Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko: short biography, sports career, awards and titles. The best fights of Fedor Emelianenko

Recently, fighters of mixed style are becoming increasingly popular and can already compete on this part with professional boxers. Perhaps the most legendary and respected among them is Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko, whose battle statistics can not but astonish the imagination. He never shied away from fights with the strongest contenders and for almost ten years he did not know defeats, remaining an undefeated champion. The fights of Fedor Vladimirovich Yemelyanenko always caused a huge spectator boom, and he himself became an idol and role model for many young fighters.

Chess player in the ring

For every MMA fighter, you need to strike a balance between wrestling and drill training. The style of the fight of Fedor Emelianenko is characterized by the fact that the rival of the Russian is constantly in tension, not knowing what to expect from him in the next second. A native of Lugansk specialized in sambo and judo. He feels great in the fight, but Fedor's blows are a formidable weapon. Boxer's manner of Emelianenko has its own distinctive features: he almost does not use jabs, using lateral blows with a wide circular amplitude. Acting in the rack, he prefers to work with his hands and rarely resorts to kicks. However, depending on the opponent, he is able to rebuild and inflict considerable damage on him even with the restraining low-kicks. So, for example, in a duel with Jeff Monson after one of these attacks Fedor the American got a broken leg.

Nevertheless, the visiting card of Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko, whose growth (183 cm) is relatively small for his weight category, are his painful and suffocating tricks from the arsenal of sambo and judo. In addition, very often, overturning an opponent, he successfully falls upon him a hail of powerful blows from the top position and knocked out. Always amazed at the coolness of Emelianenko during his fights. He never gives in to emotions and in the most difficult moments of combat he can calculate the situation in a fraction of a second and make the best decision instantly. Many of his victories were obtained in situations where the opponent seemed to dominate and was a step away from victory.

A little bit about the life of the fighter

Even the shortest biography of Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko will take many pages from any conscientious sports historian. One of the best fighters of the MMA of all times and nations has gone through a difficult path in sports until its world renown. Fedor Vladimirovich Emelyanenko (born in 1976) was born in the Lugansk region in an ordinary working family. Fyodor's brothers Alexander and Ivan also followed in his footsteps and engaged in mixed martial arts. Men's company is diluted by the elder sister of Fedor Marina. Soon a large family moved to Belgorod, where parents and their four children huddled in a communal apartment. Fedor started to play sports since ten years, he gave preference to sambo and judo. Together with him, Alexander's younger brother visited the training, who will also become a professional fighter.

From 1995 to 1997, the future sports legend faithfully gives the debt to the motherland in the Russian army, first in the fire units, and then in the tank division. After the service, Fedor Vladimirovich Yemelyanenko continued active sports activities, which became his profession. He married in 1999 on a girl whom he met at the training camp. Fedor and Oksana had a daughter, Masha, but this did not save them from the divorce in 2006. Followed a second marriage with an old friend of Marina, thanks to which Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko became the father of two more daughters - Vasilisa and Elizabeth. However, in 2013, the legendary athlete returned to his first wife, with whom he even married in the church.

The first steps in sports

The first coach of Fedor was Vasily Gavrilov, thanks to which Emelianenko mastered the basics of judo and sambo. Soon he entered the sports class at DYUSSHOR, where he began to train under the leadership of Vladimir Voronov. According to the latter, in his childhood Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko did not stand out among his peers as a special talent and achieved great progress solely due to his perseverance and diligence.

After the army service, he continued to actively engage in sports, focusing on sambo. Having won a prestigious international tournament, he received the MSMK badge. As a fish in the water Feodor Emelianenko felt in combat sambo. In 1998 he became the second prize-winner at the national championship among military men. Soon he received an invitation to the Russian team, in which he managed to win the European team championship. However, at some point, Fedor Vladimirovich Yemelyanenko still decided to leave the team and focused on the battles of the MMA, explaining this by the need to earn a living for himself and his children.

Rise of the champion

To test their strength in mixed martial arts, Fedor Emelianenko began to perfect his skills in boxing under the guidance of his current coach Alexander Michkov. In 2000 he joined the club Russian Top Team, which at that time was headed by Vladimir Pogodin, and focused on performances in the MMA. Three years later, Fyodor left this club, explaining his decision to the dishonesty of the director.

