PRIDE Grand Prix 2004: Critical Countdown

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Kevin “The Monster” Randleman

FEDOR EMELIANENKO: Russian Sambo practitioner; Master of Sport in Judo, Master of Sport in Self-Defense; 1997 Russian National Judo Champion; 1998 Moscow International Self-Defense Gold Medallist; 1998 Moscow Judo Bronze Medallist (stove); 1998 Russian Self-Defense Bronze Medallist (Kaliningrad); 1998 Russian Armed Forces Championship Gold Medallist (Heavyweight Div);1998 Russian Armed Forces Championship Silver Medallist (Absolute Div); 1999 Russian Self-Defense Champion; 1999 Moscow International Self-Defense Championships Bronze Medallist; 1999 Self-Defense Team Championship of Europe Gold Medallist; 2000 Russian Self-Defense Championships Bronze Medallist; 2001 World Wrestling Heavyweight Record Holder; 2002 Russian Self-Defense Heavyweight Champion; 2002 Russian Team Self-Defense Gold Medallist (team captain); 2002 International Self-Defense World Champion (Absolute Div); 2002 World Sambo Heavyweight Championship Silver Medallist; RINGS 2001 World Title Series Heavy Weight Class Champion; RINGS 2002 World Title Series Absolute Weight Class Champion; current Pride Fighting Championships Heavyweight Champion; trained with Andrei Kopylov, Iouri Kotchkine, Mikhail Illoukhine, Volk Han and the rest of the Russian Top Team; has recently been training with Gilbert Yvel, Alistair Overeem, Ernesto Hoost and coach Lucian Calvin in Holland and is currently a member of the Red Devil Fight Club; with a 24-1-0 record in MMA making his 7th appearance (6-0-0) in the ring of the PFC.

HISTORY: Fedor Emelianenko is the oldest of three brothers. He began training judo and self-defense and studying under Gavrilov, V.I. in St. Oskol, Belogorod. He continued to train under Voronov, V.M. and entered college in 1991 and graduated with a red diploma in 1994. He served in the Russian Army from 1995 to 1997 and earned both Master of Sport in Self-Defense and Master of Sport in Judo titles in ’97. Fedor would continue to excel in tournament competition, winning championships in judo and self-defense on a yearly basis. He began fighting professionally in 2000 and training with Michkov, A.V. to work on his striking. Fedor spent time fighting in Russia (eight bouts there, 8-0-0) and competing in sport grappling competitions before making the transition to MMA. He began participating in RINGS events in 2000, winning the absolute weight class tournament in 2002 and moving on to Pride the later the same year. He won the PFC heavyweight tile in May of 2003 and was dethroned later that year due to his inability to defend his title because of injuries suffered in competition and training. He has not lost in Pride competition and has advanced to the second round of the 2004 Pride Grand Prix with his submission win over 2000 Pride Grand Prix Champion Mark “The Hammer” Coleman.

Emelianenko/Tsuyoshi Kohsaka: The “loss” to TK was a fluke. At the opening bell they both threw strikes and TK caught him with a forearm/tip of elbow to the temple and it opened him up. Given the opportunity Fedor would’ve killed TK and advanced to face Randy Couture (not the same night, two months later). Couture lost to Valentijn Overeem and Overeem lost to tournament winner Nogueira. Had Fedor gotten past Kohsaka, he may have gone all the way to the title round. But we’ll never know for sure.

Emelianenko/Kerry Schall: One of the better fights to judge his abilities was against Kerry “Meat Truck” Schall in the first RINGS World Title Series event. Schall is about three inches taller and nearly 45 pounds heavier than Fedor. In his pre-fight interview Schall say he was going to stand and trade with the Ukrainian and he felt Fedor couldn’t handle his power. That little plan fell apart when Kerry ate two solid rights and two one-two combinations at the opening bell. He gets powered to the ground and Fedor applies an armbar. To his credit Schall is able to roll out of it and gets back to his feet. Another impressive display of Fedor’s punching power sends Schall into the ropes and again he is muscled back to the floor. After toying with him, Fedor slapped on another armbar that simultaneously chokes Schall and Kerry’s RINGS experience was over.

Emelianenko/Heath Herring: From the opening bell, Emelianenko Fedor owned Heath Herring. Herring, who we’re used to seeing in the “dominator” role, was getting hammered. Even when Heath tried to get back to his feet, Fedor was there to pound his face. At the break between rounds the corner was forced to stop the match because Heath had sustained so much facial damage.

