Emelianenko ended his sports career defeated

The last emperor, as Fedor is respectfully called by his fans, rivals and all the monasteries of mixed martial arts, ended his career twice, but returned each time. As you know, God loves the trinity, and Emelianenko loves God – which he reminds of every time in his few interviews.

The modesty and closed lifestyle of Fedor made him the idol of millions. Fans (and even rivals) respect the 46-year-old fighter so much that for the last five years they have been begging him to end his career. The former strength is gone, defeats and injuries have come, the time has come.

The farewell fight of Emelianenko was organized for almost two years. They were looking for an opponent and the opportunity to fight in Russia – in front of people who for 20 years woke up early on Saturday or Sunday mornings to watch Fedor fights in Japan and America. Bellator President Scott Cocker dreamed of a farewell fight for the Russian on Red Square, but… no luck.

The Last Emperor will fight his last fight in Inglewood, a city in the southwest of the American district of Los Angeles. Which, by the way, Emelianenko himself does not regret.

“Did it upset me that the farewell fight would not take place in Russia? No, I’m not at all worried. We have already fought at home. In principle, it turned out the way Scott Cocker planned: for Japanese fans to watch my departure, Russian and America.

Line of rivals

Many eminent veterans, such as Junior dos Santos and Alistair Overeem, wanted to lead the last fight, ending Emelianenko’s career. But Fedor’s plans have long been revenge on Ryan Bader, an American who almost ingloriously sent the Russian to retirement four years ago. The fight in January 2019 did not last even a minute: in the 36th second, Bader knocked out Fedor in the final of the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix. Then it seemed that this was all, if you do not know some details.

A few days before the fight, Fedor had a high temperature, the athlete’s coach Alexander Michkov even offered him to withdraw, but he did not. Soon after that deafening defeat, Emelianenko will return to the winning path: in December 2019 he will knock out Quinton Jackson, and in October 2021 he will be stronger than Timothy Johnson.

Bader, on the other hand, will lose the light heavyweight title to Vadim Nemkov, Fedor’s student. But he will keep the belt in the heavyweight, which will be at stake in the farewell fight of Emelianenko.

“It is an honor for me that I will fight against Fedor for the last fight of his career. Fedor Emelianenko is a legendary man in our sport and we have already fought once. Now he wants to take revenge from me, I understand his motivation. I’m sure the whole world will watch our fight, ”TASS quoted the American as saying.

Honorary farewell

Of course, we all knew that Fedor was not in the best shape. And yet they hoped for a miracle – they wanted to keep the last battle of the legend in their memory. Moreover, the Emperor ended 4 of the last five fights with knockouts.

Alas…

The second fight between Emelianenko and Bader turned out to be as short-lived as the first meeting on January 26, 2019. Then Fedor went to a knockout in the 35th second of the fight, this time the referee Herb Dean also stopped the fight in the middle of the first round.

From the first seconds, everything went wrong for Fedor – the signature blow from the swing did not reach the target, but Bader immediately broke the Russian’s nose. Then he began to beat the Russian severely in the stalls. And the patience of the referee, as well as the fans, is over. The fight was stopped, Fedor’s career was over.

“On the one hand, I am sad that I could not please you, friends, on the other hand, I am glad that you were rooting for me, I am glad that my friends, fighters with whom we have competed all these years, have gathered here today. I am very glad to see you dear, thank you. I will be with the guys, I will be with the team, I think these people understand me like no one else, they are about my age. I’m done, thanks to everyone,” Fedor said after the fight.

Immediately after the fight, MMA legends gathered in the octagon: Mark Coleman, Dan Henderson, Quinton Jackson, Chael Sonnen, Randy Couture, Renzo Gracie, Royce Gracie, Matt Hughes, Chuck Liddell and Frank Shamrock. They all went to the center of the ring to pay their respects to the Last Emperor. Four-time world champion in mixed martial arts – heavyweight MMA according to Pride FC, two-time according to RINGS, two-time according to WAMMA, four-time world champion and nine-time champion of Russia in combat sambo. One of the best fighters in the history of mixed martial arts.

Everyone loves Fedor, and there is a reason for that: the 46-year-old Russian had 48 fights in his career and was defeated in only seven. Of these, twice from Ryan Bader, who also saluted the Russian after the fight.

“Bittersweet feeling from this victory, because I idolized Fedor, like all MMA fans. First of all, give him his due, stand up and applaud. I just had to do my job today. I’m glad that I had a chance to compete with Fedor twice, it’s not about defeating him, I don’t care at all, the point is that I managed to share the cage with such a legend twice. I am glad that I became a part of this story, ”Bader admitted.