The first organization engaged in the preparation of battles with a mixed style, for Fedor Emelianenko was the Japanese company RINGS. Under its flag, he fought 11 fights, having managed to become a two-time world champion in the heavyweight during this time. The best fights of Fedor Emelianenko were still ahead, but it was in those years that he won fame and popularity in the world of MMA.

In 2002, he suffered his first defeat from the Japanese soldier Tsuesi Kosaka. However, many specialists refuse to count the lost fights of Fedor from this moment. During the battle, the Japanese broke the Russian cut with a forbidden blow, and he could not continue the duel and further participation in the round robin tournament. However, the judges awarded the victory to the Japanese in order to determine the fighter from this pair, which would go to the next stage. The weight of Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko allowed him to take part in fights against the heaviest rivals and fight for the title of champion in the absolute weight category. The last time he won the RINGS champion belt in 2002, after which the Japanese organization ceased to exist.

Cooperation with Pride

At the beginning of the 2000s, UFC was not yet considered the leader in the world of mixed martial arts, and Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko preferred cooperation with the largest organization at that time Pride. The debut fight under the auspices of the new company Fedor held against the giant Dutchman Sami Schilt and won that unanimous decision. Then he overcame the resistance of the American Heath Hering, who at that time was considered the favorite. Moving the fight to the ground, the Russian athlete brought down a hail of blows and finished the match ahead of schedule.

Counting the best fights Fedor Emelianenko can start with a match against Antonio Nogueira. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu was considered almost invincible and the main contender for the championship belt. However, that evening Fedor was uncontrollable. Emelianenko managed a powerful blow to send the Brazilian to a knockdown and take the dominant position in the stalls. In this position, he brought down a hail of finishing punches from above and stunned Nogueira. A specialist in ju-jitsu tried to hold painful tricks, but the master of Sambo was on the alert and brought the match to victory. So Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko became the world champion according to Pride.

Fights with Nogueira

In 2004, the Russian twice met with Nogueira, who was eager for revenge. The first duel ended in mutual dissection and was declared invalid. The Brazilian claimed that Fedor Emelianenko intentionally went to this to avoid defeat. A cold-blooded fighter from the Belgorod region stood silent and preferred to continue the fight in the ring, not getting involved in an exchange of insults.

Repeated battle was very persistent. Fyodor realized that it was very risky to fight against a specialist in ju-jitsu in the stalls and avoided his dangerous passages to his feet. Emelianenko led the fight in the rack and methodically treated Nogueira with strikes from the distance, effectively defending against the attempts of the latter to go for rapprochement. As a result, the plan of the Brazilian failed, and Fedor won a confident victory.

Epic battle with Mirko Krokop

The main event of 2005 in the world of mixed martial arts was, of course, a duel between Emelianenko and Mirko Filipovich, nicknamed "Krokop". The Croatian soldier moved to MMA from K-1 and was famous for his suicidal blow from both legs. In one of the fights, he dealt a crushing defeat to his brother Fyodor Alexander, so the meeting with the Croat was a matter of honor for Emelianenko.

The long-awaited battle began not so simply for a Russian fighter. Horvath threw out a few precise jabs and broke his nose to Fedor. He also constantly threw out his deadly kicks with his feet, and as a result, Emelianenko had a hematoma on his chest. Nevertheless, the Russian athlete continued to bend his line and by the last round exhausted the Croats with constant clinchering and wrestling. In the last round, Filipovich was unable to resist and just flew away from the powerful blows of Fedor. After 20 minutes of exhausting confrontation, the victory was unanimously awarded to Fedor Emelianenko.

The transition to the M-1 banners and the conflict with the UFC

Aggressive marketing policy and competition from the UFC led to the bankruptcy of Pride and the subsequent purchase of its remains by the American organization Zuffa, which was headed by Dana White. Fedor Emelianenko by that time was considered the best fighter of MMA, regardless of the weight category, and the owners of the UFC tried their best to entice a Russian fighter.

