Within the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) arena, there are two names, which commonly crop up in most discussions – Fedor Emelianenko and Randy Couture. These two fighters are widely acknowledged as the most popular fighters of their generation, with Fedor gaining global recognition and formally ranked as the overall top ranked MMA fighter in the world.
Ukrainian Fedor was born in 1976 into a family, which saw all 3 sons involved in MMA at varying levels. He specialized in the martial arts of Sambo, which was a combat style created in the old Soviet Union, and Judo, for which he won medals competing in the national championships of Russia. Despite lacking in natural strength and talent in his early years, Fedor more than made up with his dogged determination to improve and mental strength.
Due to his then financial situation, or lack of it, Fedor entered the MMA industry in 2000. He was just 25 years old then and trained in his formative MMA years as part of the Russian Top Team. This relationship eventually soured after winning the PRIDE Heavyweight title, where he first fought in 2002 at PRIDE 21. At PRIDE 25 in March, 2003, Fedor finally won his first Heavyweight title as a huge underdog against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. It was a unanimous decision and entered Fedor into the history books as only the second ever PRIDE Heavyweight Champion.
Throughout his blossoming MMA career, Fedor has only encountered one professional loss while garnering 27 wins and a single no contest. This happened against Tsuyoshi Kohsaka in 2000, on the back of a controversial incident where the fight was stopped due to an early injury to Fedor. Displaying his famed resolve and unrivaled fighting skills, the Ukrainian has since then remained unbeaten in all fights, including taking his revenge over Kohsaka a few years later in 2005 at PRIDE Bushido 6. His last professional victory came in April 2007 where he defeated Matt Lindland via an armbar submission at the Clash of the Nations BodogFIGHT.
In a display of his single-mindedness, Fedor has refused to join the UFC after its takeover of PRIDE. In protracted negotiations that saw both sides locked in a war of words, Fedor accused UFC President Dana White of hypocrisy. It was also possible that UFC contract demands of exclusive rights to all fighters’ brands and images did not sit well with the 2007 World Combat Sambo Champion. This endeared him further to fans as they looked up to Fedor going up against Dana, whom many felt had continually disrespected MMA fighters. Fedor has since signed to UFC competitor M1-Global, where his next scheduled fight would be on New Year’s Eve in Japan, against the man-giant Korean kick boxer, Hong-Man Choi.
Prior to this development, the UFC had tried to sign Fedor, as part of a bid to pit him against their current Heavyweight Champion, Randy Couture. While Fedor is regarded as the most popular MMA fighter worldwide, Randy Couture is the poster-boy of the UFC. An iconic figure of the organization and the top MMA exponent in the United States, Randy caught the imagination of MMA fans the world over when he captured the UFC Heavyweight title from Tim Sylvia. This came after his return from retirement and was achieved in difficult circumstances owing to his age (Couture was 43 then).
Randy’s legend has also solidified on the back of being the only UFC fighter in history to become a champion after entering its Hall of Fame. Widely regarded to be one of the most popular MMA fighters of all time, Randy has also cemented his fame by being the only UFC fighter to win titles in two different weight divisions, as well as the only person to win five UFC championships.
Randy has all the pre-requisites of an American sports star. He served his country in the U.S. Army, was an Olympic team representative and multiple college All-American. The U.S. fans love their patriots, and Randy Couture is a man many Americans can identify with.
To illustrate his enduring popularity with MMA fans - when Randy Couture announced his resignation from the UFC in October 2007, citing disgust with his treatment by the UFC and lack of justifiable financial reward, many fans leapt to his side. Fans felt that their champion had been dealt a bad hand as he received even less money compared to other UFC contestants such as Chuck Liddell. The UFC also offered Fedor a $10 million contract, which Randy could never hope to receive, even as their champion. His decision to resign has since then, prompted many industry observers to sound the death knell for the UFC.
Both Fedor Emelianenko and Randy Couture display all the characteristics of world-class champions – immense physical and mental resolve, dedication to their discipline, vast inner talent, and the personalities and charisma to match. While one rules the roost in his home country and current hotbed of MMA, the other has reached the pinnacle of the sport globally. The mark of champions burns brightly on both men.
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