Moment of Truth for "The Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko
Posted on July 27, 2011, 07:37 AM by Anton Gurevich
This weekend, one of the greatest fighters in Mixed Martial Arts history, Fedor "The Last Emperor" Emelianenko will step inside the cage, this time fighting not only for victory - but for his career. The man standing against Emelianenko, fellow MMA legend Dan "Hendo" Henderson will look to upset the fans of the stoic Russian, with sights on re-claiming his status as one of the best Pound for Pound fighters in MMA.
It's a new feeling for Fedor. After 10 years of domination, he finds himself with his back against the wall, pressured to prove he's still that mythological, fearsome warrior, who reigned supreme in PRIDE FC.
The fight with Antonio Silva was without a doubt the lowest point in Fedor Emelianenko's career. During all those years, Fedor maintained an image of indestructible Russian robot. Against Silva, Fedor looked un-motivated, and was brutalized for the first time in his career. All of a sudden, "The Last Emperor" looked vulnerable, and had no solution for Antonio Silva's "strength of the Bigfoot". Fedor was mentally beaten to the point where he announced his retirement inside the cage, minutes after the referee awarded Silva TKO victory and a ticket to the Strikeforce Heavyweight GP semi-final.
But that was just another chapter in the Fedor Emelianenko Story.
Whether you have/had him in your P4P list or not, it's hard to argue with the fact that Fedor Emelianenko is MMA legend. And every legend, sooner or later, meets its moment of truth.
The fight against Dan Henderson on July 30th will be Fedor's moment of truth.
It's the fight where Fedor will have to prove he's still Fedor – MMA fighter from Stariy Oskol with heart of a lion, amazing hands speed, and elite-level grappling. Emelianenko went undefeated for 10 years because he possesses certain qualities that make him better than others. You can't win 31 MMA fights against some of the top names on the planet by simply being "a good fighter". Every other legendary sportsmen, from Michael Jordan to Pele, had something that made them different.
We can all argue about what makes Fedor "Fedor", and what will be the X-Factor against Dan Henderson. But at the end of the day, just like the mythological Phoenix, the man who went undefeated for over 10 years definitely has what it takes to rise from the ashes.
At least in my opinion, the biggest problem of MMA community is that vast majority of the fans judge fighters strictly by logic, or so-called MMA math. But everyone who truly loves sports will understand that fighters like Fedor Emelianenko and many other Hall of Famers are way above numbers, rankings, streaks, records, and any other type of calculations.
Fedor's achievements as a Mixed Martial Artist are abnormal. He's a statistical anomaly, to the point people find it hard to digest, and try to find an answer by re-writing history and dismissing his legacy as a fighter.
I'm a huge fan of both Fedor and Dan Henderson. For me personally, this Saturday's main event has every required attribute to be labeled as "Fight of the Year". Once again, the true winners are Mixed Martial Arts fans around the world, who will see a fight between two legendary warriors.
Photo: Francis Specker
Further Reading: Photo gallery of Dan Henderson's preparations for Fedor at Team Quest
Comments
Fedor next time pose for the photo without your business socks and leather shoes.....not looking to good there
Ha ha ha ha i was thinking the exact same thing! i love Fedor, but the pants and sock look is a little odd.
That said, I think Feor can rise again, but something tells me Hendo will take this via UD
Thinking the same thing too. Fedor looks plain goofy with the dark socks and shoes.....
Fedor is a beast... he looks completely baffled here... like Ivan Drago when Apollo Creed comes out with James Brown in Rocky IV haha
this pic is awesome, makes me laugh everytime, Fedor is awesome
Gee whiz, tights, socks and shoes?... a more unflattering outfit, you dont get.
This fight is going to be incredible! It's a lose lose scenario for me, cause henderson is one of my fav fighters, so is fedor, but I'm routing for Fedor, he has a lot more at stake with this one...henderson not as much. I have no doubt that this is fight of the year material, 2 warriors banging it out until one falls in devastating fashion....I've never seen either of them ko-ed so if either is able to do that there's another feather in their caps
Why is fedor's record, considerd 10 years of domination, i would say 5 years of domination and 5 years of fighting few fights vs lower competition !
That's why he lost 2 in a row, 5 years of not fighting top competition !!
(fedor will never be nr 1 again, and he didn't deseve that title for some years now!)
eat S H I T
you come here just to discredit one of the best mma fighters ever?
you fcuk yourself in the azz you dumb truck
Lower competition? At the time he fought Tim Sylvia, Andrei Arlovski, Brett Rogers etc they were all top 10 ranked. Before all the fights i remember people were saying that Fedor would get exposed by them and after he beat them, people were sayin ohh they were bums. Even if Fedor did won against Werdum and Silva the haters would still say that he's fought low competition.
oh only 5 years of complete domination? Oh that's ok then, yeah Fedor's overrated. I can't think of a fighter who hasn't dominated the mma world for 5 years
I think Fedor takes this one, maybe by Dec. But I wouldn't rule out a sub win either. But... at the same time I could see Hendo grinding this one out. It's a hard fight to call, for me anyways; I like both guys. So I'ma sit back and enjoy the hell outta this one.
Both have Dynamite in their right hands, but both have never been KO'd. What happens when an unstoppable force meets an unmovable object? Find out on saturday night :D
This is going to be a great fight, but I don't see how fighting a guy that competes at 185 and 205 helps re-establish what he had list in the heavyweight division. He needs to beat a solid natural heavyweight to show he is still in the game.
Fedor should really be a 205er. He's just a fat Russian who wants to bang with the big boys. Get him in the UFC and give him Mitrione already!
*lost not list. Damn iPhone.
Fedor's outfit reminds me of when I was a kid trying on my dad's clothes.
LMAO
Anyways, used to be a big Fedor fan but now I don't care if he wins or loses. If he loses, I hope it's by KO. If he wins, I hope it's a grueling match that almost goes the distance and ends in spectacular fashion. My new favorite is Cain because 1. he is f'n good and 2. because he plays Vicente as he enters the ring. Badazz.
True fan, and obviously knows who's the best.
Pfft. Bisping could beat Cain's ass.
Great article!
I'm a very big fan of Fedor. I've never seen anybody do the things he does in the ring. And i do believe that he'll be the first non UFC fighter to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. Maybe not when he retires but a decade or so after.