“I am very proud of what Fedor did. He has proven a lot in his career. At this age, entering the ring is worth a lot. Incredible respect for Emelianenko, as it was, remains, no matter that he lost to a younger and better trained fighter, ”Kostya Tszyu said for Match TV.

Emelianenko himself, despite the defeat, met the end of his career with a smile on his face and thanked his colleagues in the shop for their support. He did not forget about his fans.

“I would like to be remembered as a believer. I accept both wins and losses. I saw today that the whole hall was rooting for me. I hope that I deserved such a reaction from this audience with my performance. I’m done, thanks everyone.

On the one hand, I am sorry that I could not please you. On the other hand, I’m glad that you were rooting for me. The fighters who have been with me for decades have gathered here. Now I will train young guys,” said the Last Emperor after his last fight.

The failed return of Roman Pavlyuchenko

While Fedor Emelianenko was preparing for his last fight, other news broke the hearts of football fans.

Late on the evening of February 1, the RUMIT telegram channel reported that Roman Pavlyuchenko was negotiating with the management of Ufa, which plays in the First Division this season, about a possible resumption of his career. The initiator of the negotiation process between Ufa and the 41-year-old ex-forward of the Russian national team was his agent, the former sports director of Dynamo Moscow, Roman Oreshuk. At the same time, he allegedly asked for an additional bonus for the fact that Olga Buzova herself was signed to Pavlyuchenko’s account on social networks.

The well-known sports journalist Ivan Karpov, for his part, added that Pavlyuchenko was ready to resume his football career for the sake of the 200th goal for the clubs. “We really talked with the general director of Ufa Shamil Gazizov, whom I deeply respect, on this topic. I would like to thank him for the offer. I really want to resume my career, help Ufa get further in the Russian Cup, plus satisfy my own ambitions and score my 200th goal at the club level.

We are friends with Buzova and, if everything goes well, I will definitely resolve the issue with her so that she asks her 22 million subscribers to support me. Of course, everyone will not get to the stadium, but I guarantee a full house at the game, and the rest will cheer on TVs. Well, about the agency that we are creating with Oreshchuk, it’s also true, ”Karpov Pavlyuchenko quoted.

On February 2, the Sleeping Giant, as Roman was jokingly called at one time by fans and some football experts, really came to the training camp for Ufa in Turkey. I looked at the training of the Ufa residents, drank tea and … decided not to tempt fate.

“Refused for various reasons. Yes, it’s good to play, but still this is the Russian Cup, a serious match. You have to be in good shape, but there is not much time to prepare and help the team, even if it is for 20, 30 minutes, for a half. I didn’t play for a long time, I didn’t train, ”Pavlyuchenko explained his decision to RIA Novosti, thanking Gazizov for the opportunity. And adding that he would soon open a football agency with Roman Oreshchuk.

It would seem that there is more to add here. For two days we lived with the thought of seeing Roman on the field again. But he soberly assessed his strength. In order not to look as sad as the Last Emperor in his last duel.

Ballerina and “Banner”

For some reason, many laughed at Pavlyuchenko, but for me he has always been one of the main characters of our football at the beginning of the 21st century.

Before the start of EURO 2008, I arrived in the Austrian village of Maria Alm, which is located near Leogang, where the Russian team lived during the group stage of the tournament. I arrived in advance to explore all the surroundings and pamper readers with reports from the Austrian hinterland. For the first training session of our team, I specially walked between the endless fields, inhaling the smell of fresh cow dung.

Near a small village stadium, seeing my press accreditation, two Russian fans approached me with scarves from Volgograd Rotor around their necks. And they were taken aback by an unexpected question – do I know how their Ballerina is doing? Indeed, a couple of days before the first training session, almost all Russian journalists were near the local Krallerhoff hotel, where local authorities, the public and school students arranged a magnificent meeting for our team.

– And who is the Ballerina? I, in turn, asked them in surprise.

– This is our Romochka Pavlyuchenko. When he played for our “Rotor”, he weaved such patterns on the field with his thin legs that we called him the Ballerina, – the brave Volgograd guys answered me with pride. And there was no mockery in their voices, only love and pride.

Since then, Pavlyuchenko has remained for me a Ballerina, each time arranging a real performance on the field. The last time I saw him live was in 2021, when the Noginsk “Znamya” came to visit the Orekhovo-Zuevsky “Banner of Labor”.

The match was held at the same as in Leogang, a small atmospheric stadium. Numerous local fans, watching Pavlyuchenko, Yanbaev and Yeshchenko play against their favorites, spoiled themselves with beer and roach. And it was real football. The same as on October 17, 2007 at Luzhniki, when Roma scored two goals against England.

In the Noginsk “Banner” in October 2022, Pavlyuchenko ended his career. Doing without knockouts in his “octagon”. And his return after that would be superfluous.