Return of Russian Bear: Fedor Emelianenko Resumes MMA Career

Fedor Emelianenko, one of Russia’s most famous heavyweight mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters, has recently announced his return to the ring after a three-year break.

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Besides MMA, Fedor Emelianenko is also known as a sambist and a judoka, taking part in such championships as the FIAS World Combat Sambo Championship and the Russian Judo Federation National Championship.

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Fedor Emelianenko is Russia’s most titled MMA fighter. He began his career as early as in 2000 with four consecutive victories, including a win over ADCC champion Ricardo Arona. He lost his fifth fight to the Japanese fighter Tsuyoshi Kohsaka; however, many consider that battle controversial.

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For his next 28 fights Fedor Emelianenko remained unbeaten. He won 34 fights out of 40 (12 of them ended with knock-out).

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Throughout the course of this 10-year period, Fedor defeated many outstanding champions, including eleven top-10 ranked fighters as well as won a rematch against Tsuyoshi Kohsaka.

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Fedor Emelianenko has numerous MMA awards. Several MMA experts think that Fedor’s legacy in MMA is akin to Muhammad Ali’s, Wayne Gretzky’s and Pele’s in their respective sports.

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Chuck Norris, Mike Tyson, and several MMA fighters like Junior dos Santos and Jose Aldp have called Fedor Emelianenko the greatest MMA fighter of all time.

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Emelianenko is distinguished for a wide range of skills in different aspects of MMA; at the same time, his ground-and-pound strategy is considered the best.

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Despite the longest winning streak of 28 wins, Fedor was defeated three times consecutively by top-10 ranked fighters between 2010 and 2012.

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However, he was victorious in his next three fights against former ADCC champion Jeff Monson, Olympic medalist Satoshi Ishii and former UFC Heavyweight contender Pedro Rizzo. After his fight with Rizzo, Emelianenko announced his retirement.

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After leaving the sport, Fedor Emelianenko became president of the Russian MMA Union, a staff member of Russia’s Presidential Council on Physical Fitness & Sports and a bit earlier in 2010 he became a deputy at the Belgorod Regional Duma.