Time catches up on "The Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko
Posted on February 13, 2011, 06:16 AM by Anton GurevichLast night, we witnessed the victory of Time over one of the greatest warriors in modern history - Fedor Emelianenko. The 230-pound Russian struggled to match Antonio Silva's brutal strength, as his grotesquely swollen eye forced the doctors to stop the action between rounds 2 and 3.
There's nothing to be disappointed about. Fedor's defeat is a natural consequence of events, with younger fighters being simply better than the veterans. Fedor didn't lose to Fabricio Werdum or Antonio Silva. He lost to an unstoppable thing called "Time", which finally caught on him.
"The Last Emperor" left behind elsewhere in 2006, with the same proven tactics, nutrition, training methods and questionable training partners. It's a wrong thing to do, especially when you're competing in a constantly developing sport like Mixed Martial Arts. But Fedor did things his way, which proved itself over and over again until the recent two fights.
However, the idea that one fighter will stand with his hand raised for over a decade with corpses of opponents underneath his feet, is simply unreal. And Fedor is not the only example. There's at least 5 all-time greats currently competing in MMA, who should hang up their gloves. Fedor was labeled "The Russian Robot" so many times, but yesterday we saw a final proof that "The Last Emperor" made flesh and blood just like anyone else.
Don't let anyone to rewrite history and skew the facts. Fedor Emelianenko is one of the greatest, if not the greatest Mixed Martial Artist in the history. Fedor is a true definition of modern warrior, who won incredibly tough battles throughout his career. Whether you like or not, he deserves the respect of everyone who calls himself "MMA fan", and will surely remain as an icon of this sport for ages to come.
Fedor will now return to Stariy Oskol, Russia, where he will decide about his future actions. He still has two fights under contract with Strikeforce/Showtime, and I will not be surprised if we see "The Last Emperor" in the cage once again. Should he retire? In my humble opinion, yes. Definitely. But at the end of the day, it's Fedor. And just like any other Emperor, he's the only one who can make this decision.
Photos: Esther Lin for Strikeforce
Comments
i cant picture him winning against any elite competition at this point of his career but he's still an exciting fighter to watch. Hopefully he doesn't take the Chuck Liddel route.
He isnt getting KTFO like liddel or Arlovski. He can def. still hang with the best still i think he should probably retire but not until he gets the Werdum rematch
Fedor is the man! He took so much beating, but still wanted to fight and almost submitted Silva. He has heart!
cant hang with elite fighters!
Overeem would put him in the hospital
I believe Overeem can hang with the best but you are acting like he's been fighting people different than Fedor haha. And quit sharping yourself...
BS. He isn't top five at this point but I still see him beating guys in the top ten. The fact of the matter is that if he had secured that leg lock 5 or 10 seconds earlier, Big Foot could wave his finger all he wanted but hi lag would still be broken. It is a game of inches and Fedor came up an inch short this time against one of the most under rated guys in the division. Is Fedor on the decline? YES. He can still hang with the top guys though. Noguiera is still ranked at #10 by most people. Do you think Fedor has slipped below him?
24 hours ago, a good majority of the MMA world thought he was going to win the grand prix. And 12 hours after he loses you say he can't win against elite competition? If he retires then that proves Dana White right that he was overrated. A decade of winning to a 2 fight losing streak doesn't mean he should retire. That's like saying if St Pierre loses to Jake Shields he should just retire because its over for him......
only dumb asses thought he was goin to win tournament, overeem all the way
Fedor is a young 34 years old and had only been fighting once a year for a few years now. Time is a great excuse for someone that it actually legitimately effected.
STOP MAKING EXCUSES
Fedor has been fighting professional since 97...did u consider that its not about the age but how much mileage u have...how long have u been following the sport? damn noobies
ya agree 100%
Ahh stop crying. There are plenty of guys out there who have been fighting consistantly since that time, AND they actually fight more than once a year which sorta tears your argument to shreds.
Every nuthugger has the same arguments, good riddance.
what a great champ fedor is!
I can, but only if he goes down to 205. Hell, if he cut all his body fat he might be able to drop 30lbs which could put him in middleweight range if he was willing to cut the weight.
I had no idea Roseanne was a translator
She's a very talented lady.
One more thing to ponder about.
Has anyone seen the size and weight difference? Going into this fight Silva was around 280 lbs, while Fedor at his standard 230 lbs. I believe something must be done about such size differences. Can anyone imagine GSP fighting Shogun and Anderson Silva going against Carwin?
