Broke Nogueira's streak

In 2003, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu master was at the peak of his form.

By this time, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira had already repeatedly managed to rehabilitate himself for a controversial defeat from Dan Henderson at the Rings tournament and went on a series of 13 victories in a row, 11 of which were won ahead of schedule.

But most importantly, he held the PRIDE heavyweight title for 498 days, won in a battle with another star veteran, Heath Herring.

Thus, which Fedor Emelianenko crushed in November 2002.

It was then that the Russian became a full-fledged star of mixed martial arts and at the same time earned the title of the first contender for the belt.

Emelianenko approached the battle for the trophy in the status of an underdog, and this is not surprising.

Nogueira had a record of 19-1-1 and seemed to many a fighter with no weaknesses.

His Muay Thai skills made him extremely dangerous in the standing position, and his ability to hold a submission or choke from almost any position made his opponents avoid transfers to the ground.

On the eve of that fight, even the legendary Bas Rutten found it difficult to say what exactly Fedor was able to oppose to the “superman” Antonio Rodrigo.

However, the Russian gave a surprise and dealt with the Brazilian.

Emelianenko was better in everything: already in the first minute he rushed to the champion and almost knocked him down, and the rest of the ten-minute round was in a dominant position from above, demonstrating his trademark ground and pound skills.

Nogueira tried several times to perform a pain or suffocation: he threatened with a kimura and an armbar, he tried to get a home payment - a painful hold that affects the shoulder and shoulder blade threw a triangle, but all his attempts were stopped.

Fedor was incredibly concentrated and continued to put powerful blows into the head of his counterpart, on whose face a cut and several hematomas appeared.

The two remaining rounds went in a similar manner.

Emelianenko blocked all Nogueira's attempts to get to his feet, and he effortlessly laid him on the floor, where he continued the execution.

At the end of the fight, the champion's face was covered in blood, while it was difficult to tell by the look of the contender whether he entered the ring.

After this, the judges could not have any doubts.

The Russian won by unanimous decision and usurped the heavyweight throne.

Survived Randleman's throw

At the time of the meeting with the American, Emelianenko had held the PRIDE title for more than a year and was considered one of the greatest fighters of his generation, which was confirmed by 14 victories in a row.

But in the quarterfinals of the Japanese League Grand Prix, he faced the most difficult test in the form of a duel with former UFC champion Kevin Randleman, who impressed with his incredible “physics” and wrestling skills.

At this point, he managed to get the better of such legends of the past as Pedro Rizzu and Mirko Cro Cop, whom the Monster knocked out in just two minutes.

And he began the confrontation with Emelianenko no less enchantingly.

Already at the 23rd second, he effortlessly tore the champion off the ground and laid him on the ground, and after another 20 he performed one of the most memorable throws in the history of mixed martial arts.

With a German suplex, he hit Fedor with his head on the canvas and made not only the commentators scream, but also the fans gathered at the Saitama Super Arena.

No one in the world seemed to be able to survive such a fall.

But Emelianenko, in an incredible way, not only managed to remain conscious and not get seriously injured, but after a few moments he managed to get out of the “north-south” position and he himself was on top.

Randleman was so shocked by this that he first allowed his opponent to drive some hard punches into his head, and then got caught by the Americana.

Fedor inflicted a third defeat on Kevin by submission and continued on to the final of the tournament, which culminated in the second meeting with Nogueira, stretching over two shows.

The first time the fight was declared invalid due to a deep cut on the face of the Russian, but in the second he again dealt with the Brazilian.

Stopped Cro Cop

After that, there were practically no worthy opponents for Emelianenko in the heavyweight division.

By 2005, the Russian managed to crush not only Nogueira and Randleman, but also knocked out the huge Gary Goodridge, forced the legendary Mark Coleman to surrender and took revenge on Tsuyoshi Kosaka for the first failure in his career (then, already at the 17th second, a deep cut formed on the Russian’s face, due to for which he was forbidden to fight).

There was only one athlete left who could compete with Fedor both in status and in “firepower”.

It was Mirko Filipovic, nicknamed Cro Cop, who by this time had established himself in the status of the most dangerous striker in the MMA world.

By 2005, the Croatian's previous failures were forgotten.

He not only retaliated for the fiasco in the first fight with Randleman, “choking” him in just 41 seconds, but also won six more victories in a row, including over the same Coleman, Ibragim Magomedov, Josh Barnett and Alexander Emelianenko.

This duel was closely watched by his older brother Fedor, who during the viewing was unable to restrain his emotions and allowed himself a couple of obscene expressions.

