On a global scale, there are a handful of one-name celebrities: Obama and Oprah are two that come to mind. In entertainment, there’s Beyonce and Bono. In the world of mixed martial arts, one stands out: Fedor.
One name is all you need, it seems, when you’re recognized for much of your career as the greatest fighter in the sport, when you go nine years and 28 bouts without a loss, when you become the “obsession” of Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White – the one fighter White desperately wanted but couldn’t have.
Fedor Emelianenko, the Russian icon, recently returned to the North American MMA scene – if only for a weekend, if only as an ever-stoic observer – when he appeared as a guest of Bellator MMA, the sport’s No. 2 promotion behind billion-dollar powerhouse UFC.
Emelianenko, now 38 and three years into his retirement, went 1-on-1 with Postmedia News MMA reporter Dave Deibert, through a translator discussing life after fighting, “The Island” and reconnecting with other legends of the sport …
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* Each time Emelianenko makes a public appearance, he unfailingly hears one question more than any other …
“If or when will I be back,” he says with a small laugh. “And the most second-most frequently asked question is, ‘What is the hardest or most memorable fight?’” (The answers: Don’t hold your breath and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, with a hat tip to Mirko Cro Cop.)
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* He’s retired but that doesn’t mean he’s let himself go …
“Of course I still follow the sport. It’s a very big part of my life. Right now even though I’m retired, I still train, I still spar. I advocate the sport of MMA as a sport not just on the professional level but those who are just coming into it.”
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* Bellator, now owned by media conglomerate Viacom, is the most viable competition for UFC since the Emelianenko-led Pride FC in Japan a decade ago. Bellator has recently signed proven ratings draws such as Kimbo Slice, Tito Ortiz, Stephan Bonnar and Quinton Jackson, and attempted to sign the likes of Mirko Cro Cop and Gilbert Melendez. The strategy: draw in casual fans with familiar faces and then expose those viewers to Bellator-bred stars such as Will Brooks, Michael Chandler and Patricio Freire ...
Fedor has been the subject of bidding wars between promotions, and seen head-to-head battles both in Japan and North America. He knows how fighters can profit when there is more than one company bidding for their services.
“It’s very important for competition between companies,” he said.
“It’s highly unlikely for something like (co-promoting) to happen, I feel, primarily due to politics of the sport.”
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* Though he has spent more than half his life competing at the highest levels in MMA, sambo, judo and more, he insists he doesn’t miss fight night …
“I’ve had an extensive, long, colourful career with a lot of highs and lows. I do still enjoy watching the sport and, of course, I support them very much.”
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* Emelianenko was a top draw in the Pride, Affliction and Strikeforce promotions but never competed in UFC. He came close on two occasions ...
In 2012, he was eyeing an end to his retirement for a bout versus former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar in what would have been Lesnar’s return to UFC from World Wrestling Entertainment. The match – expected to have taken place at the 100,000-seat AT&T Stadium in Dallas – fell through after Emelianenko’s father died, and Emelianenko has yet to compete again. Prior to that, in 2009 White and Fertitta were among the UFC officials who met with Emelianenko and manager Vadim Finkelstein near Venezuela, on what has become known in the business simply as “The Island.” White, time and again, refers to Finkelstein as “Vadummy” for turning down what White said was so much money, “it didn’t make sense” from UFC’s perspective to offer such a contract to face then-champion Lesnar. Emelianenko says he has no regrets.
“Dana White invited me to fight for UFC,” says Emelianenko. “But he wanted me on his terms only.”
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* Emelianenko limits his public appearances. He travelled to a recent Bellator card because of his friendship with company president Scott Coker …
“He invited me and I’m here to support his beginnings with Bellator. I know they show Bellator on Russian TV back home, which is one of the reasons why I’m very familiar with the Russian fighters who are currently fighting, who are currently participating in Bellator fights.”
It was also tough to say no to a holiday in one of the world’s most famous cities.
“Another reason is to come visit New York.”
-----
* Emelianenko was joined by fellow MMA legends Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz during his Bellator appearance. Though they have nearly 100 MMA wins between them, generated tens of millions of dollars in live gates and headlined cards from Japan to Brazil, Las Vegas to Russia, Emelianenko tries not to talk about the business during such get-togethers …
“When we meet by chance or by choice, we don’t generally tend to reminisce about the past. The past is in the past. Right now is the future. We’ll talk about the families, inquire if everything is fine, exchange pleasantries.
