The Last Emperor Maybe The Best MMA Fighter Of All Time, Now That He Has Returned To The Ring Let’s Take A Look At His Career So Far 

Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko is one of the greatest MMA fighters never to join the UFC. He might just be the greatest MMA fighter of all time. 

Over his 23 years (so far) fighting career,  Emelianenko has won 40 fights, been a world champion in multiple fighting disciplines, and been the heavyweight champion for multiple fighting companies. 

On, 14 July 2015, the Last Emperor made his return to the ring and is currently ranked #3 in the world by Bellator. 

The Early Years 

Fedor Emelianenko was born in the city of Rubizhne, Luhansk Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union. His mother was a teacher and his father was a welder. When he was 8 they moved to Russia SSR to find more work. 

Emelianenko took his first Judo class at age 11 and started learning Sambo later that year. His teacher during this period, Vladimir Voronov, said that there was nothing special about Emelianenko apart from his hard work, commitment, and the fact that he kept getting back up again. 

In the late 90s, Emelianenko served in the Russian Military – first as a  Military Firefighter and then in the Tank Division. When he finished his service, he joined the Russian National Judo Team – but had to leave it because he was broke. He turned professional in 2000. 

During his time with the National Team, he won a bronze medal at the Russian Open 1998 Kstovo. A bronze medal in the National Championship 1998 Kaliningrad. He also won a gold medal at the European Championships 1999 Istanbul. 

He won all of the above medals in the +100kg category. 

World’s Best MMA Fighter 

When he turned professional, Emelianenko met his manager Vadim Finkelchtein at the Russian Top Team (RTT) gym. The pair would work together until Emelianenko’s first retirement in 2012.  Emelianenko spent the majority of his career training with his older brother Aleksander. 

Fighting Network RINGS 

Emelianenko started his career by fighting for a network called Fighting Network RINGS. 

He lost his first fight but went on to win the next 28 of his career. 

There was a lot of controversy surrounding his first loss against Tsuyoshi Kohsaka. The doctor stopped the fight because Emelianenko started bleeding. However, it turned out that Kohsaka had caused the bleeding by elbowing his opponent in the head. At the event, elbow strikes were banned – so, technically Kohsaka should have been disqualified. 

Later that year, Emelianenko won the World Heavyweight Class Championship title. 

PRIDE FC 

After winning this title, Emelianenko moved over to PRIDE FC, another fighting company. 

After winning his first three fights for the company, he was signed up to fight Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira for the Heavyweight Class Championship title. He won the fight via a unanimous decision. He was awarded the title and defended it until PRIDE was bought out by the UFC. 

Sambo Titles 

During this time, Emelianenko also fought in multiple Sambo Competitions across the world. Here is a complete list of his Sambo Achievements: 

• World Championships
• Bronze medal – 2008 St. Petersburg (+100 kg)
• Gold medal – 2007 Prague (+100 kg)
• Gold medal – 2005 Prague (+100 kg)
• Gold medal – 2002 Panama City (+100 kg)

World Combat Sambo Federation

• Gold medal – 2002 Thessaloniki (+100 kg)

European Championships

• Gold medal  – 1999 Istanbul (+100 kg)

Russian Championships

• Gold medal – 2012 Moscow (+100 kg)
• Gold medal – 2009 Kstovo (+100 kg)
• Gold medal – 2008 St. Petersburg +100 kg
• Gold medal 2007 Ulan-Ude +100 kg
• Gold medal  – 2005 Kstovo (+100 kg)
• Gold medal  – 2002 Moscow (+100 kg)
• Bronze medal  – 2000 Orenburg (+100 kg)
• Bronze medal  – 1998 Kaliningrad (+100 kg) 

Fighting For Other Companies 

During his career, Emelianenko also fought for the following fighting companies – BodogFight, M-1 Global, and DREAM. He was also the Heavyweight Championship contender at Strike Force. 

He was successful in all of these competitions, losing only 5 matches over 10 years. 

The UFC repeatedly tried to sign Emelianenko, but he did not want to have an exclusive contract with any company. 

First Retirement and Return 

After losing three fights in a row while fighting for Strike Force, Emelianenko announced that he might retire from the sport. 

He returned to Russia and was made president of the Russian MMA Federation. A position that he still holds. 

Emelianenko took part in one more fight against Pedro Rizzo to defend his Heavyweight Championship status. Emelianenko won the fight via knockout and announced that he would be retiring. 

He took a 3-year break from MMA fights, before returning on 14 July 2015, to fight for Bellator MMA. Both Bellator and the UFC had been battling for a contract with Emelianenko. 

You can find the best UFC betting odds here. 

Since returning to the sport, Emelianenko has won 6 out of 8 of his fights – only losing to Ryan Bader and Matt Mitrione. 

Emelianenko has announced that he plans to retire soon, but that he won’t leave Bellator until he has the Championship belt. There have even been rumors that he will be joining the UFC.