Surely even then Emelianenko understood that their battle with Cro Cop was only a matter of time.

And so it happened.

Heavyweight stars met at the Final Conflict show in August and presented the audience with an unforgettable spectacle, subsequently recognized by a number of publications and portals as the “Fight of the Decade”.

And Fedor again shocked the world of mixed martial arts.

Until that moment, many doubted his striking technique and believed that he was not able to compete with Mirko in the stand.

However, he not only managed not to give in to him in his arms, but also deprived him of his main weapon - the destroying left hi-kick, and in the stalls, as expected, surpassed the applicant.

At the end of the confrontation, the exhausted Croat could only retreat, while the Russian continued to go forward and score points in the eyes of the judges.

The last emperor won by unanimous decision and defended the trophy.

Caught on pain giant Choi

During his career, Emelianenko not only won over many legends of mixed martial arts, but also scored a number of victories over opponents who seriously surpassed him in mass and dimensions.

The Russian himself has never been large for heavy weight.

Even in the early 2000s, fighters of his height often opted for the light heavyweight and middle categories so as not to intersect with giants like Barnett and Tim Sylvia, and now athletes similar to him in anthropometry can be found in the welterweight and light divisions.

But Fedor never looked for easy ways and agreed to fight with anyone.

Even if the height of the counterpart was 219 centimeters, and the weight was 165 kilograms.

After the closing of PRIDE, Emelianenko performed at the New Year's tournament Yarennoka!, where he was opposed by just such a giant.

Hong Man Choi was hardly an experienced fighter.

Up to this point, according to the rules of MMA, he had only one fight, and achieved success in kickboxing.

But when a person stands against you, a head and a half taller and 60 kilograms heavier, everything else fades into the background.

For Fedor, it was a trivial task to get to such a vis-a-vis, and fighting him seemed like a losing cause at all.

In the first minute and a half, Emelianenko twice found himself under the Korean giant, missed several weighty slaps in the face, and his face was covered with bruises.

But even from this situation, he managed to emerge victorious.

In one of the episodes, he took advantage of Choi's inexperience in grappling, in a matter of seconds threw an armbar and forced a huge opponent to knock.

Knocked out Orlovsky in flight

Emelianenko became famous mainly for spectacular and unexpected victories with painful holds.

His armbar became almost legendary and subsequently inspired many fighters to learn this technique.

However, his track record also included the brightest knockouts, and he performed one of them at the Affliction tournament.

Then he was opposed by another ex-UFC champion, strong striker Andrey Orlovsky, and the WAMMA heavyweight title was at stake.

Emelianenko was considered the favorite of the confrontation, which is not surprising.

At that time, his unbeaten streak consisted of 27 fights and lasted more than eight years.

But Orlovsky managed to seriously compete with him and even dominated the ring for most of the duel.

At the beginning of the third minute, he even carried out several successful combinations and drove the Russian into a corner, after which he was already preparing to deliver a decisive blow.

But Fedor again did something incredible.

Orlovsky rushed at him and tried to break through with his knee in a jump, but Emelianenko was ready for this.

He reflexively threw out his signature overhand right and caught his opponent on the fly.

Andrei lost consciousness while still in the air and collapsed on the canvas face down.

There was no need for finishing.

So Fedor designed one of the most beautiful knockouts not only in his career, but in the history of mixed martial arts as a whole. 

Broke Johnson's jaw

After that, difficult times came for Emelianenko.

In Strikeforce, he suffered three defeats in a row and soon announced his retirement from the sport, and upon his return he was no longer invulnerable.

At Bellator, he lost twice by knockout - first to Matt Mitrione, and then to Ryan Bader in the Grand Prix final, after which he announced a farewell tour.

But it is also under threat due to the coronavirus pandemic.

As a result, after defeating Quinton Jackson, he did not fight for almost two years and was not considered a favorite before the battle with Tim Johnson.

At that time, the Russian was already 45 years old - more than advanced age even for a heavyweight.

While the American experienced the best period in his career and most recently fought for a temporary trophy.

But Emelianenko would not be a legend if he had not again created a sensation.

At the first-ever Bellator tournament in Moscow, he looked phenomenal: in terms of speed, he resembled his PRIDE exemplar and was just as dangerous in the standing position.

And although the beginning of the battle was not easy for him, already at the 60th second he hit Johnson in the jaw three times and sent him to a deaf knockout.

So the Last Emperor proved that he is still a formidable heavyweight and is able to compete with the strongest.