The former PrideFC heavyweight champion and current WAMMA heavyweight champion of the world, Fedor Emelianenko, was defeated this past weekend in the Semi-Finals of the World Combat Sambo championship. Fedor, considered the #1 MMA/Sambo fighter in the world, lost to Bulgarian challenger Blagoi Ivanov with a score of 8-5.
Fedor and Blagoi participated in a Sambo tournament back in February of 2008, where the Russian completely dominated the Bulgarian with a score of 8-1. Fedor had acquired his ninth straight victory in Sambo competition.
According to some reports, Blagaoi had much better throwing skills throughout the match which earned him an 8-1 lead with one minute remaining. Fedor quickly answered back with a brilliant knockdown, but it was just too late for the former Sambo champion to catch up. Fedor acquired the bronze medal, his first since 2000 when he competed in Orenburg, Russia.
Here’s a snip from Fedor himself:
"I have no excuses for my loss…I lost fair and square. Ivanov is better with his throwing techniques than with his striking. In general I dont think I am bad with my throwing skills, but I was not able to grip him (referring to his gi) properly and Ivanov made the better throws. With the remaining time, I was not able to catch up"
Fedor is scheduled to fight Andrei Arlovski at the Affliction 2: ‘Day of Reckoning’ event, scheduled to take place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California– January 24th, 2009.
We are on the hunt for a video of the match-up between Fedor Emelianenko vs. Blagoi Ivanov. Here’s a video of their first meeting which took place on February 15, 2008:
