Though Fedor had been competing in combat sports for several years, the story of his mixed martial arts career begins in earnest in June 2002. A standout in the Russian self-defense art of Sambo, Fedor made his entrance onto the international fighting sports scene two years earlier in the RINGS organization, a pro wrestling promotion that had begun holding (mostly) legitimate contests. Though similar to MMA, the fights contested in RINGS did not allow for any striking on the ground, only submission grappling.
vs. Schilt
So it was on June 23, 2002, after compiling an 8-1 record (more on that one loss later) and reigning as the heavyweight champion of RINGS (which had since gone belly-up), Fedor would make his true MMA debut at Pride 21. His opponent was 6'11 Dutch kickboxer Semmy Schilt. Going into the bout, both fighters had big question marks about them. Schilt was an elite striker with unusual size and had stopped his opponent with strikes in each of his first three Pride fights. But his long limbs had proven a liability in the past once on the ground, where he had been submitted four times already. How would he fare against Emelianenko, a master in Sambo, which, like judo, features takedowns and submissions?
Fedor was a wildcard. He had shown submission skills and rudimentary striking while in RINGS, but had never faced a striker the likes of Schilt and had never competed with rules that allowed strikes on the ground. It would be an understatement to say that Fedor adapted to the new rules easily.
In a 20-minute long decision, the fight was on the feet for no more that 30 seconds. Fedor landed all three takedowns he attempted, taking Schilt down almost immediately to start all three rounds, and utilizing the upper-body takedowns favored by Sambo. Having neutralized Schilt's advantage on the feet, Fedor coasted to victory, waging a methodical battle of positional control, occasional submission attempts, and some wild ground-and-pound. (Full stats available here.)
It was an effective victory in that it showed Fedor was more than capable in a game with ground striking, but it didn't prove much. He'd exploited the obvious weakness of a one-dimensional fighter. So it was no surprise that he entered his second bout in Pride as the underdog.
vs. Herring
His opponent this time was the well-rounded American Heath Herring. A year before, Herring lost to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in a fight for the first-ever Pride heavyweight title. But he performed admirably in that fight, taking Nogueira to a decision, and had won his last two fights. Pride announced that the winner of Herring-Emelianenko would get the next shot at Nogueira's title.
Just as he did against Schilt, Fedor ensured that the fight would be on the feet for no more than half a minute. He took Herring to the ground within the first five seconds, but this time something was different. Unlike the wild punches he'd thrown in the previous fight, Fedor's ground-and-pound attack was spot-on, landing devastating hooks from inside Herring's guard and opening a nasty cut inside of three minutes. After a stand-up for doctors to take a look at Herring's cut, Fedor executed a thundering suplex and continued his ground assault. It was all Fedor for nine whole minutes. But after a failed rear-naked choke attempt, Herring was able to turn into Fedor's guard, pass it, and execute some of his own ground-and-pound. Looking gassed and unable to escape from under Herring, Fedor absorbed punches and knees to the head until the bell sounded. Doctors stopped the fight in between rounds, giving Fedor his second victory in Pride.
The fight answered a few questions about the still-unknown Russian, but prompted a few as well. It proved that his ground attack against Schilt was no fluke, and the fact that he landed 40 of 53 power strikes on the ground (a 75% accuracy rate) proved that he had learned some control in the meantime. But given who he was fighting next, it was that last minute where he got battered that mattered most.
vs. Nogueira
Who he was fighting next was the consensus pick for best fighter on the planet, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. What made Nogueira such a formidable opponent was his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He didn't just have excellent jiu-jitsu for a heavyweight; he was possibly the best jiu-jitsu player participating in MMA at the time. In his seven fights since coming to Pride, Nogueira had gone 7-0 with six wins coming by submission. Fedor had won his first two Pride bouts entirely on the ground. The ground was Nogueira's world.
Once again Fedor entered as the underdog, with some claiming that he wasn't deserving of a title shot after only two wins. It's rare that so many can be proven so wrong so quickly. What followed is one of the most impressive performances even put in during a title match. After the fight, it wasn't just clear that Fedor was the best in the world; he was the best by a large margin.
In the first shocking development, Fedor chose to engage Nogueira on the ground. Instead of choosing to play out the fight on the feet, where it was assumed he would hold an advantage, Fedor gave Nogueira exactly what he wanted by willingly entering his guard. What came next was a revelation. In most cases, the guard is a neutral position. Against a BJJ expert like Nogueira, one might have thought that the edge would go to Nogueira even while on his back. Fedor proceeded to unleash punches from the guard the likes of which had never been seen.
Each swing was an explosion of kinetic linking. Fedor wasn't throwing arm punches, he was launching his entire body, rotating hips, core, shoulders, and arms to whip his fist like a mace, with incredible power. And these were not the wild swings shown against Schilt. The strikes found their target 70% of the time, bewildering Nogueira with a level of punishment he'd never experienced before. The power of Fedor's punches was such that when he started attacking Nogueira's side, announcer Stephen Quadros said the body shots sounded like "someone hitting a buffalo with a baseball bat."
The frustration for Nogueira was total. Every time he maneuvered to attempt a submission, he saw his opponent pull away with ease and was often repaid with more sledgehammers. When he finally managed to reverse position toward the end of the first round and work from on top, he was re-reversed just a few seconds later and ate more punches in the exchange.
When the 20 minutes were up, a bewildered Nogueira stood and watched an emotionless Fedor take his belt with a unanimous decision. Fedor had landed 66 HiPer Strikes (the most effective kinds of strikes) compared to just three for Nogueira. He'd controlled position and deftly avoided any danger from submissions. Using FightMetric's effectiveness scores, Fedor had effectively out-pointed Nogueira 372-34. (Full stats available here.)
Two legends were born in that fight: Fedor, for making the complete domination of a true world champion look easy, and Nogueira's chin for absorbing Fedor's onslaught.
Fedor was now the champion and had earned the respect of most of the naysayers. Next, he had a title to defend.
Coming Tomorrow: 2003-2004: The Era of Dominance
