Fedor Emelianenko: Seven Fights That Prove His Greatness?

I have to admit that I didn’t know much about Fedor before the Tim Sylvia fight.

And I while I am not a “Fedor fanatic,” my respect for this enigmatic fighter has grown over time. With all this debate over, “Is Fedor the greatest of all time or not?” I wanted to take a look at what are his biggest wins and what that shows in regards to his greatness.

Fedor has had 30 professional fights over the last eight years. I picked out seven that seemed to be the most impressive based on who the opponent was, not just how he won the fight. Normally you start with No. 10 for dramatic effect. However, I do not feel that is necessary here.

Lets start with the obvious:

1. Fedor vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1)

Fedor actually beat Nog twice. They had three fights but one was ruled a no contest, due to an accidental cut. The interesting thing about the two is that Nog arguably has had the tougher career schedule.

Actually I don’t think you can argue that: Nog has faced a tougher schedule of opponents. So, indirectly, this further validates Fedor’s greatness. Logically, most people could stop here and that would be enough, but let’s keep going.

2. Fedor vs. Tim Sylvia (24-5)

A lot may argue whether this counts as a great win. However, as much as people like to clown on the Maine-iac, he is still easily in the top 10 of heavyweights. Not only this, but Fedor absolutely overwhelmed Tim and it lasted only 36 seconds.

In contrast it took Nog three rounds to finally sink in a submission against Tim and Couture had to go all five rounds to get the decision win. Arlovski, whom they want to feed to Fedor next, has a 1-2 record against Sylvia.

3. Fedor vs. Mirko "Cro Cop" (23-6-2)

I would think this win stands on its own. However, people will argue anything with Mirko’s recent setbacks. This is about who the fighters were at that time, and Cro Cop was on top of his game. While Fedor couldn’t finish the fight, he clearly beat Mirko. If you don’t believe me, then watch the fight for yourself. Fedor outstrikes one of the most dangerous strikers of all time.

4. Fedor vs. Kevin "The Monster" Randleman (17-12)

If you haven’t seen this fight, it’s a must see. I won’t spoil it for you but it clearly belongs on the list. In terms of pure strength, Randleman might be one of the best in MMA. Google "Fedor vs. Kevin Randleman" and the first listing that comes up is a link to a high-quality video in Google Video.

Watch what Kevin does to Fedor and then watch Fedor’s response; it’s classic MMA and proves he not only possesses brute strength but also has pure finesse.  

5. Fedor vs. Mark Coleman (15-8)

Coleman is a UFC Hall-of-Famer, although this is largely based on his impact on the early days of UFC. Despite that, like Randleman, he is one of the strongest fighter’s in MMA.

Fedor submitted him, not once, but twice. The other man of note to do that was Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. It is also worth nothing that Coleman was the man responsible for breaking Shogun Rua’s arm. I’m just saying!

So there you have the top seven fights. Nog and Coleman counted twice each, thus giving us seven.

I also thought I would include some of Fedor’s other wins, just for the fun. I would have added Fedor vs. Josh Barnett to the list but for some reason Baby Face refuses to make this fight happen. I don’t suppose it has anything to do with whether or not he thinks he could win.

6. Fedor vs. Ricardo Arona (13-5)

7. Fedor vs. Kazuyuki Fujita (15-7)

8. Fedor vs. Matt Lindland (21-5)

9. Fedor vs. Renato "Babalu" Sobral (30-7)

10. Fedor vs. Heath Herring (28-14)

So what's lets to prove?

From this point, it would be wise for Fedor to become more active in his fight schedule. I think that is the sole reason people feel the need to question his magnitude. There are plenty of great fighters out there he could fight to prove once and for all if he is the greatest of all time.

However, in sports, the critics are hardly silenced: Once a critic always a critic.

Perhaps the only thing Fedor can do to silence his critics is join the UFC. Perhaps if he fought the likes of Couture, Wedrum, Gonzaga, and one day Lesnar, people would be impressed and finally have no more arguments. For the record, this fan would be a lot more impressed.

Somehow, I don’t see that happening though. Fedor’s iron-curtain mgt. team has their own thoughts on how to successfully run his career.

The only other fighters, outside the UFC, that Fedor can really fight are 1) Arlovski, which should happen soon, 2) Josh Barnett, which he already ruled out, and 3) Alistair Overeem, which could be a fun fight.

Fedor could also fight a dangerous Sergei Kharitonov, but his younger brother Aleksander already beat him, so that wouldn’t prove much in my opinion.

So that is my list. While others know Fedor much better, I felt the need to make my contribution. History, and not current fans, will be the greatest indicator of Fedor’s greatness. Keep in mind MMA has only been around for about 15 years. In the year 2050, will we still be talking about Fedor as the greatest of all time?

Either way, he will be one of the great early pioneers, which helped define the sport.