Monday, July 21, 2008

"The Last Emperor" Reigns Supreme

*WARNING!: If you haven't watched July 19th's Affliction fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Tim Silvia, the blog post gives away how the fight ends.

After watching UFC and Affliction back to back on Saturday night, I had watched a LOT of fights. There were lots of exciting moments in both, witnessing a tap-out to a Peruvian necktie, a right hand knock-out from a caught kick, but the one man who impressed me most in both events was Fedor "The Last Emperor" Emelianenko.

In his fight against Tim Silvia, he finished it before Silvia even got a punch off. It was over in 36 seconds. Emelianenko went in swinging, heavy hands landing with huge effect. Once Silvia was downed, Emelianenko finished it with a rear naked choke. The fight was unreal. After witnessing his win, as well as vague promises of a showdown between him and Randy Couture, I couldn't help but want to find out more about him.

MMA fighter Fedor Emelianenko has extensively trained in Sambo, Judo, and boxing. When he enters the ring, you wouldn't think of him as the typical pro-fighters. He has the demeanor of a monk as he walks in, without a trace of ego or an iota of showboating. He does not have the ripped abs and cut muscle tone you expect from pro-fighters. He could easily pass for a plumber or construction worker.

Then you watch him fight.

Check out this Pride fight between Fedor Emelianenko and giant Korean MMA fighter Hong Man Choi. There was nearly a foot and a half of height difference between the two. Watch the results:



Then there was the fight between him and Kevin Randleman. He gets suplexed on his head and then well... watch for yourself:



Needless to say, I have a new favourite fighter. :)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lori - This is a great, he certainly out jitsu's the giant Korean. I read your bio. Have you ever been in the ring?

I'll add you to my blogroll this week. Any thoughts on my self-defense questions?

Lori O'Connell said...

Not yet, but soon. My coach is currently arranging for my first fight. He wants to make sure I get a good match-up. Thanks for adding me to your blogroll. :)

CJ Panila said...

Hi. I like Fedor a lot. He's hard-working (in training), very effective in the ring, yet silent and unassuming. He just lets his actions speak for himself.

In both these videos you showed, submissions come very handy especially when you're up against someone who's got an overwhelming strength (e.g., Kevin Randleman) and size (e.g., that Korean behemoth) advantage over you.

Lori O'Connell said...

Knowledge of submissions and good technical application can help minimize the size advantage, however, given equal technical knowledge and application, the larger person is usually the victor on the ground.