Fedor Emelianenko birthday. Interesting facts about Fedor Emelianenko (11 photos). Sports career of Fedor Emelianenko

Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko- famous Russian athlete, four-time world champion in mixed martial arts (MMA) in heavyweight according to Pride FC, two-time according to RINGS, two-time according to WAMMA, four-time world champion and nine-time Russian champion in combat sambo Honored Master of Sports in Sambo. Fedor Emelianenko is an international master of sports in judo.

The childhood of Fedor Emelianenko

Father - Vladimir Alexandrovich Emelyanenko— worked as a gas-electric welder.

Mother - Olga Fedorovna Emelyanenko— was a teacher at a vocational school.

Fedor was the second child of four. He was born on September 28, 1976 in the town of Rubezhnoye, Lugansk region.

Fedor Emelianenko has an older sister, Marina, and younger brothers, Alexander and Ivan, who also practice martial arts.

Fedor was two years old when the family left the Ukrainian SSR for the RSFSR and settled in the city of Stary Oskol. There they were forced to live for a long time as a large family in one room of a communal apartment, as stated in the biography of Fedor Emelianenko on Wikipedia.

Later, when he became a famous fighter and the USSR collapsed, heated discussions began to arise on the Internet about the nationality of Fedor Emelianenko - whether he was Russian or Ukrainian. Fedor himself answered the question about nationality: “Russian. But to be honest, I don’t divide our countries, because I was born in Ukraine. I was born in the Soviet Union. He lived his entire adulthood, from the age of 2, in Stary Oskol. But I also spent half the summer in Antratsit, half the summer in Rubezhnoye. Both there and there—these cities are dear to me. There were no boundaries, there were no obstacles. Now these are two different states, but for me it remains a single whole.”

At the age of ten, Fedya Emelianenko enrolled in a section where children practiced martial arts. He started training with Vasily Gavrilova in the judo and sambo sections. Very soon, noticing Fedor’s success, the coach suggested that the boy move to a special sports class, which was staffed Vladimir Voronov.

Fedor continued to train with Voronov after school, when he entered the city vocational school. Fedor Emelianenko graduated from college with straight A's, receiving a degree in electrician. From that time on, he decided to play sports at a professional level.

After 9 years, Fedor Emelianenko decided to continue his education and entered Belgorod State University. Graduated from the Faculty of Physical Education and Sports in 2009. And in 2011, Emelianenko continued his postgraduate studies at the same university.

Sports career of Fedor Emelianenko

In 1995, Fedor Emelianenko was drafted into the army. The athlete continued continuous training there, increasing his muscle mass by more than twenty kilograms during his service.

After serving, Emelianenko participated in sambo and judo competitions. Fedor managed to show excellent technique and excellent results.

In 1999, Fedor Emelianenko was invited to the Russian sambo team, with which he became a bronze medalist at international Class A tournaments, and also helped lead the Russian team to a gold medal in the European team championship in Istanbul.

It must be said that Emelianenko’s development as an athlete took place in those years when it was almost impossible to make money through sports, and Fedor already had a family and children.

During this period, Fedor Emelianenko decided to switch to MMA (from the English Mixed Martial Arts - mixed martial arts), choosing the Japanese organization "Rings". Fedor went through twelve fights, losing only once and that was due to a double cut he received as a result of an illegal elbow strike from an opponent Tsuyoshi Kosaka.

However, in 2001, Fedor Emelianenko still became the Rings champion.

Fedor Emelianenko's MMA career

In 2002, Fedor Emelianenko moved to the most prestigious version of fights without rules, PRIDE. Also this year, Fedor became the captain of the heavyweight sambo team, where they won the world championship, which was held in Greece - in the overall standings, the team led by Fedor took first place, according to the biography on Emelianenko’s website.

In 2004, Fedor Emelianenko met in PRIDE fights with such opponents as: Kevin Rendleman, Antonio Nogueira, Naoya Ogawa, Mark Coleman. After these fights, Emelianenko became the official world champion according to PRIDE.

In 2005, Fedor Emelianenko continued to participate in PRIDE fights. In the most famous and important fight of this year, in August, Fedor won Mirko"Cro Cop" Filipovic.

Fedor Emelianenko became a 3-time world champion according to PRIDE.

In 2006, Fedor Emelianenko won Mark Hunt, after which Fedor was awarded the title of 4-time world champion according to PRIDE.

The year 2006 began for Fedor with an operation on his hand in one of the clinics in St. Petersburg, where the athlete had a plate and one knitting needle installed at the site of the fracture. The rehabilitation period prescribed by doctors lasted until June 24, when the plates were removed.

Emelianenko’s first fight after surgery took place on October 21 against Mark Coleman. The fight took place in Las Vegas as part of Pride 32, the first Pride event outside of Japan. Throughout the fight, Emelianenko controlled his opponent, and in the second round he performed the winning technique - the “elbow lever”, catching Coleman on it for the second time.

In 2008, Fedor participated in the World Combat Sambo Championship and took 3rd place.

In January 2009, Fedor Emelianenko won the WAMMA belt in a fight with Andrey Orlovsky. Orlovsky started the fight well, but then jumped on Fedor, trying to deliver the finishing blow with a jumping knee and ran into an oncoming right cross, which sent him into a deep knockout. This knockout of Orlovsky performed by Emelianenko was recognized as the “Best Knockout of 2009” according to the sports website Sherdog.

