Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabio Maldonado live blog

The Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabio Maldonado live blog is for the EFN 50 main event clash Friday afternoon in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Emelianenko (35-4, 1 no-contest) has won four of his past five fights, while Maldonado (22-9) has only won two of his past five fights.

Follow Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabio Maldonado live blog below.

Round 1: A tad over six hours after the main card of EFN 50, we have arrived at the main event. Could it be Fedor's last fight outside of the UFC? Time well tell. But he's got Fabio Maldonado in front of him. They touch gloves after the intro. And here we go. Emelianenko takes the middle of the cage, and he moves forward — and after a jab, he's throwing hardcore leather! He has Maldonado on the fence, wailing away. Maldonado covering up, and he wheels out. He weathered that storm. Now he comes in again with a combo, and Fedor again unleashes. Seems like a matter of time. Now Maldonado takes a huge punch! And he has Fedor in trouble. He's on top of the Russian Emperor, and he's getting blasted. He looks close to going out. Maldonado is still pounding away. Fedor eating a good many of these shots. He's trying to scoot up, and the crowd is going crazy. He takes an uppercut, and Fedor's completely unsteady on his feet, falling backwards, staggering. He's still alive, though. Barely! Fedor bleeding profusely, but he lands a big shot that sends Maldonado backwards, and the crowd comes to life again. Now Fedor swinging heavy arms at Maldonado, and again he connects, but both guys now look dead on their feet. Maldonado comes in again, and he lands a couple of big shots. Fedor in survival mode. They clinch, and Maldonado landing uppercuts. The onslaught continues. Fedor, miraculously, still around. He jabs. Crowd on their feet. And that's how the round ends. Wow. MMA Fighting scores R1 for Maldonado, 10-8.

Round 2: Somewhat unbelievably, here we are in the second round. Body punch from Maldonado. Fedor's hands dangling at his waist. He moves in, and Fabio sticks a couple of jabs into Fedor's grill. Flying knee from Emelianenko, and it misses! Wow. Surprising. Now Maldonado rolls along fence, and Fedor catches him and begins to wail away again. That gets the crowd roaring. Looked like Maldonado might have been poked in eye, but action continues. Fedor moves in and again unleashes. Big overhand right lands for Fedor. He's picking up some steam here (miraculously). Both guys sucking wind, but Maldonado seems like something's wrong. Fedor keeps on him, and throws a combo. Fedor teeing off, and Maldonado with no riposte. Crowd chants for Fedor, as he comes in again and lets loose. Another overhand right. And again Maldonado sneaks a punch inside that temporarily drops Fedor, and as he gets up Maldonado keeps on him. Body kick lands for Maldonado and drops Fedor, but he doesn't pursue him. "What the hell is going on in the Octagon," the commentator says. Weird indeed. MMA Fighting scores R2 for Emelianenko, 10-9 (19-18 for Maldonado overall)

Round 3: Fedor's face is a puff pastry with blood in the cracks. Maldonado's face not much better. Maldonado tucks his head down and moves in, and Fedor blasts him with a couple of big shots. Damn! Now Maldonado lands a left hook. Each time somebody's in trouble, the other guy lands something table-turning. Now it's Maldonado coming in, and he lands a couple of lunging shots, as Fedor sneaks in a punch on the pass. Counter from Fedor, and body shots from the Russian — he lands everything. Maldonado has perfected the art of taking punishment (and I use art loosely, but that's one hell of a chin). Fedor with his arms way down walks right back up to Fabio, and looks for a spot to hit. He lands one, two, three shots. Those kills shots at the end are narrowly missing. Fedor now winding up big for each shot, trying to end this thing. Fabio mostly turtling and looking for counters after the brush of air. Fabio now with a solid combination, and that puts Fedor sagging on the fence. They break, and Fedor with a series of knees in the clinch, but Maldonado just takes them, and counters. Fedor trying his damndest to end this thing, but it won't happen. They stood toe-to-toe, and both guys looked done at one point or other, but they last to the end. It's over. MMA Fighting scores R3 for Emelianenko, 10-9 (28-28 overall)

Official EFN 50 results: Fedor Emelianenko def. Fabio Maldonado via majority decision (28-28, 29-28, 29-28).