- Joined
- Feb 7, 2015
- Messages
- 8,280
- Reaction score
- 0
Fedor is the best fighter I'v ever seen. You had to be around then to understand this. You just knew you were witnessing something special when watching this guy fight. An undersized HW who could box, kick box, hit the brawl button if necessary, judo throw guys to the moon, beat the shit out of guys on the ground with the most violent GnP the sport had ever seen up until that point, and submit guys from his back with BJJ black belt like swiftness in his armlock technique.
On top of all of those skills, the way he put it all together and chained his attacks from strikes, to judo throws to GnP to submissions with incredible fluidity in each transition was something way ahead of where the sport was at the time, maybe 5-7 years ahead. Fedor's intensity and workrate was incredible to behold. He could go a whole 10 min first round at full throttle and still fight for 2 or 3 more rounds after that going all out. When he was in his peak he was as fierce as this sport has ever seen, he wasnt a guy who fought with a condom looking to play it safe and win points with the judges. He came out there to kill or to be killed and never took a step back once.
Fedor was checking a prime Mirko's low kicks like nothing and taking his liver kicks and head kicks and left straights right on the chin and still moving forward to outstrike him. I know that to new casual fans this may seem like nothing to be proud of but at that time that was absurd to see. This was 11 years ago so you have to wonder how many of the guys discrediting Fedor's win over Mirko were truly and passionately watching the sport then. The way Fedor got slammed on his neck by Randleman and reversed him seconds later and submitted him was something that makes me wonder how it would be marketed by the UFC and the machine they use today. Sitting in Nog's guard beating the life out of him when he was basically undefeated and the most feared ground fighter in the world. Swatting Arlovski out of the sky in the first round on Arlovski's best day. Beating Tim Sylvia as if he was a jobber bum in 30 seconds back when the UFC stans were saying that Fedor was ducking them.
Fedor's aura, his stonecold demeanor, his kindness, his humble attitude and respect for himself, other fighters and the sport in general. His degenerate Russian Mafia affiliated brother made him even more mysterious and people who saw him fight couldn't help but want to know more. All of these things make me wonder how it would have been if the UFC was the top dog org back then and Fedor singed with them in the early 2000s instead of Pride FC. How would they market him. How would they sell him. What his image would turn into with their machine put behind him.
When you think about it, everything about Fedor was unique and it was unique on its own with no major marketing machine fueling that. It derived from this buzz generated in a very niche market as opposed to the mainstream market the UFC operates in today. Pride didn't spend millions of marketing dollars on developing Fedor's star. They didn't shoot multi million dollar promos for him like the UFC did for Conor and Aldo. No Joe Rogan powered hypemachines where he sits in that dark room and tells millions of viewers that Ronda is a once in a lifetime fighter and telling them that she can beat up half of bantamweight MEN. Fedor wasnt from the twitter era where fighters had fake beefs to hype fights artificially and his content and likeness had a platform to generate instant followers by the masses.
Fedor had a self built mystique that wasn't force fed to the fans. His hype was as organic as it gets. Had the UFC been the top organization in the world when Fedor started fighting and signed with them instead of Pride FC, he would have had his run THERE and would have been one of if not the most beloved and decorated champions in UFC history with all of the hype, money and effort put into him as the UFC puts into hypejobs like Ronda and Sage Northcutt. Only with Fedor it would have been REAL. But he never fought in the UFC so the UFC used that same marketing and brand power to smear his name, image and accomplishments to where you have nerds on sherdog calling him "overrated" I think its truly amazing what he was able to build without that machine behind him when in reality that machine was in front of him. Smearing him with all its might.
The Real Fans know who the KING is. The real GOAT of mixfight. The Babe Ruth of our sport. It would be insane how iconic he would have been if he was in the UFC during his run. But for that the UFC would have to be the top fighting organization at that point which they werent.
WAR the GOAT,
Fedor Emelianenko.
On top of all of those skills, the way he put it all together and chained his attacks from strikes, to judo throws to GnP to submissions with incredible fluidity in each transition was something way ahead of where the sport was at the time, maybe 5-7 years ahead. Fedor's intensity and workrate was incredible to behold. He could go a whole 10 min first round at full throttle and still fight for 2 or 3 more rounds after that going all out. When he was in his peak he was as fierce as this sport has ever seen, he wasnt a guy who fought with a condom looking to play it safe and win points with the judges. He came out there to kill or to be killed and never took a step back once.
Fedor was checking a prime Mirko's low kicks like nothing and taking his liver kicks and head kicks and left straights right on the chin and still moving forward to outstrike him. I know that to new casual fans this may seem like nothing to be proud of but at that time that was absurd to see. This was 11 years ago so you have to wonder how many of the guys discrediting Fedor's win over Mirko were truly and passionately watching the sport then. The way Fedor got slammed on his neck by Randleman and reversed him seconds later and submitted him was something that makes me wonder how it would be marketed by the UFC and the machine they use today. Sitting in Nog's guard beating the life out of him when he was basically undefeated and the most feared ground fighter in the world. Swatting Arlovski out of the sky in the first round on Arlovski's best day. Beating Tim Sylvia as if he was a jobber bum in 30 seconds back when the UFC stans were saying that Fedor was ducking them.
Fedor's aura, his stonecold demeanor, his kindness, his humble attitude and respect for himself, other fighters and the sport in general. His degenerate Russian Mafia affiliated brother made him even more mysterious and people who saw him fight couldn't help but want to know more. All of these things make me wonder how it would have been if the UFC was the top dog org back then and Fedor singed with them in the early 2000s instead of Pride FC. How would they market him. How would they sell him. What his image would turn into with their machine put behind him.
When you think about it, everything about Fedor was unique and it was unique on its own with no major marketing machine fueling that. It derived from this buzz generated in a very niche market as opposed to the mainstream market the UFC operates in today. Pride didn't spend millions of marketing dollars on developing Fedor's star. They didn't shoot multi million dollar promos for him like the UFC did for Conor and Aldo. No Joe Rogan powered hypemachines where he sits in that dark room and tells millions of viewers that Ronda is a once in a lifetime fighter and telling them that she can beat up half of bantamweight MEN. Fedor wasnt from the twitter era where fighters had fake beefs to hype fights artificially and his content and likeness had a platform to generate instant followers by the masses.
Fedor had a self built mystique that wasn't force fed to the fans. His hype was as organic as it gets. Had the UFC been the top organization in the world when Fedor started fighting and signed with them instead of Pride FC, he would have had his run THERE and would have been one of if not the most beloved and decorated champions in UFC history with all of the hype, money and effort put into him as the UFC puts into hypejobs like Ronda and Sage Northcutt. Only with Fedor it would have been REAL. But he never fought in the UFC so the UFC used that same marketing and brand power to smear his name, image and accomplishments to where you have nerds on sherdog calling him "overrated" I think its truly amazing what he was able to build without that machine behind him when in reality that machine was in front of him. Smearing him with all its might.
The Real Fans know who the KING is. The real GOAT of mixfight. The Babe Ruth of our sport. It would be insane how iconic he would have been if he was in the UFC during his run. But for that the UFC would have to be the top fighting organization at that point which they werent.
WAR the GOAT,
Fedor Emelianenko.