In November 2009, Fedor Emelianenko defended his world title in a fight with Brett Rogers By knocking him out in the 2nd round, Fedor confirmed that he is the best fighter on the planet.

From 2003 to 2010, Fedor Emelianenko was internationally recognized by the most famous sports media (ESPN, Sherdog, Full Contact Fighter, MMA Weekly, Nokaut) as the best MMA heavyweight fighter. During the same period, in the lists of the best fighters, regardless of weight category (pound-for-pound), Emelianenko held a leading position, being in first place according to MMA.com, second according to MMANews and third according to version of "Sherdog". Fedor Emelianenko was also recognized by many experts as the best MMA fighter in the history of the sport.

The list of fighters defeated by Fedor included: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Sammy Schilt, Mark Coleman, Ricardo Arona, Mirko Filipovic, Tim Sylvia, Andrei Orlovsky, Mark Hunt and other famous fighters.

Fedor Emelianenko was declared undefeated for 10 years, which is considered a record in the history of MMA.

In 2009, Fedor Emelianenko won the Russian Sambo Championship, spending a total of 41 seconds on three opponents.

Fedor received his first defeat from Fabricio Werduma, who won by triangle choke on June 26, 2010 at the Strikeforce 26 tournament. The loss to Werdum was the first in a series of three defeats in a row, after which Emelianenko’s ratings in the lists of the best fighters in the world decreased significantly. After some time, having won several victories in Russia and Japan, Emelianenko announced his retirement from the sport, but three years later he returned, performing with varying success in various competitions.

On February 13, 2011, Emelianenko lost to the Brazilian Antonio Silve. The fight was stopped by the decision of the doctor, who did not allow Fedor to continue the fight due to a huge hematoma under his eye. Immediately after the end of the fight against Silva, Emelianenko announced his retirement from his professional career. However, then he changed his mind and decided to compete at the Russian Combat Sambo Championship.

In the summer of 2012, Emelianenko met with Pedro Rizzo. He managed to win already in the second minute of the first round, knocking out his opponent. After this fight, he announced his retirement from mixed martial arts.

On December 31, 2015, Fedor Emelianenko returned to the cage after a three-year break. Emelianenko won the tournament in Japan, winning his first fight after returning to the sport.

In an MMA fight, Emelianenko quickly dealt with the Indian athlete Jaideep Singh, already in the 1st round he won by technical knockout. The referee stopped the fight when Singh stopped returning punches.

After the fight, Fedor thanked the Japanese fans for their support and congratulated the Russians on the upcoming New Year and Christmas.

Russian MMA President Fedor Emelianenko condemned the holding of such competitions. Immediately after this, the world-famous fighter was hit with a barrage of criticism from a number of athletes and politicians close to the head of Chechnya.

Then Ramzan Kadyrov expressed the opinion that the president of the Union of Mixed Martial Arts MMA Fedor Emelianenko, who had previously condemned the holding of children's fights in Grozny, admitted his mistake. The Chechen leader appealed to his supporters with a request to refuse to publish recordings affecting the honor and dignity of Fedor.

Kadyrov wrote about this on his Instagram. According to him, he is sure that “Fyodor Vladimirovich realized the mistake.” At the same time, the head of Chechnya believes that “even the fact that Emelianenko understands the haste in assessing the organization of the tournament is an act worthy of a man.”

A few days later, an unknown person in Moscow hit Emelianenko’s minor daughter in the chest when she was returning home from school. A criminal case was opened regarding this fact, and the head of Chechnya, Kadyrov, demanded that the person responsible for this attack be found and punished.

The Ministry of Sports recognized children's fights in Grozny as a violation.

Income of Fedor Emelianenko

In addition to income, mentions in the media and queries in the Yandex search engine were also taken into account.

Personal life of Fedor Emelianenko

Fedor met Oksana, who later became his wife, at a sports training camp when he was a schoolboy. The girl was waiting for him from the army. The wedding took place in 1999. They had a daughter, Masha. Fedor divorced in 2006.

At the end of 2007, the athlete and his longtime girlfriend Marina had a daughter. The girl was named Vasilisa. In the fall of 2009, Emelianenko married for the second time, and a year later Marina gave birth to a second girl, Elizaveta. Marina did not like to attract the attention of the press. She took care of the children and the house. The athlete always rested at home between fights. But in mid-2013, the athlete divorced his second wife and returned to Oksana, with whom they got married in church in February 2014, according to Fedor Emelianenko’s biography on the Find Out Everything website.

Fedor Emelianenko- Russian athlete who received the title of 4-time world champion in mixed martial arts (MMBA) in the heavyweight category. He won the title of 2-time world champion from WAMMA, 4-time and 9-time champion of the Russian Federation in combat sambo. The Russian is one of the Honored Masters of Sports in Sambo and Judo in the international category. He is known by many and a large number of fans around the world have watched his career and admired his rise. During his professional sports activities, the famous fighter and current politician showed amazing results, which were achieved due to his “iron” character and enormous willpower, along with the desire to win. At the same time, the Russian is a deeply religious person and a caring father.

Fedor's childhood and youth

Fedor was born in 1976. His place of birth is Lugansk region, the city of Rubezhnoye, Ukraine. The athlete’s father, Vladimir Aleksandrovich, was an ordinary welder, and his mother, Olga Fedorovna, worked as a teacher at a vocational school. Fedor was not the only child in the family; he has an older sister named Marina, whose age difference is only two years. His parents also had two younger sons: Alexander (born in 1981) and Ivan (born in 1988).

