Fedor Emelianenko Biography

Fedor Emelianenko (September 28, 1976) is a Russian heavyweight mixed martial arts fighter and the current Heavyweight Champion in the PRIDE Fighting Championships based in Japan. He has been the reigning heavyweight champion in PRIDE since March 16, 2003, and has a professional MMA record of 24-1-0.[ He was the 1998 bronze medalist in Russian Judo championship; the 2002 World Sambo heavyweight division champion, the 2005 World Combat Sambo champion; Rings: King of Kings 2001 heavyweight tournament champion; Rings: King of Kings 2002 absolute weight class tournament champion and PRIDE FC 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament champion. He has been the reigning heavyweight champion of PRIDE Fighting Championships since 2003.

Fedor Emelianenko was born in 1976 in the Rubezhnoe town in Luhansk region, 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. In 1999 he married his wife, Oksana. Fedor's daughter, Masha, was also born in 1999.

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.
From 1995 until 1997, Emelianenko served in the Russian Army. His official biography erroneously states that he trained in Sambo during his army years. However, Fedor has specified in his 2005 Amsterdam interview 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. 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".
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. Emelianenko also runs 12-15 kilometers (7.5 - 9.3 miles) every day. 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), and his training partners: his brother, Aleksander Emelianenko, and Roman Zentsov, another PRIDE fighter.
In 2005 Emelianenko started paying special attention to improving his kicking technique. He trained Muay Thai with kickboxer Ernesto Hoost in Netherlands, 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.

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. After his bout with Kazuyuki Fujita, 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.

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. After his bout with Kazuyuki Fujita, 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.

Mixed Martial Arts

Fedor Emelianenko currently holds a professional Mixed Martial Arts record of 24-1-0. He started his MMA career in the RINGS organization, a promotion with a comparatively restrictive ruleset, and eventually signed with PRIDE Fighting Championships after RINGS went defunct; incidentally, RINGS Japan's last-ever major event was Emelianenko's final bout to capture the "King of Kings" title.
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. The cut was caused by an elbow strike[citation needed], illegal under RINGS rules unless the striker was wearing elbow pads; however the tournament format required a winner and loser be acclaimed. 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.

After a unanimous decision victory over Semmy Schilt, and a Doctor Stoppage victory over Heath Herring, Fedor Emelianenko signed to fight for PRIDE’s heavyweight championship title. On March 16, 2003, Emelianenko became PRIDE’s heavyweight champion by defeating Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, who had been undefeated for two years. After his title victory over Nogueira, Emelianenko accepted an offer by Antonio Inoki to face New Japan Pro Wrestling champion Yuji Nagata in a mixed martial arts match at Inoki’s “Inoki-Bom-Ba-Ye” New Year’s Eve show (which competed with PRIDE and K-1’s New Year’s Eve show) for a substantial amount of money, much to the ire of PRIDE’s management. In an apparent act of retaliation towards Emelianenko for fighting outside of the organization, PRIDE announced an “interim title” would be created, arguing Emelianenko had refused to defend his title in a timely fashion. A match between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Mirko Filipovi? was held to award this newly-created title, with Nogueira proving the victor.
In 2004, Emelianenko participated in PRIDE’s Heavyweight Grand Prix, in which 16 fighters would compete in a three-event tournament to determine a champion. In the first round, Emelianenko defeated American freestyle wrestler and former PRIDE Grand Prix champion Mark Coleman by submission. In the second round, Emelianenko overcame Coleman’s teammate, Kevin Randleman, also by a first-round submission, in 1:33. Emelianenko would add another first-round submission in his third fight, submitting Olympic judo silver medalist and hugely popular puroresu personality Naoya Ogawa in under a minute. In the final bout, he would face his rival Antonio Nogueira once again.

The bout proved to be inconclusive; after an accidental clash of heads resulted in a deep gash over the eye of Emelianenko, the fight was proclaimed a No Contest, which would be rematched later in the year to award the tournament championship. The two met again at Pride’s Otoko Matsuri – Sadame (Shockwave 2004 in the U.S.) event for a match which would be for both the Grand Prix and Heavyweight titles, unifying the ‘interim’ title Nogueira had won months earlier with Fedor’s heavyweight championship belt. Emelianenko emerged victorious once again, defeating Nogueira by unanimous decision for a second time.
On August 28, 2005, Emelianenko successfully defended his heavyweight title by defeating Mirko Filipovi? by way of unanimous decision in a highly anticipated match at PRIDE Final Conflict 2005 held in Saitama, Japan. It was his third title defense.

Emelianenko has had continuing problems with a persistent hand injury. Originally compacted in his 2003 bout with Gary Goodridge, Emelianenko has compounded his injury by continuing to compete without receiving adequate treatment and recuperation. In 2006, Emelianenko finally agreed to undergo surgery to break and re-set bones in his hand properly at a hospital in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Fedor recently fought for this first time since his hand surgery, fighting former UFC Heavyweight Champion and Pride 2000 Grand Prix winner Mark Coleman at PRIDE 32, PRIDE’s first-ever show in the United States. Fedor was able to use both hands for striking, winning the match by jujigatame armbar.