I think it is a serious issue and the one that must be addressed.
Super HW division must be created as it is simply not fair putting guys with 30-40 lbs difference against each other/. It is unbelievable that Fedor did not lose earlier to heavier and bigger guys.
Fedor will not win against anyone with skill that has to cut to 265. People are too big for him. It's too much of an advantage against him.
thats y i think he lost. not because hes to old which he isnt or that hes finally losing his heart. Silva was a huge opponent for him, for nayone in that matter. People love Fedor so much but all his fans are turning their back on him. Its sad that i dislike fedor and im giving him more respect for his ability than most of his followers are.
I actually disagree. Fedor either won or barely lost round 1. He got dominated in round 2 but ended with a solid submission attempt. He could have won that fight if his eye hadn't swollen shut. Is size a factor? Sure, of course it is but Fedor can definitely win against skilled guys that cut to make HW. His odds just drop from 80-90% down to 40-60%.
Nah SHAKE he still has the respect.
I don't think it's time so much as opponents are catching up. Heis 34 or 35 and many other fighters are trucking along at that age still. He is still amazing it's just that with all the skill now in MMA you can't afford to be at such a size disadvantage. Just my opinion. Hope he cuts and fights at 205 maybe.
I think 205 would be harder for him. Those guys are WAY more skilled than the HWs.
I don't think people are really catching up with him in skill. He is still great in all areas of MMA.
Fedor use to fight people twice his size, but that was not yesterday, he needs to start thinking of his career and make a move so that he can continue to fight and not be at such a disadvantage as last night.
I think they are, not saying they all have caught him just catching up and thats why a size advantage is promising.
oh yea. Fedor use to just throw his fists and itd take down the bigger guy. Now theres alot more younger comp that hes not gunna be big and strong enough to beat in that div.
Силва обманул ВСЕХ. На взвешивании его вес был 120 кг., а вбою 129 кг. Это уже другая категория. Где судьи?
Как заявил Силва:"«На взвешивании я показал около 120 кг, в бою я весил 129 кг. Он был около 104 кг. Многие люди говорили, что у него сила медведя, но у меня есть сила Снежного Человека». Что ЭТО?
fedor is a legend, he is the only guy who will have dominated the sport for 10 years, I dont see anybody else do this
Best HW of all time bur there is a new crop of HW on the scene
He's past his prime and that's all there is to it. In the days of Pride he could afford to give up so much weight being a relatively young athlete himself and infinitely talented, but now he's aged and is easily overpowered, it's a sad thing to watch. He still has the fighting spirit but I've got no desire to see him go down the route of a Sakuraba or Chuck Liddell. I think he should retire now, having never been KO's or TKO'd and still only having been legitimately beaten once by Werdum.
what do you call last night? not legitimate? if the fight had gone on his eye would have turned into a juicy syrup!
Half of the fans though he was going to win the tournament, now he is past his prime a few hours later? Funny how nut huggers couldnt see these details that others were pointing out till after he lossed.
Others were pointing out something that hadn't actually happened yet. Your evidence was lacking. Now, after two legit losses to top opponents there is evidence. You can't go about for four years saying that it is going to rain and then when it finally does say that you predicted it.
I agree it was a good example of a stoppage even though I believe he could have fought on. It is a legit loss IMO.
no it was a doctor stoppage, he didn't finish him. We all know Fedor would have gone out for a 3rd round if allowed and he's the king of comebacks so nobody can know for sure what would have happened in a 3rd round where they were tied on the judge's scorecards at that point. The same call could have been made in the Rogers fight after he busted his nose up pretty bad and was bleeding horribly but they let him go out and he KO'd him. That said, it would have been very tough for Fedor to win at that point and he was badly hurt so the stoppage was probably the right call.
I wanted the fight to continue and I bet Fedor would have kept fighting but the stoppage was the right call. He is supposed to look out for fighter's safety.
Overhand is part of the reason so many people come off disliking Fedor. I mean...come on.
They were not tied on the judges score cards, and I my eyes Big Foot won the first round also, regardless if fedor was on top which wasnt for that long he didnt do anything with it.
Come on what? I think Fedor won the 1st and Silva obviously won the 2nd. yeah Fedor was badly hurt but nothing is for sure in MMA, and you can't say for sure he would have lost if he went out for a 3rd round.
