Look Back: The Last Emperor's Sambo and Judo Masterclass in MMA

Fedor Emelianenko, one of the best heavyweight fighters in mixed martial arts history, was recently linked to a return to combat sports at age 50, sometime next year. The news made me begin thinking about some of The Last Emperor's top-tier fight moments during his dominant run through the PRIDE heavyweight days - and how his technical ability allowed him to persevere against larger heavyweight foes. 

There have been very few fighters able to blend powerful striking with great grappling, as well as Fedor, with that explosive speed and elite sambo, who have been able to neutralize size differences for most of his career. Something I believe made Fedor especially notable was his quick hands and strong hips against bigger opponents, with that speed matched with sneaky strength. 

He was just so effective and clean, mixing his judo and sambo background into his overwhelming submissions or ground-and-pound. He also had a mad scramble that proved difficult for the larger, slower heavyweights to keep up with. The Russian sambo practitioner used those ankle picks with crazy efficiency, for example, with slick setups off the clinch or when an opponent slipped or overcommitted. 

Fedor's striking was unique and difficult to deal with, as the wide, looping punches may have looked sloppy, but were a masterful blend of sambo with traditional boxing. He seemingly had dynamite in his hands, able to 

If you want to see a closer analysis of Fedor's striking to takedowns, this short video is quite informative:

The way he weaved his agility and balance into his strong grappling made him a nightmare on the feet, in the clinch, in a scramble, or on the ground. Hell, when he fought Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, Cro Cop was the scariest man on planet Earth - just chewing up some of the best heavyweights anywhere in the world.  The Russian sambo practitioner walked Cro Cop down and put a beating on him, while also showing other fighters - if they were courageous enough and had the right skillset - how to beat the Croat. 

Here is a highlight of the Cro Cop fight:

I worked closely with the Russian M-1 Global MMA organization when they were expanding their interest to North American MMA audiences back in the day. It was a shame that Fedor wasn't able to sign with the UFC, even if his peak dominance was largely left behind in Japan.