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Fedor Emelianenko is not what he was at the beginning of his legendary career, when he dominated the world's biggest heavyweights in an unprecedented race at the Pride Fighting Championships.
But Emelianenko still thundered in his fists and used it to defeat Chael Sonnen on Saturday to qualify for the Bellator Grand Prix tournament final. Emelianenko, who stopped Sonnen at 4:46 of the first round, will meet Ryan Bader in the final on Jan. 26 at the Forum in Inglewood, California, for the title.
"It hurt me early and all that it hurt," Sonnen said in the cage. "Everything had bad intentions. I was trying to recover. He was very fast, very powerful. He watched as he watched when I watched it on TV. I was impressed. "
Sonnen's game plan was clearly to execute the battle to neutralize Emelianenko's power. If he did not believe it before the fight, he learned to respect it about six seconds after Emelianenko dropped it.
Sonnen took Emelianenko several times, but he struggled to control it. Emelianenko was able to back off and get up and Sonnen had no answer when they were standing up.
Emelianenko, who had stopped Frank Mir in his first-round win, started the final stretch with a short left that allowed Sonnen to lose his place. Sonnen was covered, but Emelianenko quickly attacked him and threw big shots from the top.
Referee "Grand" Dan Miragliotta gave Sonnen all his chances, but canceled him when Sonnen did not move and was tortured to try to block Emelianenko's shots.
He sets up the fight that Bellator had probably hoped for when the tournament started. Bader is the light heavyweight champion who beat Muhammed Lawal and Matt Mitrione.
"He had good power," said Sonnen. "Bader and he's going to be a big fight."
Emelianenko, generally, had little to say. He noted that Sonnen was working hard and was well prepared, and stated that he thought that Bader was "a formidable and serious opponent".
Many have tried to count the old dog several times in recent years, but he is once again in the limelight as he fights for a new championship against one of the best fighters in the world.
Sonnen was a middleweight for most of his career and was not a threat to Emelianenko, but Bader will be a formidable threat, especially with his fight.
But Emelianenko, who has a sambo experience, will probably be prepared for that. For almost two decades, he did it again and again.
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