Fedor Emelianenko Russian MMA Champion

Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko () (born September 28, 1976) is a Russian heavyweight mixed martial arts fighter. He is the current World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts Heavyweight Champion and the last holder of the Pride Heavyweight Championship. He has won numerous tournaments and accolades in multiple sports, most notably the Pride 2004 Grand Prix and the World Combat Sambo championship on four occasions, as well as medaling in the Russian national Judo championship.

Emelianenko has been universally considered the best heavyweight fighter in the world for the last seven years by major publications, including ESPN, Sherdog, Full Contact Fighter, MMA Weekly, and Nokaut.Additional details:

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Several mixed martial arts publications currently rank Emelianenko as the #1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He holds the distinction of having held five separate major championships including the RINGS World Heavyweight and King of Kings Championships, the Pride World Heavyweight and Heavyweight Grand Prix Championships and the World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship. Many analysts, as well as former and current fighters, consider Emelianenko to be the greatest mixed martial artist of all time and "the baddest man on the planet".

Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full contact combat sport that allows a wide variety of fighting techniques, from a mixture of martial arts traditions and non-traditions, to be used in competitions. The rules allow the use of striking and grappling techniques, both while standing and on the ground. Such competitions allow martial artists of different backgrounds to compete.

The roots of mixed martial arts can be traced back to various mixed style contests that took place throughout Europe, Japan and the Pacific Rim during the early 1900s. Modern MMA competition emerged in 1993 with the founding of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Originally organized with the intention of finding the most effective martial arts for real unarmed combat situations, competitors were pitted against one another with minimal rules for safety. Later promoters adopted many additional rules aimed at increasing safety for competitors and to promote mainstream acceptance of the sport. The name mixed martial arts was coined by one of the developers of these rules, Jeff Blatnick, a former Greco-Roman wrestler and Olympic gold medalist. Following these changes, the sport has seen increased popularity with pay per view reach rivaling boxing and professional wrestling.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is a U.S.-based MMA promotion. Dana White serves as the president of the UFC while Zuffa, LLC (controlled by Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta) owns the company.

Inspired by vale tudo competitions in Brazil, the UFC held its first competition in Denver, Colorado in 1993. Showcasing fighters of different proficiencies?including boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, wrestling and Muay Thai, among others?the UFC sought to discover which martial art was the most effective in a real fight. After a period of political backlash, the UFC gradually underwent reform by embracing stricter rules and achieving sanctioning with State Athletic Commissions.

With a cable television deal and expansion into Canada, Europe and new markets within the United States, the UFC has gained in popularity, along with greater mainstream-media coverage. viewers can access UFC programming on pay-per-view television, Spike in the United States and Canada, on ESPN in the United Kingdom as well as in 33 other countries worldwide.