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In the history of mixed martial arts, you may have to go a long way to find a pure heavyweight fighter as accomplished or formidable as the great Russian known as “The Last Emperor” - Fedor Emeliankenko.

A competitor with a broad background that includes judo, sambo, muay thai and boxing, with a sprinkling of just about everything else, Fedor made his debut in the sport back in January of 2000 and has lost only one bout since. And even that was a defeat by name only, as he was controversially (some say illegally) elbowed and cut by Tsuyoshi Kohsaka in a King of Kings tournament in Japan and was officially declared the loser only because he was not physically able to advance in the tourney. Given the opportunity to avenge that “defeat” in 2005, he scored a TKO win over Kohsaka.

Emeliankenko has beaten the likes of Mark Coleman, Mirko Cro Cop, Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera, Kevin Randleman, Gary Goodridge, Mark Hunt, Renato Sobral, Heath Herring, Sammy Schilt and others - one of the most illustrious rosters of conquests the MMA world has ever seen. Of his 27 wins, only seven of those opponents had managed to last the full distance against him. One of the more impressive victories on his resume was against the great veteran Coleman, the former UFC heavyweight champion, who he submitted in two minutes and eleven seconds on his way to winning the PRIDE heavyweight Grand Prix in 2004.

Fedor won the PRIDE heavyweight championship in 2003 with a decision over Noguiera and still holds that title to this day. He has also ventured outside of PRIDE in his quest to conquer new territory (his contract allowed him to do so, as long as the fight was on Russian soil). In April of 2007 he scored a first-round submission of Matt Lindland, a former UFC middleweight title contender, in a bout that was contested under the BodogFight banner. And just recently, he competed in the World Combat Sambo Championships and came home the winner.

Fedor has won the 2001 RINGS World Class tournament, in the Open division; the 2002 King of Kings heavyweight tournament, as well as the aforementioned 2004 PRIDE Grand Prix. Though he may not have experienced the widespread exposure of many of the UFC competitors, Emilianenko’s amazing body of work has won him the respect of avid MMA fans and the MMA media, where he is generally regarded to be the finest heavyweight fighter in the world today.

The UFC made overtures toward him, but when negotiations for a deal broke down, Emilianenko inked a multi-fight contract with the M-1 Global organization that is operated by veteran promoter Monte Cox, and will pursue bouts of major importance, bringing major purses. The rumor persists that one of those fights eventually might be a showdown with Randy Couture, who has recently announced his departure from the UFC. If the Fedor-Couture bout were to happen, it may be the most anticipated heavyweight fight we’ve yet seen in MMA.