Jul 16, 2008 - All this week FanHouse looks forward to Fedor Emelianenko's fight against Tim Sylvia by reliving Fedor's career history. This is the second installment. You can find the first article here.
After vanquishing his toughest opponent to capture the Pride heavyweight belt, Fedor Emelianenko found himself in the unusual position of being the favorite. His utter destruction of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira had put the rest of the world on notice that this would be a tough champion to dethrone. There remained several top contenders for Fedor's belt ... but he wouldn't fight any of them anytime soon.
Like RINGS before it, the Pride Fighting Championship had its roots in pro wrestling, which meant that a match's entertainment value was equal or more important than its competitive value. A matchup was made not because the two fighters were evenly matched, were top contenders, or even in the same weight class. The fighters were decided based on what would make for the best show for a native Japanese audience. As they often did when they had a foreign-born champion, Pride gave a title shot to a Japanese fighter who seemed severely overmatched.
vs. Fujita
In this case, the challenger was former pro wrestler Kazuyuki Fujita. Fujita was primarily known for two things: for defeating highly-favored wrestler Mark Kerr in the Pride 2000 Grand Prix, and for having a skull so resilient he garnered the nickname "Ironhead."
It was clear almost immediately that this fight would be different than before. Unlike his previous three fights, Fedor did not immediately try to take the fight to the ground. En route to a victory by rear-naked choke, the three-or-so minutes on the feet gave fans a nice glimpse of Fedor's striking prowess, in which he landed 11 of 13 shots, including a knockdown and another near-knockdown.
It also opened Fedor up to get hit himself. Fujita landed only two strikes, but both were huge. The second is memorable because, to date, it is still the closest anyone has come to knocking out Fedor. After absorbing a good left straight and right hook, Fujita swung wildly and connected flush with a right hook of his own. Fedor's legs immediately buckled, but he was able to stay upright, though obviously in trouble. Like a Weeble, Fedor wobbles but he won't fall down.
If Fedor was stunned, it seems Fujita was too. Possibly feeling the effects of the shots that preceded his own, Fujita was unable to capitalize. He clinched and took the fight to the ground where Fedor had time to regain his composure. From there, it was only a matter of time before the tide turned and Fedor came out victorious.
vs.Goodridge
Next on the chopping block was Gary Goodridge, a veteran of the early UFC and of true vale tudo (no rules) matches in Brazil. Once again, Fedor chose to stand and trade, although the trade was kind of one-sided. Fedor landed 29 strikes in a little over a minute. Goodridge never even got a chance to attempt one.
vs. Nagata
New Year's Eve 2003 was a momentous night for Japanese MMA, though most of the important events happened behind the scenes. Three organizations -- Pride, K-1, and Antonio Inoki's promotion -- all held events broadcast simultaneously on competing national networks. Behind the scenes there was a campaign of intimidation involving the Yakuza, which was instrumental in the downfall of the Pride organization.
In any case, all three events featured foreign-born champions facing off against Japanese pro wrestling stars. Jumping ship temporarily from Pride, Fedor participating on the Inoki card, the last event Inoki ever put on. In his match, Fedor took on Yuji Nagata, an aging wrestler with just one other MMA fight, a loss two years prior. Nagata actually managed to land a punch, but just one. He got dropped twice by big punches from Fedor and was saved by the referee while curled up on the ground.
vs. Coleman
Though he was already the Pride heavyweight champion, there was still another title for Fedor to capture: winner of Pride's 2004 heavyweight Grand Prix. A 16-fighter tournament held over six months and three separate events, Fedor would have to beat four fighters to win, including two fights in one night to conclude the event. When the seeding was done, Fedor drew Mark Coleman, the UFC's first heavyweight champion and winner of the first-ever Pride Grand Prix.
Coleman actually fared quite well against Fedor. The originator of the ground-and-pound was able to take Fedor down and land some good knees. Coleman even mounted Fedor and took his back, attempting a rear-naked choke. To date, it is still the only time an opponent has taken Fedor's back.
The fight ended shortly after the two-minute mark with Fedor showing a new facet of his game: submissions from the bottom. Fedor secured a textbook armbar that forced a tapout and moved Fedor on to the next round of the tournament.
vs. Randleman
Next in the tournament was Coleman's protégé, Division I wrestling champion Kevin Randleman. Randleman was coming off one of the biggest upsets in MMA history, a stunning knockout of Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic. And while he only lasted a minute-and-a-half against Fedor, he induced what must have been the longest three seconds of Fedor's career.
Just 45 seconds into the bout, Randleman pulled off one of the most perfect, most devastating slams in MMA history, a suplex that completely inverted Fedor and drove him head-first into the canvas. In what must remain a medical mystery, Fedor wasn't paralyzed, hurt, or even stunned. He reversed Randleman almost immediately, landed punches from side control and latched on a shoulder lock that forced a tapout.
There are those that claim, half in jest, that Fedor is not really human, he's actually a cybernetic Soviet technological holdover from the Cold War. This fight and its Randleslam (or Randleplex) is exhibit A in their case.
vs. Ogawa
The Grand Prix was down to its final four fighters. The final event on August 15, 2004 would contain the semifinals and grand finale. In his semifinal match, Fedor drew the weakest of the three remaining fighters, Olympic judo silver medalist Naoya Ogawa. Ogawa himself had a bit of a cakewalk to that point in the tournament, besting one-dimensional striker Stefan Leko and one of Pride's mainstay "freak show" fighters, Paulo Cesar "Giant" Silva.
The tournament format rewards fighters that can finish their first fight quickly and come out unscathed so they are fresh for the final match. Fedor overwhelmed Ogawa, rushing in and landing hard shots in the clinch before landing on top and in mount. After dropping a few power punches, Fedor rolled for a straight armbar that forced Ogawa to tap.
The victory over Ogawa capped a run of six consecutive wins that Fedor finished in an average of one minute 51 seconds. His first bout of the night was over, he was unharmed and fresh after just 54 seconds of fight time. By contrast, his opponent in the final had won a hard-fought 15-minute battle. That opponent had a familiar face...Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
Coming Tomorrow: 2004-2005: The Greatest Challenges
0 comments