When Fedor reached the age of two, the whole family moved to Stary Oskol, which is located in the Belgorod region. In this city, Fedor lived and trained even at a time when he was already a famous athlete. The family did not live well, in an ordinary communal apartment, in which they got a drying room, a shared kitchen and bathroom with the neighbors.

Sambo and judo classes Emelianenko I first got there at the age of ten. Since there was no one to leave his little brother with, Fedor took him with him to training. Thanks to this, Alexander became interested in weightlifting and at a certain period was able to become one of the ten best heavyweights in the world and is now a former world champion according to ProFC.

Also, the younger brother was able to achieve the title of Master of Sports in the international class in combat sambo and become the European champion in judo and sambo. However, due to his addictions in the form of alcohol, he constantly found himself in bad situations.

Today, Alexander Emelianenko is in prison for raping a housekeeper. The sentence is four and a half years. Almost nothing is known about his younger brother Ivan. He achieved the title of Master of Sports in combat sambo and hand-to-hand combat, and also practiced boxing. But Ivan did not make a professional career as a fighter.

The first coach of the famous Fedor was Vasily Ivanovich Gavrilov. He taught his students in a training room located in a bomb shelter. A year after classes, the athlete was in a special sports class, which was formed by Vladimir Mikhailovich Voronov. This coach stayed with the fighter for a long time, helping him develop.

After school, Emelianenko also did not stop playing sports, continuing training during his studies at the twenty-second school. He graduated from the educational institution with honors with a degree in electrician. Secondary vocational education was not complete, so in 2003 Fedor continued his studies at BSU. He chose the Faculty of Physical Education and Sports. At the same university he entered graduate school.

In the period from 1995-1997, Fedor Emelianenko was in military service in the ranks of the Russian army. Initially he was sent to the fire troops, after which he was transferred to a tank division located near Nizhny Novgorod.

Even while in military service, Fedor did not give up his training, but in his activities he placed great emphasis on barbells, weights and cross-country runs. During his service, he gained more than twenty kilograms of muscle mass. Returning from the army, Emelianenko received the title of Master of Sports in Sambo and Judo (this happened in 1997), and one year later he was awarded the title of Master of Sports in the international class of Sambo.

When journalists asked Fedor about his idols, it turned out that the athlete did not have any particular favorites as a teenager. But he noted the legendary athletes whom he always tried to live up to. Among these he included multiple world record holder in the sport of weightlifting, Yuri Vlasov, three-time Olympic champion in classical Greco-Roman wrestling Alexander Karelin and three-time champion in freestyle wrestling Alexander Medved.

In his youth, Fedor admired the Soviet Union ice hockey team. The team was called the “Red Machine” for its impressive strength and power. At the moment when Emelianenko began to get involved in martial arts, he always took as an example such famous fighters as: Taktarov, Couture and Vovchanin.

Personal life of F. Emelianenko

He met Oksana, who later became the legal wife of the famous athlete, during his school years, when he attended sports training in a pioneer camp. The future wife worked there as a counselor and even waited for Fyodor from the army. At the initial stages of the relationship, Oksana had to try on the role of a doctor, treating her loved one’s abrasions after the competition. In 1999, the young couple got married, and in their marriage they had a daughter, Maria. But in 2006, Emelianenko divorced Oksana. The separation occurred without quarrels, according to a peaceful agreement. The athlete's wife was always a wise woman and was able to remain on good terms with her ex-husband, despite his infidelity.

At the end of 2007, Fyodor gave birth to his second daughter, his longtime girlfriend named Marina, to whom he left Oksana. The second child was named with the beautiful name Vasilisa. In the fall of 2009, the athlete had a second wedding with Marina, and a year later she gave birth to another daughter, Lisa. In mid-2013, Fedor decided to divorce his second wife and returned to Oksana again. It was a shock for Marina; their daughter was two years old. The athlete got married to his first wife in a church in 2014. This happened after a trip to Diveevo, which took place in 2006. According to Fyodor, a wedding in a church was not just a beautiful event for him. He believes that people have a responsibility to secure their feelings not only through words, but also through commitments to God.

The wedding procedure characterized Emelianenko as a deeply religious person. Those around him do not exclude the fact that there is a “higher power” in the Russian hero that does not allow him to be defeated. Fedor himself reports that after trips to holy places, he realized that God exists and changed his worldview.

After that, he began to come to prayer services at the church and met Father Andrei there. Subsequently, Fyodor came to confess and often communicated with the priest on various topics. Subsequently, the priest became the athlete’s confessor and blesses him every time before fights.

Emelianenko devotes all his free time to his family, reading books and listening to music. In addition, Fedor is excellent at drawing. During one of the interviews, he said that he reads the lives of saints, watches films of various genres, excluding crazy productions. The athlete also mentioned that he plays chess almost every day.

Sports career of Fedor Emelianenko

After serving in the army, Fedor began participating in sambo and judo competitions, showing excellent technique and performance. His career began in the 90s, when it was impossible to make money from sports.

During the same period, he decided to switch to MMA, preferring a Japanese organization called Rings. Over the course of 12 fights, he suffered only one defeat due to a double cut. This injury was received due to a prohibited technique by the opponent in the form of an elbow strike. The injury happened during the final fight, so Fedor dropped out of the fight. But in 2001, Emelianenko achieved the Rings title.

