Fedor Emelianenko has been the most dominating heavyweight in MMA history. His only defeat was due to a doctor stoppage, a cut on the eye, caused by an illegal elbow strike. Since then Fedor has been unstoppable, defeating opponent after opponent in Pride FC and Affliction.
When the UFC and its parent company Zuffa Entertainment purchased Pride in ’07, many speculated that it was only a matter of time before we would see Fedor in the Octagon. But when negotiations failed between the two due to Fedor’s high demands, many people blamed UFC President Dana White for not getting the deal done.
Affliction, the clothing brand, decided to start promoting fights on PPV and signed Fedor Emelianenko to a 3 fight deal. In his two and only two bouts for the company Fedor was victorious in a :37 second TKO over Tim Sylvia, and a vicious KO over Andrei Arlovski. Both fighters are former UFC heavyweight champions, and for a while were the top talents in their division.
A third bout was scheduled to take place between Fedor and former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Burnett. However, during his application screening Burnett tested positive for anabolic steroids and was denied a license by the state of
Once again the talk of Fedor joining the UFC began heating up. And yet again negotiations fell through when M-1, the Russian promotion that Fedor co-owns, wanted to co-promote with the UFC. M-1 has had a small number of shows. Their most recently planned event on August 28, 2009, in
So, with that, does this mean Fedor Emelianenko is not the #1 fighter in the world? The top match would have been against Brock Lesnar, who is now the #2 fighter in the world. UFC’s heavyweight division finally has some depth behind it with names like Carwin, Mir, Couture, Vasquez, and Kongo. They also have an Ultimate Fighter cast that is dedicated to the heavyweight division, along with an internet sensation named Kimbo Slice. The UFC is where a true #1 heavyweight would seal his legacy.
Raul Rangel
-Best internet quote this week:
“Fedor going to Strikeforce is the equivalence of Albert Pujols going to play little league.”
September 5th, 2009 at 9:16 am It was a submission win over Sylvia, not a TKO. He rear naked choked him.