King of Kings 2000 Block B	2000-12-22	1	0:17
Win	Ricardo Arona	Decision (Unanimity)	RINGS-King of Kings 2000 Block B	2000-12-22	3	5:00
Win	Hiroya Takada	KO (punches)	RINGS-Battle Genesis Vol. 6	2000-09-05	1	0:12
Win	Levon Lagvilava	Submission (choke)	RINGS-Russia vs Georgia	2000-08-16	1	7:24

[edit] Championship and accomplishments

[edit] Mixed Martial Arts

PRIDE World Heavyweight Champion (16 March 2003 - present)
PRIDE Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament Champion (2004)
RINGS King of Kings Heavyweight Tournament Champion (2001)
RINGS World Absolute Class Tournament Champion (2001)

[edit] Judo

Dutch Grand Prix Rotterdam 100 kg weight - 7th place (April 1, 2000) ^[14]
A-Tournament Sofia 100 kg weight 3rd place (February 7, 1999)
Moscow International Tournament 100 kg weight 3rd place (January 24, 1999)
Russian Championships Kstovo (absolute division) 3rd place (December 5, 1998) ^[15]

[edit] Sambo

Russian Combat Sambo Champion (Ulan-Ude, Buryat Republic, Russia, 2007)^[16]
Russian Combat Sambo Champion (Ulan-Ude, Buryat Republic, Russia, 2006) ^[17]
World Combat Sambo Champion (heavyweight division) (Prague, Czech Republic, 2005)
World Combat Sambo Champion (absolute division) (Panama, 2002)
World Combat Sambo Champion (heavyweight division) (Saloniki, Greece, 2002)
Russian Combat Sambo Champion (Moscow championship, 2002)