Emelianenko/Rodrigo Nogueira: Fedor operated in a calm, cool manner against the PFC heavyweight champion who was 7-0 in Pride to that point had submitted five of his victims. Emelianenko couldn’t care less. It went the distance but Nogueira was beaten. There was no question as he dropped to his knees in his corner from a combination of exhaustion and disgust and the PFC heavyweight title was no longer his.

Emelianenko/Kazuyuki Fujita: Fujita had a puncher’s chance of finishing Fedor but the bout went pretty much the way most felt it would with Fedor stopping the Inoki-inspired grappler in the first round. Emelianenko showed the true heart of a champion when he quickly recovered from being stunned by a strike from Fujita. The Ukrainian was able to clear his head, attack a weakness and finish Kazuyuki on the mat with a punishing rear-choke.

Emelianenko/Gary Goodridge: No real surprises here. Fedor unloads from the bell but most are deflected by Gary. He follows with knees to the body and a takedown, allowing Emelianenko to land in the guard of Goodridge. Fedor lands numerous rights and then kicks to the head which Gary had no answer for. The champion stands over Goodridge, punching him in the face and the ref calls a stop to the bout early in the first round.

Emelianenko/Mark Coleman: They briefly trade strikes standing and Coleman gets the takedown in the corner of the ring. Coleman lands a knee and struggles from half mount to keep Emelianenko on his back. Mark obtains the mount but Fedor rolls to his knees and gives up his back. From a back mount, Coleman is able get Emelianenko to sit and then he works for the rear-choke on the mat. Coleman has trouble with the choke but begins to tag Emelianenko in the face with punches underneath his arm. Emelianenko punches back, turns and stands and gets Coleman in a front headlock. They go back to the corner and Coleman pops his head out but he is met with a knee to the face just before he brings Emelianenko to the mat. They fight from Fedor’s open guard and trade strikes. In a lightning fast transition Emelianenko spins and armbars Coleman at 2:11 of the first round.

Also worthy of note: Emelianenko battled Renato “Bablu” Sobral (won/decision), Ryushi Yanagisawa (won/decision), Christopher Haseman (won/TKO), Semmy Schilt (win/decision) and Yugi Nagata (win/TKO).

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES: Few fighters generate the power Fedor does in his Ground’n’Pound tactics on the mat. He is devastating. Emelianenko had absolutely no problem dealing with a larger fighter’s weight as exhibited in the Goodridge and Schall fights. He has nice transitions too. He’s not afraid to give up on a technique if it doesn’t feel right. Fedor’s thick Ukrainian frame also allows him to apply what appears to be a devastating guillotine choke hold. His weakness is he may be a bleeder. If he gets cut like it did with Kohsaka, it could cause a stoppage. Emelianenko also needs to go in for the kill and finish his opponents. He has a tendency to prolong his beatings and it puts unnecessary stress on and damage to his own body.

HOW HE CAN BEAT RANDLEMAN: By simply working his regular game. Kevin will heat up and likely go ballistic once in the ring. Fedor can handle that. History shows Randleman has a bad habit of getting KO’d by people who KO people on a regular basis. No one punishes his opponents like Fedor. It’s a dangerous mix don’t you think?

KEVIN RANDLEMAN: American Ohio State wrestler; two-time NCAA Division 1 Wrestling Champion; three-time NCAA Division 1 Wrestling All-American; Brazil Open veteran; UVF 4 Iron Fighter Tournament Champion; former UFC Heavyweight Champion; trains with Wes Sims, Gary Goodridge, Mark Coleman and members of Team Hammer House; with a record of 15-7-0 in MMA, making his seventh appearance (4-2-0) in the ring of the PFC.

