Post by Wolf Hawkfield no1 NZ poster on Jun 22, 2012 3:19:54 GMT -5
Fedor Emelianenko retires following knockout of Pedro Rizzo
by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Jun 21, 2012 at 10:10 pm ET
One of the greatest mixed martial artists in the history of the sport is hanging up his gloves.
HDNet's Ron Kruck on Thursday confirmed Fedor Emelianenko is retiring following a knockout of Pedro Rizzo at "M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Rizzo," which took place Thursday at Ice Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia.
The 35-year-old Emelianenko leaves the sport with an overall 34-4 record in 12 years of professional competition.
The former PRIDE heavyweight champion left Rizzo in a heap just 84 seconds into their headlining bout. It was his third straight win since a knockout loss to Dan Henderson prompted his release from Zuffa-owned Strikeforce. His overall record in the promotion was 1-3.
After the Henderson loss, Emelianenko (34-4) migrated back to his native Russia, where he outpointed UFC veteran Jeff Monson over three lackluster rounds. He then fought in Japan, where he first became a star under the now-defunct PRIDE, earning a first-round KO of Satoshi Ishii in a 2011 New Year's Eve card co-promoted by his management company M-1 Global, DREAM and Inoki Genome Federation.
Following Thursday's knockout, Emelianenko was joined in the ring by his wife and daughter, as well as his trainers and managers. Russian president Vladimir Putin, who watched the event ringside, also paid his respects.
Emelianenko ruled top-10 rankings for more than a half-decade as he went virtually unbeaten in almost 10 years of competition.
A native of Stary Oskol, Russia, he found his way into the sport through the Russian martial art of Sambo. He made his PRIDE debut in 2002 and established himself as a dominant force after winning the heavyweight title from Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in 2003. He defended the title twice in addition to winning the 2004 PRIDE Heavyweight Grand Prix, racking up iconic wins over former UFC champs Mark Coleman and Kevin Randleman as well as Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic.
Emelianenko was aggressively courted by the UFC in 2009 following the collapse of Affliction's short-lived fight promotion and was reportedly offered a multi-million dollar contract. He and his representatives turned down the deal, citing the unwillingness of the industry-leading UFC to co-promote, among other concerns.
Strikeforce soon after acquired Emelianenko, and he fought three times for the promotion before Zuffa purchased it in March 2011. Following his loss to Henderson, he was released from his contract by Zuffa. UFC president Dana White repeatedly took shots at the heavyweight in the press for his decision not to sign with the UFC.
A report issued by Russian news outlet RIA Novosti quoted Emelianenko on his retirement: "My family influenced my decision. My daughters are growing without me, (and) that's why it's time to leave."
by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Jun 21, 2012 at 10:10 pm ET
One of the greatest mixed martial artists in the history of the sport is hanging up his gloves.
HDNet's Ron Kruck on Thursday confirmed Fedor Emelianenko is retiring following a knockout of Pedro Rizzo at "M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Rizzo," which took place Thursday at Ice Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia.
The 35-year-old Emelianenko leaves the sport with an overall 34-4 record in 12 years of professional competition.
The former PRIDE heavyweight champion left Rizzo in a heap just 84 seconds into their headlining bout. It was his third straight win since a knockout loss to Dan Henderson prompted his release from Zuffa-owned Strikeforce. His overall record in the promotion was 1-3.
After the Henderson loss, Emelianenko (34-4) migrated back to his native Russia, where he outpointed UFC veteran Jeff Monson over three lackluster rounds. He then fought in Japan, where he first became a star under the now-defunct PRIDE, earning a first-round KO of Satoshi Ishii in a 2011 New Year's Eve card co-promoted by his management company M-1 Global, DREAM and Inoki Genome Federation.
Following Thursday's knockout, Emelianenko was joined in the ring by his wife and daughter, as well as his trainers and managers. Russian president Vladimir Putin, who watched the event ringside, also paid his respects.
Emelianenko ruled top-10 rankings for more than a half-decade as he went virtually unbeaten in almost 10 years of competition.
A native of Stary Oskol, Russia, he found his way into the sport through the Russian martial art of Sambo. He made his PRIDE debut in 2002 and established himself as a dominant force after winning the heavyweight title from Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in 2003. He defended the title twice in addition to winning the 2004 PRIDE Heavyweight Grand Prix, racking up iconic wins over former UFC champs Mark Coleman and Kevin Randleman as well as Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic.
Emelianenko was aggressively courted by the UFC in 2009 following the collapse of Affliction's short-lived fight promotion and was reportedly offered a multi-million dollar contract. He and his representatives turned down the deal, citing the unwillingness of the industry-leading UFC to co-promote, among other concerns.
Strikeforce soon after acquired Emelianenko, and he fought three times for the promotion before Zuffa purchased it in March 2011. Following his loss to Henderson, he was released from his contract by Zuffa. UFC president Dana White repeatedly took shots at the heavyweight in the press for his decision not to sign with the UFC.
A report issued by Russian news outlet RIA Novosti quoted Emelianenko on his retirement: "My family influenced my decision. My daughters are growing without me, (and) that's why it's time to leave."
While I am disappointing that he never fought in the UFC, avenged any of his recent loses or even that dream fight between him Brock never came about. But still good on him for quitting on his own terms and not winding up as another washed up fighter who didn't know when to quit.
Oh The Last Emperor we salute you.
helped $lim jinx NXT. Woops
