MANILA, Philippines – Universally regarded as the greatest mixed martial arts (MMA) heavyweight fighter of all time, Fedor Emelianenko made a triumphant return from retirement by defeating Jaideep Singh on Rizin Fighting Federation’s New Year’s Eve card on Thursday, December 31 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
Emelianenko, who competed in his first bout since June 2012 when he savagely knocked out fellow MMA legend Pedro Rizzo, had a serious leverage in terms of experience as he easily picked up a first-round stoppage victory over his Indian foe.
After figuring out how to negate the height and length advantage of his opponent, the 39-year-old Russian advanced with a body lock to score a takedown and immediately placed his counterpart into a perilous position to pour down his signature ground-and-pound.
With Singh struggling to find the escape door, Emelianenko moved into side control and then pummeled punches to the head that compelled the Indian fighter to tap at the 3:02 mark of the opening salvo.
Although it had been more than 3 years since he fought with 4-ounce gloves, Emelianenko showed no signs of deterioration in his performance and did not miss a single step as he improves his professional record to 35-4 with 1 no contest.
In addition, Emelianenko extends his winning streak to 4 matches since suffering 3-straight losses in Strikeforce.
Emelianenko excited MMA followers around the world when rumors spread about him coming out of retirement and finally signing with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, but he chose to partner with Rizin Fighting Federation, which is under the tutelage of former PRIDE boss Nobuyuki Sakakibara.
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On the other hand, Singh tastes the first setback in his young prizefighting career and downgrades to a 2-1 slate. – Rappler.com