After productive cooperation with the Japanese, Fedor became the object of attention from Pride and received an offer of cooperation. In this team, the athlete showed his best results. The first was a fight with the Dutch athlete Sami Schilt, then with the American Herring and Antonio Rodrigue.

Emelianenko ended all three fights with a victory, including defeating Rodrigue, who was considered an invincible opponent for six years.

Many experts have put forward their assumptions that Fedor, after the closure of Pride, will begin to participate in the octagonal American rings, which are called the “cage”. But the athlete chose a different path and became a member of M-1 Global. Today everyone knows that Emelianenko is among the co-owners of the company. Despite the reduced number of fights, interest in the athlete’s person in his homeland increased.

The best fights of Fedor Emelianenko

One of the athlete’s best fights is considered to be the fight in 2003 with Antonio Nogueira, who was the Pride champion for two years and was known for his endurance and ability to take a punch. Therefore, the Brazilian was the main contender for victory. But when the fight began, Emelianenko immediately seized the initiative and continued to hold it until the very end.

The Brazilian was only forced to defend himself, but still held out until the end. The victory was awarded to the Russian by unanimous decision of the judges.

In 2004, the Russian athlete had the most successful fights, which ended in victory over Mark Coleman and Kevin Randleman. And in August 2005, when Emelianenko had a fight with Mirko Filipovic, everyone was especially looking forward to it. After all, the Croatian was considered the only contender capable of knocking out Emelianenko, who at that time had 19 continuous victories.

In addition, Filipovich became the winner in the battle with Fedor’s brother Alexander. Despite the fact that the Croatian expected Emelianenko to be active on the ground, the Russian, unexpectedly for him, spent the first part of the fight standing up. As a result, Fedor won his 20th victory in a row in this fight.

In a fight with Mark Hunt in 2006, Fedor Emelianenko proved to everyone that he is a determined fighter. Despite the fact that Hanta was the main contender for the title in Pride at that time, and at the very beginning of the fight Fedor had a broken toe, the Russian still ended the battle with a victory. Then Pride went bankrupt, so Emelianenko remained its champion forever. Emelianenko’s most striking victory was the end of the fight with the huge fighter Hong Mai Choi, who competed from Korea. After which, Tim Sylvia, a multiple UFC champion, publicly announced via television that Emelianenko was afraid to compete with experienced athletes.

Fedor took on the aggressive 140-kilogram fighter and, easily defeating him in the 36th second of the fight, became the WAMMA champion.

The best knockouts of Fedor Emelianenko

Emelianenko has unique fights that ended with a knockout even before the opponent’s first blow. One of these striking fights is the competition that took place in 2005, in which Fedor’s opponent was the two-meter Brazilian Zuluzinho. The fight lasted only 26 seconds. Then Emelianenko put the Brazilian on his shoulder blades with the first blow. True, the opponent was able to rise, but not for long. Fedor finished him off on the ground with a powerful blow. In 2009, he defended his title in a fight with a Belarusian athlete named Andrei Arlovski. The Belarusian had excellent technique, and at first it might seem that Fedor was depressed by this fact. Many of Andrey's blows achieved their goal.

Video: Fedor Emelianenko's best knockouts

The Russian was even driven into a corner and was almost finished off by his opponent’s knee. But still, Emelianenko emerged victorious from this fight and, in a powerful counterattack, knocked out Arlovski.

After this fight, Fedor signed a contract with Strikeforce, which the champion’s fans had long dreamed of. According to the agreement, the Russian was supposed to perform in three “cell fights”. The first fight with Brett Rogers ended with an easy victory with the help of a devastating and accurate blow in the second round.

Very quickly and beautifully, The Last Emperor put Beijing Olympic champion Satoshi Ishii in the ring in 2011. It was enough for Fedor to make one precise blow, and the Japanese was already lying in the ring.

Fedor Emelianenko's defeats

In total, there were four defeats in the life of the Russian athlete F. Emelianenko.

1 . He suffered his first during a fight with a Japanese fighter named Tsuyoshi Kosaka in 2000. This fight was the fifth in Emelianenko’s sports career in the professional ring. Many noticed that this defeat could have been challenged, because Fedor was ready to continue the fight, but the judge’s decision was different. This fight took place in Japan during the “King of kings 2000 block B” tournament. At the very beginning of the fight, the Japanese cut our athlete’s right eyebrow using a prohibited technique in the form of an elbow strike. The fight was stopped by the referee after seventeen seconds. After the doctors’ verdict, Fedor was removed from the fight and was awarded defeat. According to the rules, Kosaki should have been disqualified and there would have been no winner. Due to the fact that the fight was held within a tournament framework, someone had to emerge victorious and it was a Japanese fighter. Fedor Emelianenko was able to set a unique record, according to which he fought many fights for ten years without a single defeat. It might seem that no one is able to resist the invincible Russian.

2 . A meeting in 2010 with Brazilian fighter Fabrizio Werdum interrupted the happy streak of victories. The opponent defeated Emelianenko in 69 seconds. This fight took place in San Jose, at the Strikeforce & M-1 Global show.
In the first seconds of that fight, Fedor was active and even managed to send his opponent to the floor due to an accurate series of blows to the head.

But the Russian was unable to finish off the fighter and ended up in a triangle himself, from which he was unable to get out.