Record

Judo
-Moscow International Tournament 100 kg weight 3rd place (January 24, 1999)
-A-Tournament Sofia 100 kg weight 3rd place (February 7, 1999)
-Russian Championships Kstovo (absolute division) 3rd place (December 5, 1999 according to JudoInside; 1998 according to Fedor’s official website)
-Dutch Grand Prix Rotterdam 100 kg weight – 7th place (April 1, 2000)

Sambo

-Russian Combat Sambo Champion (Moscow championship, 2002)
-World Combat Sambo Champion (heavyweight division) (Saloniki, Greece, 2002)
-World Combat Sambo Champion (absolute division) (Panama, 2002)
-World Combat Sambo Champion (heavyweight division) (Prague, Czech Republic, 2005)

Mixed Martial Arts

-24 wins (6 TKOs, 11 submissions, 7 decisions), 1 loss (TKO (Cut)).
-Rings King of Kings Heavyweight Tournament Champion (2001)
-Rings World Absolute Class Tournament Champion (2001)
-PRIDE Heavyweight Champion (3/16/2003-present)
-PRIDE Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament Champion (2004)

Record

Result Opponent Method Event Title Date Round Time

Win Brett Rogers TKO (Punches) Strikeforce / M-1 Global – Fedor vs. Rogers 11/7/2009 2 1:48

Win Andrei Arlovski KO (Punch) Affliction – Day of Reckoning 1/24/2009 1 3:14

Win Tim Sylvia Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) Affliction – Banned 7/19/2008 1 0:36

Win Hong Man Choi Submission (Armbar) Yarennoka – New Years Eve 2007 12/31/2007 1 1:54

Win Matt Lindland Submission (Armbar) Bodog Fight – Clash of the Nations 4/14/2007 1 2:58

Win Mark Hunt Submission (Kimura) PRIDE – Shockwave 2006 12/31/2006 1 8:16

Win Mark Coleman Submission (Armbar) PRIDE 32 – The Real Deal 10/21/2006 2 1:15

Win Wagner da Conceicao Martins Submission (Punches) PRIDE – Shockwave 2005 12/31/2005 1 0:26

Win Mirko Filipovic Decision (Unaminous) PRIDE – Final Conflict 2005 8/28/2005 3 5:00

Win Tsuyoshi Kosaka TKO (Doctor Stoppage) PRIDE – Bushido 6 4/3/2005 1 10:00

Win Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Decision (Unanimous) PRIDE – Shockwave 2004 12/31/2004 3 5:00

NC Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira No Contest – Accidental Cut PRIDE – Final Conflict 2004 8/15/2004 1 3:52

Win Naoya Ogawa Submission (Armbar) PRIDE – Final Conflict 2004 8/15/2004 1 0:54

Win Kevin Randleman Submission (Kimura) PRIDE – Critical Countdown 2004 6/20/2004 1 1:33

Win Mark Coleman Submission (Armbar) PRIDE – Total Elimination 2004 4/25/2004 1 2:11

Win Yuji Nagata TKO (Punches) Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2003 – Inoki Festival 12/31/2003 1 1:02

Win Gary Goodridge TKO (Soccer Kicks and Punches) PRIDE – Total Elimination 2003 8/10/2003 1 1:09

Win Kazuyuki Fujita Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) PRIDE 26 – Bad to the Bone 6/8/2003 1 4:17

Win Egidijus Valavicius Submission (Kimura) Rings Lithuania – Bushido Rings 7: Adrenalinas 4/5/2003 2 1:13

Win Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Decision (Unanimous) PRIDE 25 – Body Blow 3/16/2003 3 5:00

Win Heath Herring TKO (Doctor Stoppage) PRIDE 23 – Championship Chaos 2 11/24/2002 1 10:00

Win Semmy Schilt Decision (Unanimous) PRIDE 21 – Demolition 6/23/2002 3 5:00

Win Chris Haseman TKO (Punches) Rings – World Title Series Grand Final 2/15/2002 1 2:50

Win Lee Hasdell Submission (Guillotine Choke) Rings – World Title Series 5 12/21/2001 1 4:10

Win Ryushi Yanagisawa Decision (Unanimous) Rings – World Title Series 4 10/20/2001 3 5:00

Win Renato Sobral Decision (Unanimous) Rings – 10th Anniversary 8/11/2001 2 5:00

Win Kerry Schall Submission (Armbar) Rings – World Title Series 1 4/20/2001 1 1:47

Win Mihail Apostolov Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) Rings Russia – Russia vs. Bulgaria 4/6/2001 1 1:03

Loss Tsuyoshi Kosaka TKO (Doctor Stoppage) Rings – King of Kings 2000 Block B 12/22/2000 1 0:17

Win Ricardo Arona Decision (Unanimous) Rings – King of Kings 2000 Block B 12/22/2000 3 5:00

Win Hiroya Takada KO (Punches) Rings – Battle Genesis Vol. 6 9/5/2000 1 0:12

Win Levon Lagvilava Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) Rings – Russia vs Georgia 8/16/2000 1 7:24

Win Martin Lazarov Submission (Guillotine Choke) Rings Russia – Russia vs. Bulgaria 5/21/2000 1 2:24

 

Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko highlights