I'm not saying he's still the p4p best in the world man, I understand his time at the top has come and gone, but he's still one tough mofo and silva failed to finish him in mount, with a choke and a leglock.
"I'm not saying he's still the p4p best in the world man"
What do you mean "still"? that's what i mean come on. Other than the guys who give him a bad name, who thought that and what was their argument other than "omg look at hiz record?" The guys making up tons of dumb excuses now because he lost.
if overeem wins against werdum i would like to see fedor vs werdum 2.
but if fedor retires, for me he is one of the best champions to compete in combat sports!!! and anybody who cant give him respect for a great career
is not a MMA fan
I hope overeem loses from werdum than overeem vs fedor happens
Fedor is one of the best things happen to this sport humble, natural and still he created a godlike myth around him beating up everybody over ten years.Greatest fighter ever
Fedor is the greatest HW ever but he's not the best overall. People forget that HW are not as talented as LW or WW or even LHW.
I think Fedor is the most talented fighter ever at HW. He just isn't the strongest, fastest, or has the most stamina.
The GP kind of starts pretty bad for Strikeforce. Arlovski and Fedor are out. Even if bigfoot or kharitonov win the whole thing it would be hard to say that either one of them would be the #1 HW in the World. Lets just hope Overeem wins. he is the only one left that could be sold as the#1 HW.
I think it helps make names for the other guys. Kharitonov is relatively new to most new MMA fans and Bigfoot has been on the rise.
And the Fedor fight was one of the most exciting fight i've ever seen. The Doctor stopage sucked. If Fedor would have wanted to continue they should have let him.
yea but they go into the fight nowing that if the doctor deems them not able to fight because if a cut of somethen then its over...no matter how much the guy still wants to fight...kinda like concussions in football...no matter how good you feel if it happened to you..your done!! no if's and's or butts!!!
Antonio silva is the ugliest thing i have ever seen
You are sexy.
no excuses for fedor and no disrespect to silva but if people think size didnt play a huge factor in that fight they're crazy.Big foot is like a foot taller and weighs probably 80 lbs more come fight night, thats a lot.
If Fedor dropped down to 205 5 years ago shit woulda went down in the LHW division
Weight definitely had something to do with it. It was like Jose Aldo fighting Marquardt or Cruz fighting Thiago Alves. People just don't realize that.
3 inches and 50lbs.
and fedor could've always muscled up or dropped down at any point of his career if he wanted too.. he chose not too and has to live by it.. you don't start playing football in highheels and then say "well if i had the proper equipment i would of won!"
No one said he didn't have the choice. But fact remains he was smaller. If he said what you were saying.... it would be an excuse rather than a reason right? Man haha.
Win, lose, or draw Fedor always came to bang. I will always respect him and see him as one of the greatest of all time.
wow it got me emotional..
In the end of round two Fedor was still in the fight and truying to finish the fight with submition without doctor stopege round 3 culd of changed everyting in Silva vs Werdum hapenend the same Silva was strong in first round gasses out after the second round
Silva had cut in his left eye i think the ref shuld of let Fedor to decide for the 3 round
At 34 years old, I would not say "Time" has caught up to Fedor--other fighters are doing well who are older, such as Anderson Silva, Randy Couture etc.
I think Fedor could train harder and train smarter, by having a variety of sparring partners. Remember, Fedor has not had many fights in the last few years, and those he had did not last long. Other fighters get ring rust, why should Fedor be immune?
Bigfoot is not only big and strong, but he is also skilled--so for Fedor to defeat him, he had to come to the fight in top form.
The biggest problem for Fedor is, I believe, motivation. He does not seem to like the media and promotional hoopla. Due to his stoic demeanor, it is always hard to figure what is going on inside his head, but at the top level of MMA--you have to really want the win.
Fedor would of won that match if his eye didn't get that swollen. Round 3 you would of seen a flash KO over Silva because Silva was gased. Fedor can still compete and he can compete with top guys. He simply must start a new training camp. Travel around the globe, train with some of the greats especially in Jiu-Jitsu; Silva got top position way to easily.
disagree ,, Silva put him right on his back down n pounded him until the bell Silva wins no question
Most of the things I wanted to say has already been said here so I won't repeat them I just like to add that every other fighter (and I don't mean pussies like Lesnar, I mean real fighters) would have given up (if not tap) around the middle of that ground and pound.