3. Over the next few months, Emelianenko trained intensely in order to defeat Antonio Silva. The fight was supposed to take place at the next show from Strikeforce & M-1 Global. The Russian faced a serious opponent who considered his opponent an example to follow. The first round passed with varying degrees of success.

No one spared any blows. The Brazilian fighter was the owner of a black belt in jiu-jitsu and did not allow an effective painful hold at the end of the five-minute period. The second round took place on the ground. The Russian athlete spent the entire time on the floor, taking the crushing blows of the Brazilian. The third round was not Fedor's strength, because the fight was stopped due to a severe cut on his eyebrow. Silva won by technical knockout. Afterwards he fell at the feet of his idol with tears.

4. F. Emelianenko received his fourth defeat in the competition, which took place on June 30, 2011. This happened at the next Strikeforce & M-1 Global show in Chicago. This time the opponent was the American Henderson.

The fight was temperamental from the first seconds - mutual exchanges of sharp blows and clinches. A few minutes later, Henderson broke through the clinch and delivered an accurate and crushing blow to the Russian fighter.

The decision to end a sports career

After a series of insidious defeats, Fedor Emelianenko began to say that it was time for him to end his career in sports. But after these words, fans were repeatedly able to observe the rise of their idol. In the fall of 2011, he defeated a fighter of equal strength and technical skill named Jeff Monson. Even Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin himself, who specially came as a fan, congratulated the athlete on such an enchanting victory.

Fedor fought his last fight at that time in the summer of 2012. Already in the second minute of the fight, he knocked out Pedro Rizzo and announced that he would no longer engage in sports. He made this decision due to the fact that his daughters practically did not see their father. He wanted to be with them as much time as possible and in his interview he said that it was in them that his life’s meaning lay, so the moment had come to say goodbye to his sports career.

At the same time, he did not stop supporting his sports form, and in May 2012 he was chosen as the first president of the Mixed Martial Arts Union MMA of the Russian Federation. At the end of the summer, he became one of the members of the Council for the Development of Physical Culture and Sports, going to live in Moscow with his family. The same year brought Fedor the position of adviser to the Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation and the co-authored book “Sambo - the science of winning”.

Emelianenko could live without fighting for only three years. In July 2015, he again announced that he was returning to professional sports and on December 31 won by technical knockout in a fight with Indian Jaideep Singh. The fight took place in Japan during a New Year's show called Rizin. Already in February 2016, the Russian champion will meet with former NFL player - American Matt Mitrione.

At the Bellator 165 tournament, a signed contract was announced. According to the agreement, Fedor was supposed to fight several fights. The number of fights remained secret. Currently, the famous athlete has signed an agreement for two fights with Mix Fight M-1, which has an agreement with StrikeForce for three joint tournaments with Emelianenko.

What the stars say about Fedor Emelianenko

The popular fighter, who received the nickname “The Last Emperor,” is known throughout the world. Many athletes and actors spoke about Fedor. For example, Mike Tyson once said that Emelianenko is considered his favorite among MMA fighters.

Video: Mike Tyson about Emelianenko

He admired the fact that he, being a small heavyweight, always remained a winner. Tyson also said that he loves his idol very much and does not want to watch him get hurt during fights. “He’s been in the sport for a long time, but unfortunately he’s not the same as he used to be.” These were the words of Iron Mike.

Jean-Claude Van Damme knew Emelianenko and even gave an interview to the Russia 2 TV channel. During the report, he expressed his impression of “The Last Emperor.” Only positive emotions.

Video: Jean Claude Van Damme and Russian boxers about Fedor Emelianenko

The actor noted that he had known Fedor well for several years and considered him a well-built and skilled athlete. The famous actor also noted that the fighter differs from others in that he feels and sees faster than others, which is why he has so many victories behind him. Van Damme compared Emelianenko to Schumacher when cornering on the track.

Famous boxer and current deputy Nikolai Valuev also expressed his admiration for Fedor Emelianenko. He especially noted the endurance and iron character of the athlete. In the summer, Valuev supported Fedor in his criticism against mixed martial arts tournaments between children in Grozny. He found himself in solidarity with his colleague and took his side.

Currently, “The Last Emperor” is a co-owner of the M-1 Global organization. The company is considered a large-scale domestic promoter of mixed martial arts. The athlete is also one of the deputies of the regional Duma of the city of Belgorod from the United Russia party.

Recently, mixed style fighters have become increasingly popular and can already compete with professional boxers in this area. Probably the most legendary and respected among them is Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko, whose fight statistics cannot but amaze the imagination. He never shied away from fights with the strongest opponents and at the same time did not know defeat for almost ten years, remaining an undefeated champion. The fights of Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko have always caused huge spectator excitement, and he himself has long become an idol and role model for many young fighters.

Chess player in the ring

Every MMA fighter needs to maintain a balance between wrestling and striking training. Fedor Emelianenko’s fighting style is characterized by the fact that the Russian’s opponent is constantly in suspense, not knowing what to expect from him in the next second. A native of Lugansk specialized in sambo and judo. He feels great when fighting, but Fedor’s punches are a formidable weapon. Emelianenko's boxing style has its own distinctive features: he almost does not use jabs, using side blows with a wide circular amplitude. When acting in a standing position, he prefers to work with his hands and rarely resorts to kicks. However, depending on the opponent, he is able to readjust and cause significant damage even with restraining low kicks. So, for example, in a fight with Fedor, after one of these blows, the American suffered a broken leg.

