Fedor Emelianenko's Championship Run
Nogueira 1 - Fedor completely dominated a guy who people thought was unbeatable. Nog was godlike
and Fedor smashed him. Epic win.
Egidijus Valavicius - 4-2 when Fedor fought him with a submission loss to Chris Haseman.
Totally unknown/unranked.
Fujita - highly respected for his wrestling and ability to take punishment, but 2 losses
to a new, "pure kickboxing" Crocop had sent his stock crashing.
Gary Goodridge - had strung several wins together and was a dangerous, ferocious puncher,
but even in 2003 was seen as a "gatekeeper" or "journeyman"
Yuji Nagata - Do I even need to comment? An 0-1 pro wrestler, who, due to Fedor's superior
technique, was unable to utilize his feared "Nagata Lock"
Mark Coleman - This is his best victory of his championship run thus far, which is sad.
Coleman's stock had obviously dropped off after getting subbed by Nog and lackluster effort
vs. Don Frye, and he was 40 years old at the time of the fight. This was during a time
of inactivity, as he had took 2 years off after the Nog loss and a year off after the
Don Frye fight.
Kevin Randleman - Randleman was riding a huge wave after his huge upset of Crocop, but let's
put it into context: Randleman was a 205lb guy who was 1-2 in his last 3 before the Fedor fight,
which included being subbed by Sakuraba and KTFO by Rampage Jackson.
Ogawa - Ogawa for sure was a skilled, undefeated fighter. Judo medalist. But was a pro wrestler
who really never fought anyone of note. Ogawa was also reputed to having had fights fixed for
him (Goodridge admitted he was offered money to throw the fight, so that put's Ogawa's record
into question). Is anyone impressed by this victory?
2 Nogueira fights - Finally a great victory. Noguiera had beaten a string of worthy opponents
after losing to Fedor the first time, and was considered the unanimous #2. Great victory
for Fedor.
TK rematch - TK was well past his prime, but I don't fault Fedor for fighting him as it was
the ultimate "revenge" match. Outcome was never in doubt and the fight was more of a
formality than anything.
Crocop - Fedor's best victory. Crocop had rebounded well from his upset loss to Randleman
by destroying a ton of (mostly) legit guys. This was a prime vs prime battle and Fedor
came out on top. Huge accomplishment for Fedor. EPIC win.
Zuluzhino - even though Zulu was undefeated, this was considered a joke fight even back
then for reasons that need no explanation. This guy later went on to be submitted by Butterbean.
Joke win.
Coleman 2 - Coleman was 42 and obviously well past his prime. Had previously been beaten
by Fedor. What does this win possibly mean?
Mark Hunt - The Super Samoan was coming off a loss to Barnett where Juicy Josh easily submitted
him and exposed his weakness on the ground just 6 months before.
Matt Lindland - A middleweight. Who incidently cut Fedor with the first punch he threw. I shouldn't
dump on Fedor for this one, because fighting middleweights isn't always easy (as fedor found out
when he got KTFO by one years later)
Hong Man Choi - 1-0 pure kickboxer. Complete freak show.
Tim Sylvia - At this time Tim was still looked at as a legit HW, and the way Fedor destroyed
him was definitely impressive at the time. But looking at it in context, Sylvia was coming off
a loss and was 1-2 in previous 3, which included him being completely dominated by Randy Couture.
Solid win, but not really a career definer by any stretch.
Arlovski - Best win since the Crocop fight. Andrei was on a good winning streak and was considered
a legit top 3 guy. Fedor knocked him out in epic fashion. Great victory for Fedor.
Brett Rogers - Decent win. Brett was a big brawler, but he had dangerous power and was quick
for a big guy. Not a HUGE win, but definitely a respectable one.
Of course after this, Fedor get's destroyed 3 times in succession, including a KO loss to a 185lb fighter who struggled to reach the 206lb limit he had to weigh to fight
Fedor.
Anderson Silva
Rich Franklin 1 - Say what you want about RIch but he's a solid fighter at 185 and 205,
and at this time he was a very dominant champion. Great win for tha spyda.
Travis Lutter - Meh. Decent fighter but nothing to really get excited about. Was previously
submitted by Matt Lindland. Lutter earned the shot by winning the TUF finale though, so
they had to give him the shot. Meaningless victory, though.
Nate Marquart - Nate was highly regarded coming out of Pancrase and racked up a nice winning
streak. Was highly touted going into the Silva fight, and got destroyed. Solid win for
Anderson.
Rich Franklin 2 - Once again, Rich is still a fantastic fighter and was back in the winner's
circle with 2 wins (including one over Okami). Franklin had the home town advantage, made
adjustments and learned from the first fight, and got destroyed brutally again. Solid win for
Spyda.