“Other than the sport itself, there is so much more to life. Because we spent so many years in the sport, I feel like time’s better spent talking about other stuff in life than just the sport itself.”
One name is all you need, it seems, when you’re recognized for much of your career as the greatest fighter in the sport, when you go nine years and 28 bouts without a loss, when you become the “obsession” of Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White – the one fighter White desperately wanted but couldn’t have.
Fedor Emelianenko, the Russian icon, recently returned to the North American MMA scene – if only for a weekend, if only as an ever-stoic observer – when he appeared as a guest of Bellator MMA, the sport’s No. 2 promotion behind billion-dollar powerhouse UFC.
Emelianenko, now 38 and three years into his retirement, went 1-on-1 with Postmedia News MMA reporter Dave Deibert, through a translator discussing life after fighting, “The Island” and reconnecting with other legends of the sport …
-----
* Each time Emelianenko makes a public appearance, he unfailingly hears one question more than any other …
“If or when will I be back,” he says with a small laugh. “And the most second-most frequently asked question is, ‘What is the hardest or most memorable fight?’” (The answers: Don’t hold your breath and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, with a hat tip to Mirko Cro Cop.)
-----
* He’s retired but that doesn’t mean he’s let himself go …
“Of course I still follow the sport. It’s a very big part of my life. Right now even though I’m retired, I still train, I still spar. I advocate the sport of MMA as a sport not just on the professional level but those who are just coming into it.”
-----
* Bellator, now owned by media conglomerate Viacom, is the most viable competition for UFC since the Emelianenko-led Pride FC in Japan a decade ago. Bellator has recently signed proven ratings draws such as Kimbo Slice, Tito Ortiz, Stephan Bonnar and Quinton Jackson, and attempted to sign the likes of Mirko Cro Cop and Gilbert Melendez. The strategy: draw in casual fans with familiar faces and then expose those viewers to Bellator-bred stars such as Will Brooks, Michael Chandler and Patricio Freire ...
Fedor has been the subject of bidding wars between promotions, and seen head-to-head battles both in Japan and North America. He knows how fighters can profit when there is more than one company bidding for their services.
“It’s very important for competition between companies,” he said.
“It’s highly unlikely for something like (co-promoting) to happen, I feel, primarily due to politics of the sport.”
-----
* Though he has spent more than half his life competing at the highest levels in MMA, sambo, judo and more, he insists he doesn’t miss fight night …
“I’ve had an extensive, long, colourful career with a lot of highs and lows. I do still enjoy watching the sport and, of course, I support them very much.”
-----
* Emelianenko was a top draw in the Pride, Affliction and Strikeforce promotions but never competed in UFC. He came close on two occasions ...
In 2012, he was eyeing an end to his retirement for a bout versus former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar in what would have been Lesnar’s return to UFC from World Wrestling Entertainment. The match – expected to have taken place at the 100,000-seat AT&T Stadium in Dallas – fell through after Emelianenko’s father died, and Emelianenko has yet to compete again. Prior to that, in 2009 White and Fertitta were among the UFC officials who met with Emelianenko and manager Vadim Finkelstein near Venezuela, on what has become known in the business simply as “The Island.” White, time and again, refers to Finkelstein as “Vadummy” for turning down what White said was so much money, “it didn’t make sense” from UFC’s perspective to offer such a contract to face then-champion Lesnar. Emelianenko says he has no regrets.
“Dana White invited me to fight for UFC,” says Emelianenko. “But he wanted me on his terms only.”
-----
* Emelianenko limits his public appearances. He travelled to a recent Bellator card because of his friendship with company president Scott Coker …
“He invited me and I’m here to support his beginnings with Bellator. I know they show Bellator on Russian TV back home, which is one of the reasons why I’m very familiar with the Russian fighters who are currently fighting, who are currently participating in Bellator fights.”
It was also tough to say no to a holiday in one of the world’s most famous cities.
“Another reason is to come visit New York.”
-----
* Emelianenko was joined by fellow MMA legends Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz during his Bellator appearance. Though they have nearly 100 MMA wins between them, generated tens of millions of dollars in live gates and headlined cards from Japan to Brazil, Las Vegas to Russia, Emelianenko tries not to talk about the business during such get-togethers …
“When we meet by chance or by choice, we don’t generally tend to reminisce about the past. The past is in the past. Right now is the future. We’ll talk about the families, inquire if everything is fine, exchange pleasantries.
“Other than the sport itself, there is so much more to life. Because we spent so many years in the sport, I feel like time’s better spent talking about other stuff in life than just the sport itself.”