Still, the calling card of Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko, whose height (183 cm) is relatively small for his weight category, is his painful and choking techniques from the arsenal of sambo and judo. In addition, very often, having knocked over his opponent, he successfully unleashes a hail of powerful blows on him from the top position and knocks him out. I was always amazed by Emelianenko’s composure during his fights. He never gives in to emotions and in the most difficult moments of a fight he is able to calculate the situation in a split second and instantly make the best decision. Many of his victories were achieved in situations where the opponent seemed to dominate and was one step away from victory.

A little about the life of a fighter

Even the shortest biography of Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko will take many pages from any conscientious sports historian. One of the MMAs of all times and peoples went through a difficult path in sports to his world fame. Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko (born in 1976) was born in the Lugansk region in an ordinary working-class family. Fyodor's brothers Alexander and Ivan also followed in his footsteps and took up mixed martial arts. The male company is diluted by Fedora's older sister Marina. Soon the large family moved to Belgorod, where the parents and their four children huddled in a room in a communal apartment. Fedor began playing sports at the age of ten; he preferred sambo and judo. His younger brother Alexander, who would also become a professional fighter, attended training with him.

From 1995 to 1997, the future sports legend conscientiously repays his debt to his homeland in the Russian army, first in fire departments, and then in a tank division. After finishing his service, Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko continued active sports, which became his profession. He married in 1999 a girl he met at a training camp. Fedor and Oksana had a daughter, Masha, but this did not save them from divorce in 2006. A second marriage followed with his long-time friend Marina, thanks to whom Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko became the father of two more daughters - Vasilisa and Elizaveta. However, in 2013, the legendary athlete returned to his first wife, with whom he even got married in a church.

First steps in sports

Fedor’s first coach was Vasily Gavrilov, thanks to whom Emelianenko mastered the basics of judo and sambo. Soon he entered the sports class at the Youth Sports School, where he began to train under the guidance of Vladimir Voronov. According to the latter, as a child, Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko did not stand out among his peers for his special talent and achieved enormous progress solely thanks to his perseverance and hard work.

After military service, he continued to actively engage in sports, focusing specifically on sambo. Having won a prestigious international tournament, he received the MSMK badge. Fedor Emelianenko felt like a fish in water in combat sambo. In 1998, he became the second prize-winner at the national championship among military personnel. Soon he received an invitation to the Russian national team, with which he managed to win the European Team Championship. However, at a certain point, Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko still decided to leave the national team and focused on MMA fights, explaining this by the need to earn a living for himself and his children.

Rise of a Champion

To test his strength in mixed martial arts, Fedor Emelianenko first began to hone his boxing skills under the guidance of his current coach Alexander Michkov. In 2000, he joined the Russian Top Team club, which at that time was headed by Vladimir Pogodin, and focused on performing in MMA. Three years later, Fedor left this club, explaining his decision by the dishonesty of the director.

The first organization involved in preparing mixed style fights for Fedor Emelianenko was the Japanese company RINGS. Under its flag, he fought 11 fights, during which time he managed to become a two-time world heavyweight champion. Fedor Emelianenko’s best fights were still ahead, but it was during those years that he gained fame and popularity in the world of MMA.

In 2002, he suffered his first defeat against Japanese fighter Tsuyoshi Kosaki. However, many experts refuse to count Fedor’s lost fights from this moment. During the fight, the Japanese cut the Russian with an illegal blow, and he could not continue the fight and further participation in the round-robin tournament. However, the judges awarded the victory to the Japanese in order to determine the fighter from this pair who would advance to the next stage. The weight of Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko allowed him to take part in fights against the heaviest opponents and fight for the title of champion in the absolute weight category. The last time he won the RINGS championship belt was in 2002, after which the Japanese organization ceased to exist.

Collaboration with Pride

At the beginning of the 2000s, the UFC was not yet considered a leader in the world of mixed martial arts, and Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko chose to cooperate with the largest organization at that time, Pride. Fedor held his debut fight under the auspices of the new company against the giant Dutchman Sami Schilt and defeated him by unanimous decision. Then he overcame the resistance of the American Heath Haring, who was considered the favorite at that time. Taking the fight to the ground, the Russian athlete unleashed a hail of blows on him and ended the fight ahead of schedule.

The countdown of Fedor Emelianenko's best fights can begin with the match against Antonio Nogueira. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu master was considered practically invincible and the main contender for the championship belt. However, that evening Fedor was unstoppable. Emelianenko managed to knock down the Brazilian with a powerful blow and take a dominant position on the ground. In this position, he unleashed a hail of finishing blows on his opponent from above and stunned Nogueira. The jiu-jitsu specialist tried to apply painful holds, but the sambo master was on the alert and brought the fight to victory. So Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko became the world champion according to Pride.

Fights with Nogueira

In 2004, the Russian met twice more with Nogueira, who passionately desired revenge. The first fight ended in a mutual cut and was declared invalid. The Brazilian claimed that Fedor Emelianenko deliberately did this to avoid defeat. The cool-headed fighter from the Belgorod region maintained silence and chose to continue the fight in the ring without getting involved in an exchange of insults.

The repeated battle turned out to be very stubborn. Fedor understood that it was very risky to fight on the ground against a jiu-jitsu specialist and avoided his dangerous ones. Emelianenko fought in a standing position and methodically processed Nogueira with blows from a distance, effectively defending himself against the latter’s attempts to get closer. As a result, the Brazilian's plan failed, and Fedor won a landslide victory.