HISTORY: Kevin “The Monster” Randleman began wrestling when he was 10 years old. While in high school, he won the state wrestling championship and moved on to Ohio State University. There he became a three-time NCAA Division 1 Wrestling All-American and a two-time NCAA Division 1 Wrestling Champion. During college Mark Coleman was Randleman’s roommate and Kevin was just about raised by Mark. For more than a decade, Coleman has been coaching him in one capacity or another. While Randleman was still in school, Coleman entered the UFC and was highly successful (won two eight-man tournaments and the unified heavyweight title). Mark told Kevin of the opportunities the sport offered and convinced him to take a short-notice fight in Brazil. Kevin excelled in the sport, competing in two eight-man tournaments (winning one and earning the UVF 4 Iron Fighter title) and a four-man tournament before ever fighting in the U.S. He debuted in UFC 19 and fought for the heavyweight championship at UFC 20, losing a controversial decision to Bas Rutten. He captured the title at UFC 25 against Pete Williams in Japan and then lost the title to Randy Couture in UFC 28. Kevin moved down to the light heavyweight division and debuted in the PFC in late 2002. He has had an up and down career since the move to Japan, which includes losing to Quinton Jackson and Kazushi Sakuraba and beating Murilo Rua and Mirko Filipovic. The upset win over “Cro Cop” earned him a spot in the second round of the 2004 Pride Grand Prix.

Randleman/Ebenezer Braga: Prior to the bell, Randleman is slapped repeatedly in the face by Coleman and then sits in the corner on his knees, ready to pounce. The Luta Livre fighter lands a short left hand to the back of Kevin’s head but is immediately clinched, whirled around and dropped to the mat causing him to slide outside the ring beneath the ropes. This was shades of things to come as Braga would fall out of the ring numerous times (I think I counted seven). The same scenario played out many times; Randleman would get his takedowns but Braga immediately gets guard and lands elbows and palm strikes to the back of Kevin’s bald head. Randleman would land some strikes but as they skirt across the mat, Braga would fall out of the ring again. A number of times his corner actually pulled him out to stand him up and let him get a breather. Both fighters were landing but the ref could not seem to keep them from sliding out of in the ring. Randleman landed some hard shots but Braga landed knees to the body standing and elbows to the head on the mat. Late in the bout Randleman seemed to be gassing as he took a lot of damage to the body but he was able to unload a big left-right-left palm strike combo that sent Braga to the mat and out of the ring. In the end, Kevin won a decision after 20 minutes but raised Braga’s hand as well, acknowledging his effort.

Randleman/Carlos Barreto: This was a relatively boring bout between two fairly big name competitors. However, this bout is worthy of mention because it an early bout in Randleman’s career where he faced a submission fighter and was eventually submitted. Like with the Braga bout (on the same night), Randleman had a few bursts of effective striking but Barreto controlled the bout on the ground. It was mainly Greco-Roman wrestling for the first 18 minutes as they never went to the ground prior to that point. Barreto jumped to guard and struck Kevin in the back of his head, then kicking him in the face as Randleman got back to his feet. Carlos stayed grounded and kicked at his legs from his back until Kevin jumped back into his guard. Although appearing exhausted, Kevin continued to strike in Carlos’ guard. Randleman was pounded in the face by Barreto’s heels and subsequently fell into a triangle choke. You could see Kevin’s arm go limp and the referee breaks them up. Mark Coleman went berserk at the stoppage and wound up arguing with Carlson Gracie Sr., Wallid Ismail and members of the Brazilian crowd.

Randleman/Bas Rutten: This was the most controversial battle in the UFC’s history and was the motivating factor for the UFC to adopt the round format it currently uses. Randleman gets the takedown and begins to swing wildly on Bas but Rutten is able to control Kevin’s arms. Kevin cuts the bridge of Bas’ nose with the side of his glove. In side mount, Randleman begins to elbow Bas in the face and ribs but Rutten eventually gets full guard and produces some offense in the form of palm strikes to the head. Randleman fights back with punches and knees and regains the side mount. BJM stands the fighters up to check Bas’ cuts and it is revealed that Bas’ nose is broken but he is allowed to continue. Rutten seems to have found his game and is striking effectively from the ground. As the fight went on, Bas would turn on his side and knee Kevin in the chest and even attempt an armbar. The pace slows and Bas takes a page from Kevin’s book and tries to open a cut on Kevin’s face using his glove. Bas is in guard and is keeping Kevin under control while blood begins to appear through Randleman’s blonde hair. The first overtime begins with two flashy kicks by Rutten, one low and one high, both missing Randleman. As usual Kevin gets the takedown and puts Bas in guard. Rutten returns to elbowing Randleman and even slaps on an armbar but Kevin is able to power out of it and shake him off. The period ends with Bas employing a double-handed palm strike to the top of Randleman’s head. The second OT period begins with a strike to the ribs by Rutten and another leg kick. The takedown doesn’t come as easy for Kevin now but he gets one anyway. Bas, again in guard where he’s been all fight, continues to strike and elbow as the buzzer sounds. Although it was a split decision, Bas Rutten is named UFC Heavyweight Champion. Coleman was devastated by the loss and says "look at his face and then look at Kevin’s face and tell me who won.” Commentator and then UFC commissioner Jeff Blatnick echoes Coleman’s sentiment and says, “Randleman controlled the pace of the fight. He may have a case.”

