Since Fedor Emelianenko’s (Pictured) fall from grace, nearly everyone from within the mixed martial arts community has dropped their two cents on the credibility of the Russian’s résumé. While UFC president Dana White isn’t high on “The Last Emperor,” boxing legend Mike Tyson claims to be his #1 fanboy.
“Iron Mike” was considered by many as the baddest man alive during his heyday inside the squared-circle, so he certainly knows a thing or two about fighting. However, he also understands plenty about retiring too late, and that’s exactly what he believes Emelianenko is doing.
Tyson also chimes in about the possible PED problem that might be running rampant in the sport of MMA.
“Fedor Emelianenko, my favorite of all time,” Tyson told HDNet’s Inside MMA. “He’s always been the underdog, he’s always the smallest guy and he always comes out victorious. He just stayed around too long in the age of high performance [-enhancing] drugs, bigger athletes. I’ve just never seen an athlete like him, as far as a fighting athlete, that beat the odds so many times.
“[From] a guy that just loves him from a human perspective, I don’t want to see him get hurt anymore. He didn’t get hurt, but those guys could have hurt him – the big guy that was hitting him, [Antonio 'Bigfoot' Silva]. I don’t like to see that. A guy that’s been in there so long, and he’s not the same as he used to be and you see him getting beat up, that’s a bad feeling.”
At one point during Emelianenko’s illustrious career, he had rattled off 27 consecutive victories. MMA’s heavyweight G.O.A.T. owns a 33-4 (1 NC) professional record, but some will asterisk his accomplishments because he never fought in the UFC.
Original Story:
