Which victory of Fedor Emelianenko was the most impressive?

[Takes Two To Tango]

Feel free to suggest fights.

I'd say Brett Rogers.

There was something cool and epic about that fight.

Brett Rogers was 10-0 and he just beat Arlovski. So there was quite some hype on this guy.

And the fight was highly entertaining to me. I'll never forget it.

Also his last fight before he actually had a legit loss. So it was an end of a incredible legendary run.

 

[BFoe]

Man, you’re gonna shit for that pick

I went with Nog 1, because of Nog being the #1 HW in the world at the time, the insane resume Nog has overall, and how dominant Fedor was in that fight, and on the ground no less.

 

[HHJ]

The third fight w nogueira,which I think you mean,not the second. Both performances were incredible and both tactically opposite of what Nog expected and prepared for. I guess I pick the last one because Nog must have studied and trained so hard and knew full well what he was dealing with and still got outsmarted and outgunned

 

[BFoe]

The third fight w nogueira,which I think you mean,not the second. Both performances were incredible and both tactically opposite of what Nog expected and prepared for. I guess I pick the last one because Nog must have studied and trained so hard and knew full well what he was dealing with and still got outsmarted and outgunned

Nog 3 is the fight I have someone watch if they wanna know what I mean by “prime Fedor.”

 

[Kung Fu Kowboy]

 

[Takes Two To Tango]

The third fight w nogueira,which I think you mean,not the second. Both performances were incredible and both tactically opposite of what Nog expected and prepared for. I guess I pick the last one because Nog must have studied and trained so hard and knew full well what he was dealing with and still got outsmarted and outgunned

Nog 3 I meant, my bad.

 

[WoozyFailGuy]

Super tough to pick between his wins against Cro Cop and both Nog fights. We aren't going to have that type of trinity of dangerous fighters at the top of HW fighting each other for another decade.

 

[defjaam]

Zulu

 

[TheChance]

Coleman. The Hammer was going to be GnPing him into paste but the way that damn armbar got slapped on was insane. No way I ever would have thought he could have thrown his hips like that.

 

[OldBoy91]

Clearly between Nog 1, Nog 3 and Cro Cop. I went for the first Nog fight because I think Minotauro was close to the peak of his powers at that point. Riding a 12 fight winning streak and was widely thought to be the best HW in the world at that time.

Some of the options don't belong here.

He almost got subbed by Hunt who admitted he didn't even train grappling until he got to the UFC. That fight is more of an embarrassment than impressive. Almost being KOed by Hunt would be one thing, but having him get top position and get you in a keylock is.... wew lad.

Rogers already having multiple votes is laughable. He was a borderline can. Had one good win his entire career and the rest of his career shows it was likely something he'd never be able to repeat.


Nog 2 wasn't even a win so no idea why its on here.

 

[TadDunbar]

Yugi Nagata

 

[dc007]

CroCop. He stood with him primarily which no one thought he'd do and won. Even with his face busted up, he clearly won that fight. Epic performance.

 

[WOLVERINEKILLS]

Randleman. Nog & Cro Cop were better fighters but no one should win a fight after getting suplexed on their head the way Randleman slammed Fedor. When Fedor landed it looked like he was finished and definitely in far more danger than he was at any time in any of the other fights listed above. To comeback and defeat Randleman was super impressive.

 

[wolffanghameha]

I went with Randleman. I think if you show a newcomer a fight, the suplex and Randleman's physique and obvious athleticism make this the most impressive.

His thundering GnP against Nog is impressive, but only when knowing that Nog had a formidable BJJ guard and having some knowledge of grappling.

Cro Cop is the most impressive to me now and probably to newcomers Fedor's speed when pressuring Cro Cop is impressive as well as being able to deal with head kicks from a huge guy, but it lacks the "holy fuck" factor.

Heath Herring was pretty impressive to me as a new fan, because he just ragdolled and beat this guy and it was all one-way traffic - completely bullied him and Herring looked like he didn't belong in there, physically or psychologically. Like a kid whose dad forced them to compete and he never wanted to do it and he knows when he gets home he'll get another whooping from his dad. Or like the yakuza found some big guy in debt and threw him in. It was like watching Khabib or Colby, but if they had more power. I was surprised to find out that Heath Herring was a top guy with top wins, was being set up for another title shot and was the favourite going into the fight (not sure the last one is true).

Fujita was cool too, just for showing he could survive being hurt.

 

[GiganticMeat]

I voted Randleman, and like your reasoning for the Brett Rogers one. In my opinion, combat sports, MMA, heavyweight all have an "X factor," in that order increasingly, with Fedor's run epitomizing that at its core. Hence these "freakshow" fight wins against the likes of Randleman, Rogers, Hong Man Choi are not any less, or only marginally less impressive than wins against the other elite.

It's the "take all comers" mentality and also answers so many "real fight" hypotheticals that are, at its core, what martial arts is all about.

 

[PhilMcCavity]

Probably when he murdered zuluzinho in front of all those smiling Japanese people

 

[PhilMcCavity]

He really did beat the ever loving shit out of heath herring too

 

[-Sideways-]

He out struck PRIME Cro Cop. Nogueira 1 is a close second.

 

[ChessJitsu]

The third fight w nogueira,which I think you mean,not the second. Both performances were incredible and both tactically opposite of what Nog expected and prepared for. I guess I pick the last one because Nog must have studied and trained so hard and knew full well what he was dealing with and still got outsmarted and outgunned

 

[HereticBD]

Fuck all them big names. Fujita was his toughest test in his heyday. Dude miracle'd that victory out of his ass while on queer street. Just think of how close he was to having his aura shattered by some middle of the road chunky Japanese dude. If that goes the other way, we're probably not talking about Fedor today.