Issue 123
December 2014
This New Year’s Eve witnesses the 10-year anniversary of the night Fedor Emelianenko solidified his status as the greatest heavyweight in mixed martial arts history. On December 31st 2004, ‘The Last Emperor’ put on a masterclass against his biggest rival, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, to become the undisputed Pride heavyweight champion and extend a winning streak that would turn him into an MMA icon.
NICK PEET
Fighters Only editor celebrates the defining moment in the career of Pride’s premier heavyweight champion
By combining his Pride world title belt with the 2004 Pride Heavyweight Grand Prix crown, the sambo exponent from Stary Oskol, Russia, became a global fight sports superstar. It wasn’t just the magnitude of his success against a man seen as his equal, but the manner of the performance that made the main event inside the Saitama Super Arena in Tokyo, Japan, so special.
Sure, the sport continues to evolve and there is a strong argument for current UFC champion Cain Velasquez to be considered the best heavyweight ever in terms of talent, but Fedor dominated for a decade in what was the toughest ring in the sport. He didn’t lose a single fight under the Pride banner, and was perhaps the first-ever true, all-round mixed martial artist heavyweight.
The videos on UFC Fight Pass don’t quite do justice to the magnitude of the event, now a decade old, but make no mistake, the 2004 Pride Grand Prix was a huge deal. It featured the most accomplished heavyweights in the world at the time and the two left standing for the finale were the number one and two ranked 205lb-plus warriors on the planet.
The main event fight of Shockwave 2004 actually started the previous August, only for an accidental Nogueira headbutt to force the original matchup to be canceled and postponed until the year’s end.
With the scene set in the most dramatic fashion, the planet’s very best came together once more as the closing minutes ticked down on 2004. In true Pride fashion, the card had already produced plenty of action, long before the planet’s premier heavyweights stepped into the ring.
US Wrestling Olympic gold medalist Rulon Gardner won his sole MMA contest early on the card before Takanori Gomi knocked out Jens Pulver in a brutal battle for the ages between elite lightweights. Wanderlei Silva suffered the first loss of his incredible Pride career when the judges scored in favor of late-replacement Mark Hunt, and Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ confirmed his status as the next heavyweight contender when he submitted Kevin Randleman in 41 seconds.
But, of course, that was all fodder compared to the main event and nearly 48,400 fans inside the Saitama Super Arena held their breath. With the victorious Cro Cop ringside, the two leading heavyweights on the planet collided. Yet, ultimately, it proved to be man against boy.
Fedor’s electric jab, slick trips and powerful takedowns, his rapid-fire overhand right, calling-card stomps and soccer kicks set him apart from Big Nog. Miles apart. Young, fresh and relentless himself, Nogueira got to prove he had the chin of a champion. But this was an Emelianenko masterclass, and like the Japanese audience, the Brazilian was basically a spectator – albeit one taking shots to the chin!
The commentary team, including two former UFC heavyweight champions in Bas Rutten and Randy Couture, were often lost for words as they admired the Russian’s endeavors. At times, Emelianenko floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee, not too dissimilar to the sweet science’s own greatest of all time (GOAT) Muhammad Ali.
Fedor had it all this night. Phenomenal footwork, laser-like strike accuracy; he bounced around creating angles then loaded up his punches with the accuracy of a fencer, yet the power of a lumberjack. His submission defense was ridiculous. He shrugged off countless armbar and triangle attempts from Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Nogueira like he was a white belt novice and continued to hammer him over and over again.
Some fans attest this was Fedor at his irrefutable best, while many others may point to countless other performances of skill, technique and guile as their favorite moments in the career of The Last Emperor. What can’t be denied is December 31st 2004 was his coronation.
Today, almost a decade on, the debate rages between MMA fans old and new regarding the validity of Fedor’s heavyweight GOAT moniker. But regardless of his standing over the course of time, back when the clock rang in the year 2005, MMA had only one, true heavyweight champion of the world, and his name was Fedor Emelianenko.
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