After 39 professional MMA fights Fedor Emelianenko is calling it quits.
The 35 year old Russian fighter will go out on top, defeating Pedro Rizzo via KO (punches) just 1:24 into round one at M-1 Global Challenge in St. Petersburg, Russia.
According to Yahoo Sports:
“I think it is time I quit,” Emelianenko said, according to a report by the Russian News & Information Agency RIA Novosti.
“My family influenced my decision. My daughters are growing without me, that’s why it’s time to leave.”
Emelianenko, 35, also apparently said that there are no “fantastic offers” that could tempt him out of retirement, specifically mentioning that even exacting revenge on Fabricio Werdum was not of great importance to him.
Russian president Vladimir Putin was in attendance at Fedor’s final fight, getting up in the ring afterwards to congratulate him.
“I want to congratulate Fedor and thank him from all of us, martial arts fans,” Putin said; according to Russian news site RT.com. “It is because of him this sport became so popular in our country.”
Even though his win over Rizzo was his 3rd in a row, the man known as “The Last Emperor” hadn’t had a “good” win since his come from behind victory over Brett Rodgers back in 2009.
To say that it’s the end of an era would be an understantment. He was considered by many as the fighter of the decade from 2000-2009. He was the cream of the crop in the Pride Heavyweight division, at a time when many of the better heavyweights fought for the Japanese promotion.
And though Fedor leaves a Legacy that won’t soon be forgotten, but he is not without his detractors. There are some who don’t think Fedor ever fought the cream of the heavyweight crop in the UFC and that because of this he can never really be considered the best heavyweight ever.
To them I say, get over it.
Like him or not, Fedor was the man. The thing I liked most about Fedor is that he wasn’t flashy. His style, though devastating, was a lot like his body: deceptively powerful yet understated.
He was as cool as the come in a fight and even when he was at his best, he never got too full of himself. The same could be true when he was losing, he never got too emotional.
There was something greatly average about him that Joe Shmo could relate to; not his skills mind you,those were other worldly, I’m speaking more about the way he looked and acted (in and out of the cage). He never got full of himself, but even if he had nobody would have blamed him.
Long live the legacy of The Last Emperor.
