Sherdog’s Top 10: Greatest Pride FC Fighters

1. Fedor Emelianenko

Sherdog's No. 1 heavyweight and No. 6 greatest pound-for-pound fighter, Emelianenko was the obvious, unanimous choice for the top spot here. After all, he never lost in Pride, going a perfect 14-0 with one no contest, defeated a slew of other great champions and was in the prime of his legendary career. How did “The Last Emperor” manage to stay unbeaten? It wasn't always easy, but in addition to lightning hand and foot speed for a heavyweight, enormous punching power and a great judo and sambo-based grappling and submission game, Emelianenko’s incredible cardio, heart, and intelligence combined with his then very tough chin and good recuperative powers allowed him to avoid many perilous situations, whether against Kazuyuki Fujita or Mark Hunt. There were a few weak touches in his Pride career, such as Wagner da Conceicao Martins and Olympic silver medalist Naoya Ogawa, but he also dominated the trilogy against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, finished two former UFC heavyweight champions in the first round, Kevin Randleman and Mark Coleman twice, and won the “Fight of the Century” against Mirko “Crocop” Filipovic in that span, too. In retrospect, it's amusing to watch Emelianenko’s debut in the organization. While he was the Rings heavyweight champion, he was relatively unheralded when he fought Semmy Schilt at Pride 21 in June 2002. Commentators Bas Rutten and Stephen Quadros had obviously never seen him fight, and treated the 6-foot-11 Schilt, later to become arguably the greatest heavyweight kickboxer ever, as a significant favorite. Even when the newcomer dominated the fight with judo takedowns and vicious ground-and-pound, garnering the easy decision, their praise was measured. And yet, after a stoppage at the end of the first round against then top contender Heath Herring, it was in March 2003, 9 months after his debut, that Fedor shocked the MMA world by dominating the seemingly unbeatable Nogueira. Fedor's run in Pride is truly perfection and the envy of every great champion.