Epic battle with Mirko Cro Cop

The main event of 2005 in the world was, of course, the fight between Emelianenko and Mirko Filipovic, nicknamed “Cro Cop”. The Croatian fighter switched to MMA from K-1 and was famous for his killer strikes from both legs. In one of the fights, he inflicted a crushing defeat on Fedor’s brother Alexander, so the meeting with the Croatian became a matter of honor for Emelianenko.

The long-awaited fight did not start very easily for the Russian fighter. The Croatian threw several accurate jabs and broke Fedor's nose. He also constantly threw out his deadly kicks, and as a result, Emelianenko suffered a hematoma on his chest. Nevertheless, the Russian athlete continued to stick to his line and by the last round exhausted the Croatian with constant clinching and wrestling. In the last round, Filipovic was unable to resist and simply fled from Fedor’s powerful blows. After 20 minutes of exhausting confrontation, the victory was unanimously awarded to Fedor Emelianenko.

Transition to the banner of M-1 and conflict with the UFC

Aggressive marketing policies and competition from the UFC led to the bankruptcy of Pride and the subsequent purchase of its remains by the American organization Zuffa, headed by Dana White. Fedor Emelianenko by that time was considered the best MMA fighter, regardless of weight category, and the UFC owners tried their best to lure the Russian fighter.

However, he did not want to share future profits with anyone and imposed an enslaving contract on Fedor Emelianenko, which put an end to his cooperation with the Red Devil club. The owner of the latter, Vadim Filkenshtein, tried to negotiate to attract the rest of the club’s fighters to the UFC, as well as to hold tournaments under the joint auspices of Red Devil and the UFC. However, Dana White was adamant and opposed the participation of Fedor Emelianenko in fights under the auspices of other companies, as well as in sambo tournaments.

All this ended with the negotiations reaching a dead end, and the UFC never received the best heavyweight of those years into its ranks. After this, the Russian announced the start of cooperation with the M-1 organization. Her “father” was the same Vadim Filkenshtein, and she was largely created for Fedor Emelianenko. The main advantage for him was the opportunity to compete in various tournaments and complete freedom of action. In addition, he was one of the owners of the company and had 8.5 percent of its shares.

Big victories of "The Last Emperor"

In 2007, one of the most spectacular fights took place with the participation of Fedor Emelianenko. The Last Emperor was challenged by the Technoliath. This was the name of a very prominent Korean fighter who came to MMA from K-1. With a height of 218 cm, he weighed 160 kg, and millions of spectators around the world were eagerly waiting to see how Fedor Emelianenko would fight such a giant.

In the first seconds of the fight, fans of the Last Emperor were seriously worried about their idol, since it seemed that the opponent was too huge for him. The first attempt to perform a wrestling technique ended with the huge Korean simply crushing Fedor to the ring with his mass. However, he did not lose heart and confused Choi Hong with a left hook. Having entered the clinch, Fedor again tried to take the Korean down, and when the fighters were on the floor, Emelianenko performed a painful elbow hold and forced his opponent to surrender.

After defeating Technoliath, Fedor Vladimirovich met with former UFC champion Tim Sylvia for the WAMMA world title. Before the start of the battle, he attacked the Russian with a hail of insults, promising to defeat him in a matter of seconds, but Fedor remained cool and saved his strength for the fight. The audience was looking forward to a heated battle, but it was all over in the first minute. Fedor literally suppressed Sylvia with a series of blows, and then carried out a lightning-fast choke hold from behind and won.

Emelianenko had to defend his championship belt in a match against another UFC fighter, Andrei Orlovsky. The Belarusian treated the great fighter with respect and did not allow himself unnecessary words before meeting him. However, in the ring, all respect was forgotten, and Andrei Orlovsky rushed for victory. At first everything went well for him - the blows reached their target. In euphoria, Orlovsky flew to finish off his opponent and frivolously opened up when attempting a knee strike. In response, he received a powerful right cross on the counter and collapsed as if knocked down.

Black series Emelianenko

Everything comes to an end, and so does Emelianenko’s impressive winning streak. In 2010, he lost for the first time in his career. Brazilian Fabricio Werdum called himself a fan of Fedor, but at the same time he was able to become the first fighter who managed to catch the Russian in a choke hold. It seemed that this was an unfortunate misfire, because as the fight progressed, Fedor was able to shake his opponent with a strong blow and was one step away from victory.

However, he soon suffered a second defeat in a row. Antonio Silva, in one of the rounds of the fight with Emelianenko, managed to knock him over and began to deliver finishing blows on the ground. A hematoma formed, and the judges awarded defeat to Fedor.

American Dan Henderson was also a fan of Emelianenko and became the third fighter in a row to defeat the Last Emperor. Possessing a strong striking technique, the former middleweight managed to land a powerful uppercut on the Russian, after which he began to finish him off. The judges stopped the fight and awarded the victory to the American.

The years take their toll, and Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko, having had several successful fights after a series of defeats, announced his retirement in 2012. However, he soon became bored with retirement, and in 2015 he returned to the ring. To warm up, Fedor chose former kickboxer Jadip Singh as his opponent, whom he defeated without much difficulty. However, in 2016 he already met with a serious opponent. Fabio Maldonado managed to suppress Emelianenko in the debut of the fight, and he was one step away from defeat. However, the experienced fighter evened out the situation in subsequent rounds and achieved a final victory, which many considered controversial. Now everyone is looking forward to new fights with the participation of Fedor Emelianenko, whose awards only to a small extent reflect the importance and status that he has in modern sports.

