Fedor Emelianenko was once considered the top heavyweight fighter in the entire MMA industry.
A lot of people would still think of him as the best mma fighter in the heavyweight division up until now and there wouldn’t be lot of people contesting to that.
However, as impressive as Fedor’s record was when he retired, with having 34-4 with one no contest and three consecutive wins before retiring, a lot of people are wondering how great he really is considering that he did not fight in one of the best MMA companies today- the UFC.
There was a time, though, when Fedor nearly joined the said company. It was reported that the two parties almost closed a deal, making the epic fight between “The Last Emperor” and former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar happen. Unfortunately, the deal did not push through.
In a recent interview, Fedor admitted the reason why he did not join the company. “Well, the UFC didn’t want me to fight there. We were unable to make a deal. They offered unacceptable conditions,” he said.
It is a known fact that the UFC is the best organization in the MMA industry today. That is why a lot of people are speculating why Fedor and his team did not want to agree with the terms the UFC had laid out.
However, Fedor said that the UFC was not always at the top. Back in the day, there were speculations that the best mma fighters are not in the UFC. Top fighters, especially those on the heavyweight division, can be found under Pride.
“Actually, when I fought in Pride, we had the best fighters in the world,” he said. Fedor went on saying that the UFC was not that successful of a company back then so the fighters are not under the said company. “Back then, the UFC had a very serious and big crisis. They were going through some hard times being able to get top fighters. All the best fighters were in Pride. Later on, when Pride ceased to exist (after the UFC’s parent company bought the promotion), the UFC didn’t immediately pick up speed,” he further added.
Some people might think that Fedor is sour-graping and he is trying to devalue the UFC because he did not grab the chance to jump in and fight for the best mma organization today. Well, he’s not.
The two companies, the UFC and Pride, were trying to outdo each other in terms of talent before Zuffa took over the Japanese organization. When Fedor was asked about what he thinks about the UFC today, he did not hesitate to admit that the UFC is at the top of the industry today.
He said, “Currently, the UFC is a super organization in the world, probably the best. There are several top fighters in every weight categories.”. Being the best fighter that he is, he does not consider himself a fight fanatic though. He further went on saying, “In general, it’s hard to see the whole picture, I’d say. So there are some fighters that it is interesting to watch, but the rest of them, it’s not interesting for me.”.
Fedor Emelianenko has recently announced that he will be coming out from retirement soon. However, it is still unknown whether he will sign up with other promotional companies, or he will finally join the best MMA company today.