However, Dana White did not want to share future profits with anybody and impose a fetter contract on Fedor Emelianenko, who put an end to his collaboration with the club Red Devil. The owner of the latter, Vadim Filkenstein, tried to negotiate the involvement of the other fighters of the club in the UFC, as well as the holding of tournaments under the joint auspices of Red Devil and the UFC. However, Dana White was adamant and opposed the participation of Fedor Emelianenko in duels under the auspices of other companies, as well as in sambo tournaments.

All this ended with the negotiations being at an impasse, and the UFC never received the best heavyweight of those years in its ranks. After that, the Russian announced the beginning of cooperation with the organization M-1. Her "father" was the same Vadim Filkenstein, and she was largely created under Fedor Emelianenko. The main advantage for him was the opportunity to compete in various tournaments and complete freedom of action. In addition, he was one of the owners of the company and had 8.5 percent of its shares.

The great victories of the "Last Emperor"

In 2007, one of the most spectacular duels with Fedor Emelianenko took place. "The Last Emperor" was challenged by Tehnogliof. So called the very notable Korean fighter who came to the MMA from K-1. With an increase of 218 cm, he weighed 160 kg, and millions of spectators around the world were eagerly waiting for Fedor Emelianenko to fight with such a giant.

In the first seconds of the fight, the fans of the Last Emperor were seriously worried about their idol, because it seemed that the rival was too huge for him. The first attempt to hold a wrestling match resulted in the fact that a huge Korean just crushed Fedor with his weight to the ring. However, he did not lose heart and left Khyk knocked Chve Khon. Entering the clinch, Fedor again tried to knock down the Korean, and when the fighters were on the floor, Emelyanenko spent a painful reception of the elbow and forced the opponent to surrender.

After the victory over Technogliof Fedor Vladimirovich met with former UFC champion Tim Sylvia for the title of world champion in the WAMMA version. Prior to the start of the battle, he attacked the Russian with a hail of insults, promising to defeat him in a matter of seconds, but Fedor remained cool and bank power for the fight. The audience eagerly awaited a hot battle, but it all ended in the first minute. Fyodor literally suppressed Sylvia with a series of blows, and then conducted a lightning-like suffocating trick from his back and won.

Defending the champion belt Emelianenko had in the match against another fighter UFC - Andrei Orlovsky. The Belarusian respected the great fighter and did not allow himself the extra words before the meeting with him. However, in the ring all respect was forgotten, and Andrei Orlovski rushed after the victory. At first everything went well for him - the blows reached their goal. In euphoria, Orlovsky flew off the rival and lightly revealed himself when he tried to kick his knee. In response, he received a powerful right cross on the counter and collapsed like a wreck.

Black series Emelianenko

Everything comes to an end, and the end of the impressive and victorious series of Emelianenko has come. In 2010, he lost for the first time in his career. Brazilian Fabricio Werdum called himself a fan of Fedor, but at the same time he was able to become the first fighter who managed to catch a Russian on a stifling reception. It seemed that it was an unfortunate misfire, because in the course of the fight Fedor was able to shake the enemy with a powerful blow and was a step away from victory.

However, he soon suffered a second defeat in a row. Antonio Silva in one of the rounds of the fight with Emelianenko managed to overturn that and in the stalls began to deliver finishing punches. There was a hematoma, and the judges awarded defeat to Fedor.

American Dan Henderson was also a fan of Emelianenko and became the third consecutive fighter who defeated the Last Emperor. Possessing strong percussion technique, the former middleweight managed to inflict a powerful uppercut to the Russian, after which he began to finish him off. The judges stopped the fight and awarded the victory to the American.

Years take their toll, and Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko, after several successful fights after a series of defeats, announced his retirement in 2012. However, soon he was bored with retirement, and in 2015 he returned to the ring. To warm up, Fyodor chose as his rival the former kickboxer Jadip Singh, who was overcome without much difficulty. However, in 2016 he met with a serious opponent. Emilianenko managed to suppress Fabio Maldonado in the opening of the battle, and he was one step away from defeat. However, an experienced fighter in the subsequent rounds leveled the situation and achieved a final victory, which many found controversial. Now everyone is looking forward to new fights with Fedor Emelianenko, whose awards only to a small extent reflect the importance and status that he has in modern sports.