In the tough, and some would say cruel, world of mixed martial arts, there are few athletes who command such admiration, respect, and sometimes even worship, as Fedor Emelianenko. , the ex-UFC champion, in a conversation with reporters, openly declares that she is simply in love with him.

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Vladimir Putin and Fedor Emelianenko

In the fall of 2018, Fedor left his position as president of the Russian MMA Union. It is assumed that the fighter will head the organization’s Supervisory Board, which will be created later. Before this, Emelianenko recorded a victory in the quarter finals of the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix over UFC champion Frank Mir, and in the semifinals over Chael Sonnen. In the final of the tournament, the winner received the championship belt of the second most important promotion in the world.

Personal life

Information about Emelianenko’s personal life is not rich in details. Fyodor met Oksana, his first wife, at a pioneer camp when he was a schoolboy. He was at a sports training camp, and she was a pioneer leader. The guys' relationship was quite serious - the girl was waiting for a guy from the army. In 1999, the couple got married, and in the same year Oksana gave birth to a daughter, Masha. The marriage lasted 7 years - in 2006 the couple filed for divorce.

In 1994, Emelianenko graduated with honors from a vocational school with a degree in electrician. In 2008, he received higher education, defending his thesis on the topic “Methodology for the development of strength abilities in the training of 13-15 year old Sambo wrestlers” at the Department of Physical Culture of Belgorod State University.

Fedor’s sports passion for wrestling began with sambo and judo classes in the section, under the leadership of Vasily Gavrilov. A year later, Fedor was accepted into the sports class, staffed by Vladimir Voronov on the basis of the A. Nevsky Youth Sports School.

From 1995 to 1997 he served in the Russian army, where he continued to play sports independently.

In 1997, he fulfilled the standard for Master of Sports of Russia in sambo. 2 months later he won an international tournament in Kursk and became a master of sports in judo.

In 1998, Emelianenko received the title of Master of Sports of International Class of Russia in Sambo, having won first place at the prestigious international class “A” tournament. Also in 1998, he became the champion of Russia and bronze medalist of the Russian Judo Championship, as well as bronze medalist of the Russian Sambo Championship. In the same year, he won the title of champion in his weight category and became a silver medalist in the absolute weight category among the Russian armed forces.

In 1999, Emelianenko won international sambo tournaments in Moscow and became a bronze medalist at international class “A” tournaments (Moscow, Sofia). At the European Team Championship in Istanbul, the Russian team, which included Fedor Emelianenko, took first place.

In 2000, simultaneously with wrestling, he began to study striking techniques of the arms and legs at the Golden Gloves Youth Sports School. In the same year, he took third place at the Russian Sambo Championship. Then he switched to mixed martial arts, beginning to perform in the Rings organization, where in 2001 he became the world champion in the heavy weight category.

In 2002, Emelianenko became the champion in the open weight category and moved to the most prestigious version of MMA fighting - Pride. In the same year, he won the Russian Combat Sambo Championship in Moscow, became the first at the World Heavyweight Combat Sambo Championship in the Greek city of Thessaloniki, and was also the captain of the team that took first place in the overall standings. Won the World Combat Sambo Championship in the open weight category.

In 2003, having qualified and won against Sammy Schilt (Netherlands) and Heath Herring (USA), he went up against the Pride world champion, Brazilian Antonio Rodrigue Nogueira, whom he defeated by unanimous decision.

In 2004, he had five fights in Pride, and on New Year’s Eve 2005, having won the Grand Prix, he became the owner of two title belts - “Grand Prix Champion” and “World Champion” in Pride version fights.

In August 2005, in the title fight with Croatian Mirko Filipovich, Emelianenko defended his championship title. In October of the same year, at the World Combat Sambo Championship in Prague (Czech Republic), he won two fights, winning the title of three-time world champion.

In 2006, due to a serious hand injury, Emelianenko was able to compete in only two Pride tournaments, winning them, including the title fight with Mark Hunt on December 31, 2006. Following the fight, Emelianenko was awarded the title of four-time world champion in Pride fighting.

In 2007, Fedor Emelianenko was awarded the national award "Golden Belt" in the category "The most striking victory of the year", in 2008 he received the award "Sobaka.Ru. TOP-50 Most Famous People of St. Petersburg."

In November 2008, he took third place at the World Combat Sambo Championship.

In January 2009, he won the WAMMA championship belt in a fight with Andrei Arlovski, in November 2009 he defended the title and confirmed his title as the strongest fighter on the planet by knocking out Brett Rogers in the second round.

On June 26, 2010, Emelianenko lost a fight against Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Fabrice Werdum. This was his first uncontested defeat of his career.

In February 2011, Emelianenko lost by technical defeat to the Brazilian Antonio Silva in the 1/4 finals of the Strikeforce/M-1 Global Heavyweight Grand Prix, and in July 2011, he was defeated in a fight with the American Dan Henderson, being technically knocked out in the first round.

In total, Emelianenko had 40 fights in MMA and won 35 victories (12 by knockout).

In June 2012, after defeating Brazilian Pedro Hizzo at the M-1 Global tournament in St. Petersburg, Emelianenko announced his retirement from the ring.

Currently he is the president of the Russian MMA Union.

He was also an adviser to the Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation Vitaly Mutko and oversaw martial arts.