Fabricio Werdum submitted “The Last Emperor” in Strikeforce. | Photo: D. Mandel
2. Fabricio Werdum vs. Fedor Emelianenko
Strikeforce/M-1 Global “Fedor vs. Werdum” -- June 26, 2010
HP Pavilion | San Jose, Calif.
In hindsight, it does not seem quite as earth-shattering as it did back then -- it was the first of three straight defeats for “The Last Emperor” and Werdum remains entrenched as a top 5 heavyweight today -- but at the time, there was hardly enough room in cyberspace to capture the shockwaves created by Emelianenko’s first loss in nearly a decade.
“At the very beginning of the round, I hit Fabricio and I wanted to finish the fight as soon as possible and at that very moment I made a mistake,” Emelianenko would later say.
Emelianenko followed the decorated grappler to the canvas and quickly found himself trapped in Werdum’s guard. A series of submission attempts from Werdum would follow, and Emelianenko eventually succumbed to a triangle armbar 69 seconds into what was expected to be little more than a formality for the seemingly invincible Russian.
“It happens that I was made kind of an idol,” Emelianenko said. “Everybody loses. That happens. I’m an ordinary human being, as is all of us, and if it is God’s will, the next fight I will win.”
Talks of a rematch surfaced shortly after the bout’s conclusion, but a return engagement never came to fruition. Losses to Antonio Silva and Dan Henderson in Strikeforce prompted Emelianenko’s Zuffa release, and he retired after beating Pedro Rizzo in June 2012.
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