Fedor loses to Werdum by triangle at 1:09 of Round 1
While mocked by many fans who say Emelianenko and his team are ducking tougher competition in the UFC, the Russian…
While mocked by many fans who say Emelianenko and his team are ducking tougher competition in the UFC, the Russian nonetheless faced one of the best heavyweights who isn’t employed by the world’s biggest promotion: Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Werdum, a former UFC fighter who’s ranked among the division’s top 10.
But Emelianenko, who entered the fight with a remarkable 29-fight undefeated streak, appeared on his way to another quick victory. Within 30 seconds of the opening bell, Emelianenko unloaded a heavy-handed combination that stunned Werdum and sent him tumbling to a seated position. Emelianenko dove in and rained down a barrage of hammerfists, but an alert Werdum quickly secured an armbar to slow the attack.
Emelianenko immediately broke free of the hold, but perhaps overly anxious, he again found himself trapped by an armbar and accompanying triangle choke. Werdum torqued the choke and armbar for nearly a half minute until a nearly unconscious Emelianenko finally relented and tapped out just 69 seconds into the fight.
As Werdum temporarily left the cage and celebrated with a mob of supporters, Emelianenko stood stoic in his corner. A stunned crowd could muster little in the way of a reaction.
The magnitude of the performance and the upset wasn’t lost on the winner.
“Thank you Fedor for the opportunity,” said Werdum, who called out Overeem after the fight. “Fedor is the best in the world. This night I beat Fedor, but Fedor is the best.”
Emelianenko didn’t make excuses for the loss and said it’s to be expected in his line of work.
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