2. Fedor Emelianenko
Sherdog's greatest heavyweight ever and greatest fighter of the 2000s just barely misses out on another top spot, though he garnered a third of the first-place votes, mine included. Emelianenko is one of only two fighters on this list, the other being Holly Holm, with significant success in three different combat sports. Furthermore, he is the best mixed martial artist on this list. Widely considered one of the greatest of all time at any weight, he finished sixth on Sherdog's list of the greatest fighters pound-for-pound. He was also the undisputed best in combat sambo. He was undefeated for many years, winning six straight Russian championships from 2002 to 2012, a European championship in 1999 and three straight world championships in 2002, 2005 and 2007, being as unbeatable in that sport through most of the 2000s as he was in MMA. Emelianenko finally lost in the world championships in 2008 to Blagoy Ivanov, who ended up having a good career in MMA himself and is active to this day. Yes, combat sambo is less competitive and popular than most of the other combat sports discussed on this list. However, there's something to be said for being the very best at it for a long time. Lastly, let's talk about the third combat sport Emelianenko excelled at; judo. He wasn't great at it; he never made the Olympics or medaled at a world championship. However, he was still plenty good, attaining the highly prestigious Russian title of “Master of Sport,” competing on the national team, and winning bronze medals at the Russian championship in 1998 and 1999 in the 100 kilogram and open weight categories, respectively. Also, judo is an incredibly competitive, popular sport, and even that degree of success is impressive. Yet, while I personally had him No. 1, there is no wrong answer when deciding between Fedor and the man ahead of him.
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