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LOS ANGELES—Fedor Emelianenko carries a legacy that is unmatched in the history of MMA.
The 46-year-old Russian legend, who went unbeaten for a decade between 2000 and 2010, is best known as PRIDE's final heavyweight champion, taking the belt from a future UFC Hall of Famer in Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira before defending it in a rematch, and then in subsequent bouts with fellow MMA legends Mirko Cro Cop and Mark Hunt.
During that span, it was Japan's PRIDE that was the dominant brand in MMA, not the UFC, and Emelianenko was one of the organization's biggest stars, taking out a who's who list of talent along the way, including the likes of Mark Coleman, Kazuyuki Fujita, Gary Goodridge, Heath Herring, Kevin Randleman and Semmy Schilt, among others.
Eventually, scandal behind the scenes of the promotion saw PRIDE lose lucrative broadcast deals, leading to the sale of the company to the UFC. That move was one of several factors that helped propel the UFC into the vast juggernaut it remains today.
While many of PRIDE's top stars came to the UFC following the sale, Emelianenko did not, preferring instead to take starring roles in a number of global organizations such as Affliction, Strikeforce, Rizin and Bellator. There were rumored octagon clashes with Randy Couture and Brock Lesnar along the way, but Emelianenko never did come to terms with UFC officials.
Emelianenko's appeal to casual MMA fans may have increased had he agreed to compete for the UFC, but hardcore fans of the sport were more than aware of his accomplishments, and the stoic slugger remained revered by his peers for both his incredible fighting skills, as well as his respectful manner.
On Saturday, Emelianenko will compete for one final time when he headlines Bellator 290, which airs live on CBS (9 p.m. ET) from The Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif.
While he was offered a number of potential opponents for his farewell fight, Emelianenko (40-6 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) insisted on the toughest challenge available and will face reigning heavyweight champion Ryan Bader (30-7 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) in the night's main event.
Bellator president Scott Coker marveled at Emelianenko's accomplishments ahead of the contest.
"When I think about this fight and what it means and the historical significance of this event, it's really a special moment for myself, personally, to see Fedor," Coker said at Wednesday's pre-fight press conference. "I mean, he was fighting in PRIDE. He was fighting in different organizations before we started working together, but since I want to say 2008, 2009, I think we've done probably eight, nine, 10 fights together, maybe more. To see this career over all those years—and I just recently went back and watched him fighting Mirko, went back and watched him fighting Kevin Randleman, him fighting Nogueira. I watched him fight Andrei Arlovski. I mean, the 10-year run of undefeated fights where he was fighting the baddest people on the planet—because at that time Japan had the best fighters in the world—it's very impressive."
Adding to the challenge for Emelianenko in his final appearance, the contest is actually a rematch of 2019 clash that Bader won in just 35 seconds when a lead left hook and a devastating right hand ended the contest in unexpectedly quick fashion.
