The price of a missed strike: Emelyanenko lost to Beider in the finals of the Bellator Grand Prix

On the eve of the Bellator Grand Prix in heavyweight, Fyodor Emelyanenko was hardly among the favorites of the tournament. Despite all the ranks and regalia of the Russian fighter, his ability to fight on equal terms with the strongest was questionable. First of all, due to the recent defeat of Matt Mitrion, who could not boast of great achievements in the UFC and alternated successes with failures. Plus, it was impossible not to take into account the age of the “Last Emperor”, who at the time of his first fight in the framework of the tournament was 41 years old.

But Fedor was able to prove that it was still too early to write off. He consecutively recorded two victories in the first round, taking over far from the very last people in mixed martial arts. At first, he had only 48 seconds to knock out the former UFC heavyweight champion and one of the main pain specialists in the history of MMA Frank Meera. Only 14 seconds failed to reach the gong of his compatriot Cheyla Sonnen. The former contender for the middleweight title of the Absolute Fighting Championship desperately fought, but was also a bit legendary Emelianenko.

These successes not only led the native Stary Oskol to the Grand Prix finals, but also gave him the opportunity to leave the sport on a high note. Not surprisingly, it was just before one of the main fights in his career that Emelianenko himself first spoke about a possible retirement. And it can be understood: at the age of 42 it is already hard to carry out exhausting training camps and risk health in an octagon. But one thing is to hang the gloves on a nail in the status of an athlete, who at the dawn of his performances became a legend of MMA, and then confirmed this title, and quite another to do it after an offensive defeat.

In the run-up to the duel, nothing said anything about any serious changes in terms of preparing Emelianenko for the duel. He prepared for him in the Netherlands with the team already familiar to him, and on the weighing procedure he showed practically the same figures as before the previous two battles (107.1 kg). Thus, Fedor did not specifically gain weight in order to feel a little more confident in the confrontation with the basic wrestler Bader. The American, in turn, was also very far from the limit of the heavy weight category, which is 120 kg. Most of the career in the light heavyweight division, Ryan was almost four pounds lighter than his opponent (103.3 kg).

Despite the advantage in weight, in the octagon, Emelianenko looked somewhat smaller than his opponent. Bader has always been famous for his outstanding physical form and did not reduce his demands on himself, even after switching to heavier weight. The American looked unusually muscular and extremely "dry", which once again reminded of the difference in age and condition between Ryan and Fedor. But the “Last Emperor” looked as if he did not care at all. During his career, he often met with more powerful rivals and often left the ring with a shield.

JUST LIKE THAT !!!! 💥🤯 @ RyanBader with the HUGE KO against Fedor Emelianenko! # Bellator214pic.twitter.com / 7fm2XFY1zh

The fight began unusually measured, given the style of Bader. Many experts had expected that he would immediately rush to Emelianenko in an attempt to avoid fighting in the stand. But Ryan went a long way and began to heal the blow. Do not force the course of the battle and Fedor. His bright counterattacking style has long become his trademark, and it was clearly not worthwhile for an American to change his principle in a fight with a brilliantly able American.

As a result, the first forward went Bader. He threw away the jab, which reached the goal and instantly moved back.

Feodor didn’t seem to notice this attack by the enemy, continuing to look for an opportunity to conduct his own attack. But the next missed strike was fatal.

Ryan showed that he would hit on the right, but he did it again on the left, although this time with a powerful hook. The fist hit Emelyanenko exactly in the jaw, he collapsed on the floor, and the subsequent finishing was just a formality. Referee Mike Beltran was forced to stop the bout when the stopwatch showed only 35 seconds from its start.

While Beider climbed the cage to celebrate his victory, Emelianenko continued to revive. For several minutes Fedor could not get up, after which he still came to his senses. His opponent immediately approached him and respectfully shook his hand.

Having received first aid, Emelianenko hurried to leave Octagon, avoiding questions from the previously known referee John McCarthy. They had to answer the newly-minted champion in two weight categories to Beider, who once again said a few warm words about his opponent.

“It was a great honor for me to share Octagon with Fedor. It was a good evening for me, but he (Emelianenko. - RT ) had an incredible career. I sincerely respect him. I tried not to think that this might be his last fight. I understood that I would fight Emelyanenko, one of the best in the history of MMA, ”said Bader.

Emelianenko suffered his sixth career loss, each of which was early. Five times Fedor lost by knockout, and one more time - by surrender after the combat reception.