INGLEWOOD, California. — Fedor Emelianenko lost his last mixed martial arts fight on Saturday night when Ryan Bader stopped him midway through the first round with a relentless ground-and-pound finish at Bellator 290.
Emelianenko, 46, says the fight marks the end of a fabulous 23-year MMA career, and he ceremoniously put his gloves in the cage in the well-known martial arts gesture of a retreating fighter.
The much-loved Russian MMA pioneer is one of the most compelling fighters in the sport’s fledgling history, and the audience at the forum stood firmly behind an all-time favorite known as ‘The Last Emperor’.
That reverence didn’t help as Bader defended his heavyweight title by becoming the only fighter to defeat Emelianenko twice.
Bader knocked Emelianenko down with a punch that caught him in the back of the head a minute into the opening round. Bader quickly pounced on Emelianenko and wouldn’t let go, gradually hammering his cover with dozens of punches until the referee stopped the punishment 2:30 into the round.
“On the one hand, I’m sad that I didn’t deliver the fight the way I wanted,” Emelianenko said through a translator. “But on the other hand, I’m so happy that all these fans and all these experienced fighters are here and cheering me on.”
Emelianenko began his MMA career in 2000 after serving in the Russian Army, and he quickly earned a reputation as a hailed underground talent in a sport that at the time still felt like a countercultural phenomenon.
The slightly chubby, slightly undersized heavyweight, improbably, recorded a long string of spectacular knockouts and submissions while vying for Pride promotion in Japan. He caught mainstream attention when he began fighting in the States in 2008 while retaining the deadpan seriousness and violent talents that made him such a favorite.
Emelianenko famously refused to fight for the UFC and avoided the world’s most powerful promotion to maintain his independence, both promotionally and financially. He retired in 2012 before returning to steady MMA success in 2015.
His first fight with Bader was a notable exception: four years ago, Bader knocked out Emelianenko with a massive left hook in just 35 seconds at the Forum last weekend. Emelianenko had only fought twice since then and only once since the start of the coronavirus pandemic – yet he insisted on retiring his career against Bader, the veteran heavyweight champion.
Bader, 39, realized he would be the villain with a win over Emelianenko and expressed his admiration for the Russian pioneer as he geared up for his third title defense.
Bellator 290 marked the promotion’s debut on CBS in the network’s latest dalliance with MMA. Both CBS and Bellator are owned by Paramount Global, which airs the main three-fight card worldwide.
In the penultimate fight of the main card, Johnny Eblen retained his Bellator welterweight title with a dominant decision victory over Anatoly Tokov, one of Emelianenko’s protégés in Russia.
Emelianenko says he’s done fighting but not done with MMA: he plans to renew his commitment to help Tokov and other fighters studying at his camp.
“I will devote my time to my coaching and my team,” he said.
___
AP Sport: https://apnews.com/hub/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, transcribed or redistributed without permission.
