Fedor Emelianenko is considered by many to be one of, if not the greatest heavyweight in mixed martial arts history.
Over his 23-year career, ‘The Last Emperor’ competed against some of the biggest names in MMA, including Mark ‘The Hammer’ Coleman, Mirko Cro Cop, Mark Hunt, Fabricio Werdum, Dan Henderson, Frank Mir, and many more.
Along the way, he notched a series of highlight-reel knockouts and a few WTF moments that we’ll take a closer look at, starting with his scrap against ‘The American Gangster.’
5. Chael Sonnen (Bellator 208)
Bellator’s Heavyweight World Grand Prix tournament in 2018 featured a slew of noteworthy names, including Frank Mir, Roy Nelson, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, and Ryan Bader. But perhaps the most interesting entrant into the tournament was former three-time UFC middleweight title challenger Chael Sonnen.
‘The American Gangster’ fought his way into the semifinal round with a decision victory over ‘Rampage’ at Bellator 192. Unfortunately for Sonnen, getting to the finals meant he’d have to go through perhaps the greatest heavyweight of all time — Fedor Emelianenko.
Unsurprisingly, ‘The Last Emperor’ practically walked past Sonnen, scoring a first-round TKO in a fight that no fan had ever expected to see.
4. Choi Hong Man (Yarennoka! 2007)
Emelianenko competed in a slew of freakshow fights throughout his career, perhaps none bigger (literally) than his scrap against 7’2″ kickboxer Choi Hong-Man.
As a free agent, Emelianenko agreed to compete at a K-1 event on New Year’s Eve in 2007. The promotion matched him up with Choi who, at the time, was undefeated in mixed martial arts and was a well-respected kickboxer. To his credit, Choi was able to muscle Emelianenko down to the mat and keep him there, but his lack of defense left him open to submissions.
Less than two minutes into the bout, ‘The Last Emperor’ snatched the big man’s arm and forced him to tap out.
15 years ago today, Fedor submitted Hong-man Choipic.twitter.com/w7m50Wk68E
— MMA Mania (@mmamania) December 31, 2022
3. Zuluzinho (PRIDE FC Shockwave 2005)
After securing a win against Mirko Cro Cop in one of the greatest MMA fights of the noughties, Emelianenko opted to make a relatively quick turnaround, competing at PRIDE FC’s New Year’s Eve event in 2005. There, ‘The Last Emperor’ squared off with another formidable opponent in 6’4″ 390-pound Zuluzinho.
Up to that point, ‘Zulu’ was unbeaten in mixed martial arts, including back-to-back wins under the PRIDE banner. He also came into the fight boasting an undefeated Vale Tudo record of 38-0, though the validity of that has come into question over the years. Still, Zuluzinho had more than proven himself to be a worthy challenger for the Russian superstar.
Of course, Emelianenko was simply on another level. It only took ‘The Last Emperor’ 26 seconds to catch ‘Zulu’ with a stiff left hand that sent him crashing to the canvas. Moments later, that was all she wrote.
It’s a Fedor vs Zuluzinho type of day https://t.co/PDv49M2gYV
— Connoisseur of Combat (@ConOfCombat) August 14, 2020
2. Yuji Nagata (Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2003)
After making a name for himself as one of the best professional wrestlers of the early 2000s, Yuji Nagata decided to test his mettle in the world of mixed martial arts. After coming up short against Mirko Cro Cop in his MMA debut, the two-time IWGP heavyweight champion returned to the ring two years later for a showdown with Emelianenko at Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2003 in Kobe, Japan.
As you can probably guess, things did not go well for Nagata.
Yuji Nagata 🇯🇵 vs. Fedor Emelianenko 🇷🇺#ViolentMoney #VMTV #MMA pic.twitter.com/zrySVKxVgd
— Violent Money TV (@ViolentMoneyTV) December 3, 2022
1. Ryan Bader (Bellator 214)
After fighting his way through Frank Mir and Chael Sonnen to make it to the Bellator Heavyweight World Grand Prix tournament, ‘The Last Emperor’ found himself tasked with taking out former UFC star Ryan ‘Darth’ Bader in the finals.
Sitting on a six-fight win streak, Bader delivered a jaw-dropping first-round knockout of Emelianenko, tagging the Russian with a straight left that knocked him to the mat. A few ground-and-pound strikes later, the fight was stopped and Bader has landed the biggest win of his combat sports career.
JUST LIKE THAT!!!! 💥🤯@RyanBader with the HUGE KO against Fedor Emelianenko!#Bellator214 pic.twitter.com/7fm2XFY1zh
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) January 27, 2019
Emelianenko later bounced back with wins over ‘Rampage’ and Timothy Johnson, but he’d suffered a second career loss against ‘Darth’ at Bellator 290 before hanging up his gloves for good.
Check out some of Fedor Emelianenko’s greatest KOs of all time below:
