Fedor Emelianenko Betting

fedor emelianenko
Fedor Emelianenko

He’s one of the veterans of the sport but the MMA career of Fedor Emelianenko is showing no signs of slowing down. The Russian, also known as the Last Emperor, made his pro debut in 2000 and although he went on hiatus in 2012, he came back even stronger in 2015.

As he reaches his early 40s, no-one knows how long he will be in the game or even what the Fedor Emelianenko next fight schedule will be on a long term basis so we should continue to enjoy his exploits in the octagon for as long as we can.

Amateur Career

Like many MMA fighters, Fedor Emelianenko stepped straight into a pro career but prior to his entry into Mixed Martial arts, the Russian enjoyed much success in the sport of Sambo. It’s a discipline that is popular in Eastern Europe and Emelianenko claimed many medals in his time with the Russian national squad.

The Fedor Emelianenko fight record in this respect includes Gold Medals at four World Championships and there are times when he continued to mix his Sambo career with his MMA exploits. In time, however, the more global sport of MMA would come calling.

Professional Career

Fedor Emelianenko’s early MMA career began in 2000 and it involved a number of top clubs and organisations in his homeland. The fighter initially came under the auspices of Russian Top Team before making an early switch to the Red Devil Sports Club.

A string of early victories was secured but the first Fedor Emelianenko fight defeat came at the end of 2000 as he lost in controversial circumstances to Tsuyoshi Kohsaka. Undaunted, the Russian fought on and his first notable success came when he secured the RINGS King of Kings Tournament in 2002.

A further switch to the PRIDE organisation followed and it was here that Emelianenko established himself as a heavyweight. Many wins followed and the Russian made his way through the ranks at PRIDE and other MMA organisations around the world. In terms of Fedor Emelianenko UFC fighting, he flirted with the biggest body in the sport but surprisingly, was never officially taken on by them.

By 2009, he was involved with the Affliction Entertainment company but when they closed, Dana White of the UFC came calling. The chairman was eager to secure the Fedor Emelianenko next fight promotion but negotiations would eventually fall through due to management demands involving a co-promotion. White wasn’t happy and the fighter was lost to the UFC for the time being.

With a Fedor Emelianenko UFC career now seeming unlikely, the Russian moved to join the Strikeforce organisation. He signed a three fight deal and would remain with them for two years from 2009.

In that time, a number of championships were won in the heavyweight division but as the fighter started to reach his mid-30s, Emelianenko started to look at opportunities outside of the octagon. Subsequently, in June 2012, the Russian took on Pedro Rizzo in an M-1 Global event and immediately after securing victory, he announced his retirement from the sport.

Emelianenko stayed involved with Mixed Martial Arts as the President of the Russian MMA Union and that’s a post that he holds to this day but many felt it was too soon for him to depart from competitive sport. The Russian stayed out of the game for three years but in 2015, he announced a return to the Octagon.

It was felt at the time that we would finally see a Fedor Emelianenko UFC debut while negotiations were also in place with Bellator MMA. Eventually, the fighter made his return with Eurasia Fight Nights and he marked the occasion with a narrow and controversial win over Fabio Maldonado.

A switch to the Bellator division soon followed and Emelianenko has remained there to this very day. It didn’t start all that well with a knockout defeat to Matt Mitrione but it wouldn’t take long before the Russian was back to his best. Heavyweight victories over Frank Mir and Chael Sonnen followed and as he worked his way through the Bellator finals series at the end of 2018, Fedor Emelianenko set up a final showdown against Ryan Bader in the New Year.

That brings us right up to date but what can we expect from a betting point of view as the Russian fighter continues his long MMA career?

Fedor Emelianenko Betting Odds, Markets and Offers

As he reached the end of 2018, the Fedor Emelianenko fight record stood at 38 wins from a total of 44 professional fights. Of those 38 victories, 12 have been by knockout, 17 by submission and only nine by decision. Those are interesting numbers and for anyone looking at the Fedor Emelianenko next fight odds, the prices on the fight to go the distance should be interesting.

Clearly, the Russian likes to end contests before the final bell and those are useful stats to keep in mind for the next time that he steps into the Octagon. Separate markets will also be made available for Method of Victory and you can, once again, use those career statistics when it comes to making a decision.

There have been some losses along the way and those need to be taken into account. Over that long career, stretching back to 2000, the Russian has suffered five losses with four of those coming by knockout and one by decision so once again, the trend is for his bouts to end inside the distance. Meanwhile, completing his record is one fight that was considered a No Contest.

We know, as 2018 comes to a close that the Fedor Emelianenko next fight will be against Ryan Bader in the Bellator Finals Series of January 2019. On the way to this final showdown, the Russian has shown that even as he approaches his mid-40s, he can be a fearsome opponent in the octagon so check out our betting preview for that fight and keep reading as we bring you the best Fedor Emelianenko fight news and odds as he continues his long and distinguished career.