Dan Henderson - What is there to be said about Dan. one of the sport's p4p kings. Worth noting
that he was coming off a loss at 205 to Rampage, but still held his 185lb Pride title. Dan
controlled Silva in the first round, but Silva took over in the second. Great win for Silva
over a p4p legend in the sport (and of course, a guy who went on to KTFO Fedor)
James Irvin - Irvin was a decent fighter known more for his power and striking than anything else.
Not a great caliber of fighter for Silva to fight, but not bad considering Silva was moving
up in weight and Irvin was coming off a couple of legit wins. Good win for Silva.
Patrick Cote - Cote is a midcard guy for sure, but coming into the Silva fight he had won
5 straight in the UFC, including racking up 2 KO of the Nights. Cote is a tough guy but
isn't championship quality. But at the time, he was legit. OK win.
Thales Leites - Was highly regarded going into the fight. These two put on a stinkfest though
so it's hard to give Silva much credit for this fight. OK win against a legit contender at the
time.
Forrest Griffin - Forrest was coming off a loss, havin just lost his 205lb title to Rashad,
but in context Silva was moving up to fight a former 205lb champ. Amazing virtuoso performance
from Silva made people forget about the previous 2 stinkfests. Good win for Silva.
Damian Maia - Solid fighter, but was still tainted from the embarrassing Marquardt KO. Horrible
fight but good win against a respectable fighter and ground wizard.
Chael Sonnen - Chael had the style to beat Silva. Great wrestler. Silva took an epic beating
and came back to win. Great win for Silva.
Vitor Belfort - Hadn't lost in 5 years and had racked up a nice streak of brutal ko's over
legit competition, including Lindland, who at the time people felt was #2 at MW or even #1.
Vitor got kicked in the face and that was that. Great win for Silva.
Yushin Okami - Huge wrestler with a nice win streak, looked at a serious threat given what Chael
did to Silva. Big win for tha spyda.
Chael Sonnen 2 - Chael was back in the saddle and talking hardcore shit. Silva fucked him up
hardcore. Epic win for Silva.
And of course Silva's run isn't complete yet, althought beating Stephan Bonnar will do absolutely nothing for his legacy.
But the fact remains Silva fought better, much more consistent opposition.
That's not even mentioning Silva's superior skill.
Silva fought some lackluster compedition for sure, but I'd take a guy like Travis Lutter or Patrick Cote over a Yuji Nagata or Gary Goodridge anyday.
Nogueira 1 - Fedor completely dominated a guy who people thought was unbeatable. Nog was godlike
and Fedor smashed him. Epic win.
Egidijus Valavicius - 4-2 when Fedor fought him with a submission loss to Chris Haseman.
Totally unknown/unranked.
Fujita - highly respected for his wrestling and ability to take punishment, but 2 losses
to a new, "pure kickboxing" Crocop had sent his stock crashing.
Gary Goodridge - had strung several wins together and was a dangerous, ferocious puncher,
but even in 2003 was seen as a "gatekeeper" or "journeyman"
Yuji Nagata - Do I even need to comment? An 0-1 pro wrestler, who, due to Fedor's superior
technique, was unable to utilize his feared "Nagata Lock"
Mark Coleman - This is his best victory of his championship run thus far, which is sad.
Coleman's stock had obviously dropped off after getting subbed by Nog and lackluster effort
vs. Don Frye, and he was 40 years old at the time of the fight. This was during a time
of inactivity, as he had took 2 years off after the Nog loss and a year off after the
Don Frye fight.
Kevin Randleman - Randleman was riding a huge wave after his huge upset of Crocop, but let's
put it into context: Randleman was a 205lb guy who was 1-2 in his last 3 before the Fedor fight,
which included being subbed by Sakuraba and KTFO by Rampage Jackson.
Ogawa - Ogawa for sure was a skilled, undefeated fighter. Judo medalist. But was a pro wrestler
who really never fought anyone of note. Ogawa was also reputed to having had fights fixed for
him (Goodridge admitted he was offered money to throw the fight, so that put's Ogawa's record
into question). Is anyone impressed by this victory?
2 Nogueira fights - Finally a great victory. Noguiera had beaten a string of worthy opponents
after losing to Fedor the first time, and was considered the unanimous #2. Great victory
for Fedor.
TK rematch - TK was well past his prime, but I don't fault Fedor for fighting him as it was
the ultimate "revenge" match. Outcome was never in doubt and the fight was more of a
formality than anything.
Crocop - Fedor's best victory. Crocop had rebounded well from his upset loss to Randleman
by destroying a ton of (mostly) legit guys. This was a prime vs prime battle and Fedor
came out on top. Huge accomplishment for Fedor. EPIC win.
Zuluzhino - even though Zulu was undefeated, this was considered a joke fight even back
then for reasons that need no explanation. This guy later went on to be submitted by Butterbean.
