Scouting Report: Prime Fedor Emelianenko

Fedor Emelianenko

Born: September 28, 1976 (Age: 45) in Rubizhne, Soviet Union
Division: Heavyweight
Height: 6’0”
Reach: 76”
Record: 40-6
Association: Alexander Nevsky

Summary: Emelianenko at the height of his power was a seemingly unbeatable force. He developed a highly unique, dangerous and risky striking game that focused on knockout punches and was predicated on his incredible speed and considerable power. However, it also left him vulnerable to return fire. He took advantage of any area in which an opponent was deficient. Against strikers, he would repeatedly take the fight to the floor with upper-body takedowns, then unleash his devastating, legendary ground-and-pound, along with an array of dangerous submissions. Against wrestlers, he would get back up with ease thanks to his great hips and could also submit his counterparts with armbars and various other upper-limb attacks. Emelianenko’s incredible competitive will, sturdy chin, recuperative ability, excellent cardio and outstanding intelligence turned many losing fights into victories, even when opponents capitalized on openings.

STRIKING

• Stance: Orthodox.
• Hand Speed: Incredibly fast for a heavyweight, perhaps the best in the world for the weight class.
• Jab: Rarely uses it. He utilizes the basic mechanics, but it is more telegraphed than his other punches and with less reward. His speed makes up for a lot of the deficiencies.
• Cross: Decent when he throws it, with good fundamentals and considerable power.
• Left Hook: A tightly arced punch into which he really throws his body, with tremendous speed and power.
• Right Hook: Carries similar properties to the left hook but with even more power.
• Overhand Right: Largely introduced the “casting punch” to MMA—a unique type of shot that only works due to Emelianenko’s tremendous speed and power, as it is otherwise risky and telegraphed.
• Solitary Striker or Volume Puncher: Throws furious punches in bunches when the opportunity rises. • Favorite Combinations: Loves throwing a hook with one hand, then a hook from the other—in either order. Also favors throwing the casting punch, then following it up with a hook from either side.
• Leg Kicks: Does not throw them often, but when he does, he does so with power, average speed and technique.
• Body Kicks: Chained fluidly to his punches, with significant power and slightly above-average speed.
• Head kicks: Never thrown one in a fight.
• Chains Kicks to Punches: Occasionally.

Emelianenko’s striking is utterly unique to him and highly effective. He eschews jabs and leg kicks for power punches that are capable of knocking out his opponent. Emelianenko owns the thump and the blazing hand speed—the best in the heavyweight division at his peak—necessary to make it all work. He introduced the “casting punch” to MMA, using a unique type of overhand right through which he flings his entire body forward with reckless abandon in hopes of finding the chin. While risky and telegraphed, it became a dangerous weapon thanks to his aforementioned speed and power. Emelianenko throws punches in bunches, too, meaning an opponent has to anticipate any combination of hooks and the casting punch. He has more power in his right hand, but his left has also felled a number of unsuspecting counterparts. “The Last Emperor” uses his legs far less often now, but in his heyday, his body kick was both powerful and effective. He has always been vulnerable defensively due to his style. Emelianenko keeps his hands low to maximize the power and unexpected nature of his blows, but he can be counterpunched effectively. Even at his best, when he had fast reactions and deft head movement, he could be tagged by a skilled striker. Risks and all, his defense was still well above average.

CLINCH

• Physical Strength: Often muscles around and controls skilled grapplers and larger men like Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira or Heath Herring.
• Technique: Excellent, thanks to his sambo and judo base.
• Knees: Rarely uses them, due to his lack of height.
• Elbows: Almost never used them.
• Defense Against Knees and Elbows: Lacking, especially when an opponent managed to keep him against the cage or ropes.

Emelianenko does not like being in the clinch for prolonged periods of time, as he either pushes his opponents away to make his escape or throws them to the canvas. This makes sense tactically, as bigger heavyweights can sap his energy and soften him with knees in close quarters—a strategy even the lumbering Brett Rogers managed to employ before being knocked out.

GRAPPLING

• Wrestling from a Shot: Average on the rare occasion he does so, lacking the speed and suddenness of a top wrestler.
• Wrestling in the Clinch: One of the best in the world in his prime.
• Takedown Defense: Only susceptible to shots from world-class wrestlers.
• Ability to Return to Feet: All-time great when he was at his best, with amazing hips and the ability to create separation.
• Submissions: Possesses a tight rear-naked choke—ask Tim Sylvia—and a stellar armbar, along with a variety of other armlocks, from kimuras to keylocks. His guillotine was not much of a weapon, and he wisely abandoned using it after his early fights in Rings.
• Defense and Brazilian jiu-jitsu from the Bottom: Lethal but risky. It revolves around going for armbars or gaining separation to get back to his feet, but it opened him up to ground-and-pound in the process.
• Top control: Decent, but mostly looks to inflict vicious damage.
• Ground-and-Pound: An all-time great in this area, throwing a furious barrage of punches into which he really puts his body while he snakes through an opponent’s defenses.

Befitting his sambo and judo base, Emelianenko’s takedowns are all from the waist up: a variety of trips, throws and hip tosses. He excels in this regard—enough to dominate strikers and lesser grapplers. Once in top position, he wields some of the most brutal ground-and-pound the sport has ever seen alongside a set of dangerous submissions. Emelianenko has proven largely immune to wrestlers and has made a career out of defeating them with a mixture of excellent takedown defense, armbars from the bottom and an inane ability to get back to his feet.

INTANGIBLES

• Athleticism and General Physical Strength: Above average, especially with his being a smaller heavyweight.
• Cardio: Showed he could fight hard for 10-minute first-rounds and two five-minute rounds in Pride without slowing down much.
• Chin: Could absorb thunderous shots with little effect, including a number of them from Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic. Only the hardest and flushest connects managed to hurt him badly.
• Recuperative Powers: Stayed wobbly for a while at times but could begin fighting back quickly.
• Intelligence: Off the charts. Used innovative, brilliant gameplans to win, with the best example coming against Filipovic. Put forth exactly the right response in the heat of battle over and over again.

Emelianenko’s incomparable fighting spirit and the intelligence he showed under pressure allowed him to turn many potential defeats into victories. He was badly staggered by a Kazuyuki Fujita punch and famously got dropped on his head by a Kevin Randleman slam, only to bounce back and beat both men in decisive fashion. When Emelianenko was at his best, he never gave up and always found a way to win. He was aided by outstanding cardio, a dependable chin and excellent recuperative powers—all necessary traits to make his risky killed-or-be-killed approach work.