Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com
5. First Real Loss to Fabricio Werdum
Voters were split on how to rank this. Some thought the list should solely be dedicated to Fedor's triumphs. Others, myself included, thought this included all of his memorable moments and ranked this very highly, with several second-place votes and my own third-place vote. As noted in the 10th place entry, before facing Werdum at Strikeforce in 2010, Fedor had never truly lost in his 10 years and 33 fights. Moreover, seven of those years and 19 straight victories had been as the Pride heavyweight champion since dethroning Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in 2003. Werdum was a top 10 heavyweight, but a massive underdog against Emelianenko, who was a -500 favorite for the fight. Most viewed Werdum as an inferior version of Nogueira, who had already defeated Werdum by decision and of course had lost twice decisively to Fedor. And early on, it looked like another easy win for Emelianenko, who landed a series of lightning punches which left Werdum knocked down and hurt. And then, seeking to finish the job, Fedor got a little bit sloppy and one of the greatest BJJ aces in MMA history saw an opportunity, throwing up a beautiful triangle. Fedor couldn't escape like he had so many other times, and just like that, a man many fans considered the greatest ever tasted defeat for the first time in MMA. Everyone was left stunned after the unthinkable happened.
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