Joke win.
Coleman 2 - Coleman was 42 and obviously well past his prime. Had previously been beaten
by Fedor. What does this win possibly mean?
Mark Hunt - The Super Samoan was coming off a loss to Barnett where Juicy Josh easily submitted
him and exposed his weakness on the ground just 6 months before.
Matt Lindland - A middleweight. Who incidently cut Fedor with the first punch he threw. I shouldn't
dump on Fedor for this one, because fighting middleweights isn't always easy (as fedor found out
when he got KTFO by one years later)
Hong Man Choi - 1-0 pure kickboxer. Complete freak show.
Tim Sylvia - At this time Tim was still looked at as a legit HW, and the way Fedor destroyed
him was definitely impressive at the time. But looking at it in context, Sylvia was coming off
a loss and was 1-2 in previous 3, which included him being completely dominated by Randy Couture.
Solid win, but not really a career definer by any stretch.
Arlovski - Best win since the Crocop fight. Andrei was on a good winning streak and was considered
a legit top 3 guy. Fedor knocked him out in epic fashion. Great victory for Fedor.
Brett Rogers - Decent win. Brett was a big brawler, but he had dangerous power and was quick
for a big guy. Not a HUGE win, but definitely a respectable one.
Of course after this, Fedor get's destroyed 3 times in succession, including a KO loss to a 185lb fighter who struggled to reach the 206lb limit he had to weigh to fight
Fedor.
Anderson Silva
Rich Franklin 1 - Say what you want about RIch but he's a solid fighter at 185 and 205,
and at this time he was a very dominant champion. Great win for tha spyda.
Travis Lutter - Meh. Decent fighter but nothing to really get excited about. Was previously
submitted by Matt Lindland. Lutter earned the shot by winning the TUF finale though, so
they had to give him the shot. Meaningless victory, though.
Nate Marquart - Nate was highly regarded coming out of Pancrase and racked up a nice winning
streak. Was highly touted going into the Silva fight, and got destroyed. Solid win for
Anderson.
Rich Franklin 2 - Once again, Rich is still a fantastic fighter and was back in the winner's
circle with 2 wins (including one over Okami). Franklin had the home town advantage, made
adjustments and learned from the first fight, and got destroyed brutally again. Solid win for
Spyda.
Dan Henderson - What is there to be said about Dan. one of the sport's p4p kings. Worth noting
that he was coming off a loss at 205 to Rampage, but still held his 185lb Pride title. Dan
controlled Silva in the first round, but Silva took over in the second. Great win for Silva
over a p4p legend in the sport (and of course, a guy who went on to KTFO Fedor)
James Irvin - Irvin was a decent fighter known more for his power and striking than anything else.
Not a great caliber of fighter for Silva to fight, but not bad considering Silva was moving
up in weight and Irvin was coming off a couple of legit wins. Good win for Silva.
Patrick Cote - Cote is a midcard guy for sure, but coming into the Silva fight he had won
5 straight in the UFC, including racking up 2 KO of the Nights. Cote is a tough guy but
isn't championship quality. But at the time, he was legit. OK win.
Thales Leites - Was highly regarded going into the fight. These two put on a stinkfest though
so it's hard to give Silva much credit for this fight. OK win against a legit contender at the
time.
Forrest Griffin - Forrest was coming off a loss, havin just lost his 205lb title to Rashad,
but in context Silva was moving up to fight a former 205lb champ. Amazing virtuoso performance
from Silva made people forget about the previous 2 stinkfests. Good win for Silva.
Damian Maia - Solid fighter, but was still tainted from the embarrassing Marquardt KO. Horrible
fight but good win against a respectable fighter and ground wizard.
Chael Sonnen - Chael had the style to beat Silva. Great wrestler. Silva took an epic beating
and came back to win. Great win for Silva.
Vitor Belfort - Hadn't lost in 5 years and had racked up a nice streak of brutal ko's over
legit competition, including Lindland, who at the time people felt was #2 at MW or even #1.
Vitor got kicked in the face and that was that. Great win for Silva.
Yushin Okami - Huge wrestler with a nice win streak, looked at a serious threat given what Chael
did to Silva. Big win for tha spyda.
Chael Sonnen 2 - Chael was back in the saddle and talking hardcore shit. Silva fucked him up
hardcore. Epic win for Silva.
And of course Silva's run isn't complete yet, althought beating Stephan Bonnar will do absolutely nothing for his legacy.
But the fact remains Silva fought better, much more consistent opposition.
That's not even mentioning Silva's superior skill.
Silva fought some lackluster compedition for sure, but I'd take a guy like Travis Lutter or Patrick Cote over a Yuji Nagata or Gary Goodridge anyday.
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