The fact that Fedor even while he was getting hit from a gorilla, he was constantly defending a majority of the punches, avoiding rear chokes, a freaking tight side choke and a knee bar shows the size of heart and inner strength this man has. If that could somehow be materialized in body size, Fedor would probably be a huge giant.
He found hisself against a monster who threw every punch and technique at him, and Fedor not only he wasn't taken out, but he fought back with a leg-lock that given a little more time who knows how that would have turned out.
This gentlemen, is the stuff that heroes and legends are made of, and for that he will be remembered as the best fighter to have ever lived and truly the Last Emperor of the sport.
P.S. I swear to God, if Dana White opens his shitty mouth to say anything but words of respect for this man, he loses me as a UFC fan, and I'll be wishing for others to do the same and stop buying his ppvs until his company bankrupts and he is found brutally murdered in his office buy some Vegas loan shark.
Yeah, after those twitter remarks I will never pay for a a UFC event as long as Dana is a part of the company. Before anyone comes to DW's defence, think for a moment. I am saying this, the person above me is saying this and a lot of other people feel the same. Dana White is bad for MMA and a liability to Zuffa and the UFC. The loan shark comment may have been a little much though.
HAHAHAHAHA...All you horse's asses on here. Yea Fedor the greatest...at being the biggest heavyweight fake ever...Is really funny to shove this shit in you face. Just about everyone on here would defend Fedor when I mentioned him...Who's laughing now..HAHAHA
I'm laughing because you are dumb enough to think that this loss takes away from a decade of dominance.
no one is forever
cuda told you he was done a LONG time ago. too fat, should lay of the soviet sosages and stop eatin at burger king 3 times day
You know, exposure to agent orange causes dementia. Just saying.
why do people say doctor stoppages arn't legitimate losses.. that baffles me..
if you have been beaten up to the point where a trained medical practitioner deems it unsafe for you to take another punch, you have been well and truly beaten..
plenty of people who get knocked out would love to stand up 10 seconds later and continue to fight.. people don't say "well he wanted to carry on they should let him", its.the.rules.
I couldn't agree more. I think that if Fedor could have fought the third round he could have pulled out a win but he clearly could not fight. He would have gotten hit every time a left hook was thrown and he would have had no depth perception. It was a legit loss.
In the end of round two Fedor was on control and had Silva's foot and the bell saved him i still think if the doctor let him fight he wuld of won that fight.Fedor 's TKO is not exactely wath Cain did to Lesnar is not the same thing Fedor was still 100% in the fight and Silva gassed out i think silva was lucky big time in the end of round two bell saved him.In Werdum vs Silva fight Silva looked good in first round and Werdum beat him in the end
Fedor was still 100% in the fight. Sadly, his eye was not.
Even with this loss Fedor remains the greatest HW of our time. Obviously he can no longer be considered #1. His old spark was not there against Silva. He used to have the ability to transition from impossible positions but that was not the case against Silva.
F**k the haters Fedor, the true fans know what a great ambassador for mma you have been, and what a great champion you were, they can all go and dangle off brocks nuts or whoever makes them feel better about theirselves. I have been a fan a long time of Fedor and a couple of losses will never change that fact.
I will never buy anything from a company that DW runs. He is a disgrace to the sport, and as a fighurehead of the sports leading company should know better,
As much trash I've said about Fedor I will say this. MMA needs a heavyweight and a superheavy division. Being over powered by someone who weights almost 40pounds heavier is crazy. I know in Cains case it didn't matter, but look at all the other fight Brock had where weight played a huge roll. Laying on top and smashing his opponet to bits. MMA NEEDS A SUPERHEAVY WEIGHT DIVISION.
I agree. I roll with bigger guys all the time and when they don't have a ground game, they are tiring, but I can always sweep them or wear them down. They also don't know how to use their weight to their advantage. But when a guy outweighs me and has a ground game, it's horrible. The crushing pressure a good BJJ player can apply is scary. Watching Fedor carry that extra 40 lbs in knee rides and mounts was hard to watch. I know what that feels like.
Also, Fedor is and always will be a legend of the sport. It's sad to watch a bunch of ghouls get excited about his possible decline in a sport he helped create. It's kind of sick. But nothing new. We love to turn on our heros when they show a touch of humanity. Collectively, it's own of our worst traits as a society. But it's pervasive in all things, not just MMA. It's sad.