Issue 093

October 2012

To commemorate the retirement of ‘The Last Emperor’, FO looks back on the night Fedor Emelianenko tamed ‘The Monster’ to prove he was so much more than an everyday man

In the center of the ring the two combatants receive their final instructions. Kevin Randleman stares intently. The former UFC heavyweight champion looks amped. His foe does not meet his gaze, preferring to look down. But, despite ‘The Monster’s huge frame, this is not through fear. This is just the calm, verging on serene, demeanor of a man with total confidence. This is the Fedor Emelianenko way.

The excited 43,711 crowd inside the Saitama Super Arena has already been royally entertained by an outstanding set of fights on the Pride Critical Countdown 2004 card, but the main event was the one they had been waiting for. Apart from a controversial cut stoppage early in his career, Emelianenko was unbeaten. Since joining Pride, he had overcome stars like Heath Herring, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Mark Coleman, picking up the promotion’s heavyweight belt along the way. 

Coleman was in the opposite corner once again, this time backing up his Hammer House teammate. Randleman was coming into the fight on a high; fresh from dropping Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ with a left hook then pounding him out on the ground. This evening, there is a real buzz that, with his explosive style and athleticism, Randleman could be the man to dethrone the Russian. 

Early in the fight, both men are reluctant to engage. Randleman is all nervous energy, quickstepping and jerkily feinting while Fedor steps and slides with his hands held high. Eventually, the two-time NCAA wrestling champ reverts to type. He shoots in and takes Fedor down. After a few seconds, Fedor struggles to his feet, rashly giving up his back to the American.

What happens next became one of the defining moments of mixed martial arts in the noughties. Randleman wraps his arms around the midriff of his opponent and performs an outrageous German suplex. He throws himself and Fedor backwards, sending the pair of them hurtling towards the canvas with ‘The Last Emperor’s head directed to take the full impact. The sound of the crowd sharply inhaling through the hands over their mouths is audible. 

Earlier in the evening, they had seen ‘Rampage’ Jackson power bomb Ricardo Arona unconscious to escape a triangle choke, but this looked altogether more serious. Many feared the worst. After his unscheduled flight and crash landing, it is hard to see how Fedor was going to come away from this without incurring severe damage. 

Randleman seemed to share this view. He found himself on top in north-south position. As his mentor Coleman had demonstrated in his 2000 grand prix triumph, this was the ideal situation for a wrestler in Pride as the rule set allowed for knees to the head on the ground. Instead of unleashing this lethal weapon, however, Randleman hesitated, seemingly wary of inflicting further harm. Apparently, the only person in the arena who was not traumatized by the suplex was the victim. 

Seconds later, Emelianenko was on top, raining down left hands on Randleman’s skull. In an attempt to shield himself from the onslaught, the man under pressure released his grip and tried to block the shots with his left arm. Fedor grabbed the limb, clinically applied a kimura and that was all she wrote. The referee stopped the fight just one minute 33 seconds into the opening round.

That night, June 20th 2004, was the turning point for Fedor. Before then, he’d already received some sort of acclaim, but the manner of this victory turned him into a superhero. As all around him broke out into wild celebration, and with Randleman holding his head in his hands slumped on the canvas, Fedor was a picture of tranquility, with just a suggestion of a smile on his lips. The comeback he’d pulled off defied belief. 

From that point, he was indestructible. His believed immortality became an article of faith for MMA followers around the globe.

As long as Pride existed, he reigned supreme, seeing off all challengers and delivering mega matchups against Nogueira and Cro Cop. Even amid the screaming and bright lights, the easy charisma of the champion shone through. Fedor Emelianenko was the greatest. Post Pride, inactivity and some dubious opponents led some to question his credentials. To a large proportion of the new breed of MMA followers, anyone who was competing outside the UFC was considered second best. When Fedor demolished Tim Sylvia and Andre Arlovski on Affliction cards, the Pride-for-lifers felt vindicated. 

The subsequent Strikeforce defeats and his descent into normality should not tarnish the memories. For all those who were raised on Pride, Fedor remains an icon. He’s the easygoing everyman, who saw off every challenger foolish enough to step into the ring against him. 

The record may be blemished now, and the haters have ammunition to attack his legacy, but it doesn’t matter. Those devotees who witnessed the resurrection against Randleman know in their hearts that Fedor truly was something special.