Randleman/Pete Williams: This one could’ve been over early but it went the 25-minute distance. Randleman got his usual takedowns and began to ground-and-pound. Late in the first round Williams got back to his feet and unloaded some strikes sending Kevin to the canvas. Pete went in for the kill but Kevin squirmed into an unusual position that made it difficult to attack Randleman’s head. With just seconds left in the opening round, Williams obtained the mount but the buzzer sounded before Pete could finish him. Kevin stayed on the canvas for about a minute before getting to his feet. However, that pause for reflection changed the tempo of the bout and Randleman controlled the next four rounds with his superior wrestling to take the heavyweight title via decision.

Randleman/Quinton Jackson: Jackson fought Kevin Randleman at Pride 25: Body Blow. Jackson got early takedown and Kevin had a hard time bringing Quinton down for the entire bout. “Rampage” was the busier fighter in the clinch, repeatedly throwing knees to the body. Randleman kept working for takedowns and eating knees to the midsection. They were broken up a number of times for inactivity in the clinch and after yellow cards were distributed, they were all business. Randleman landed a few shots in the exchange but Jackson cupped his head to deliver the knee flush in the face and pounded out the win when he dropped to the mat.

Randleman/Kazushi Sakuraba: This was Randleman’s first bout back since his major car accident. He looked pumped and got some takedowns on Sakuraba but in the first round his ground game was nonexistent. At the same time, Sakuraba could not finish the hulking Randleman with a submission. The second round was light on action as well. Randleman hooked a kick and brought Sakuraba to the mat but it got stale from there. In the final round Randleman was busier with takedowns but once they were there, Sakuraba did what came naturally and eventually sunk in an armbar.

Randleman/Mirco Filipovic: Randleman initiates the contact at the bell and crowds “Cro Cop” into the corner. He applies a body lock and they are eventually broken up. They circle again and Randleman shoots but his takedown is avoided. A follow-up shoot is faked and Kevin decks Mirko with a hard left that drops him to the mat. Before Filipovic can recover or properly defend, Randleman is on him and pounding his head into the mat. “The Monster” scored a major upset in the GP.

Also worthy of note: Randleman battled Dan Bobish (win/strikes), Tom Erikson (loss/KO), Maurice Smith (win/decision), Pedro Rizzo (win/decision), Chuck Liddell (loss/KO), Murilo Rua and Renato Sobral (win/decision).

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES: Kevin “The Monster” Randleman survives on his solid wrestling ability. His compact size and immense strength have always benefited him on the mat where his game is ground-and-pound. Many of his wins have been via strikes and unfortunately so have his losses. Kevin sometimes takes unnecessary chances and winds up paying for it on the canvas. He’s been KO’d by some of the best including Tom Erikson, Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture and Quinton Jackson. His weakness, at this point in his career still seems to be his stand-up game. He has worked with boxing trainer Emanuel Stewart, but with limited success. However, he has developed a solid knee attack on the mat and can certainly do enough damage to finish people. Also, Randleman exhibits no arsenal or at least no desire to attempt submissions. He has his game and knows it well, he could simply benefit from having submission knowledge as an additional threat.

HOW HE CAN BEAT EMELIANENKO: By outworking him on the mat. Kevin has a sleeker, built for speed type build and Emelianenko is more of a bulky, bruising, pain machine. If Kevin can bring Fedor down and employ some of his trademark knees to the head, he may have the big Ukrainian doing the fish dance like Fujita did (momentarily) in their battle.

MY PICK: Emelianenko. Some fighters are just so scary that you cannot imagine someone catching them or seriously damaging them until you actually see it happen with your own eyes. Mark Coleman was one of those fighters early in his career. Igor Vovchanchyn was one of those fighters until recently. Wanderlei Silva is still one of those fighters and certainly Fedor Emelianenko tops that list right now. Even with the tragic passing of his father as a motivator, I just don’t see Randleman beating “the one who shows no emotion.” Fedor had his own shake as well, he was in a car wreck just weeks ago. I feel it will be Emelianenko by KO in the first round.