There are very few mixed martial artists in the world who are more decorated than Fedor Emelianenko. ‘The Last Emperor’, who was the PRIDE Heavyweight Champion for almost four years (2003 to 2006), also excelled in judo and was a four-time world champion in combat sambo.
Emelianenko can count many highly respected fighters among his 40 MMA victories, including Kevin Randleman, Rampage Jackson, Mark Coleman, and Andrei Arlovski — all former UFC champions. With an extremely impressive resume built over 23 years, the Russian is considered by many to be the greatest MMA fighter to never compete in the UFC.
Fedor’s peak years were spent roaming through different promotions around the globe, fighting primarily in PRIDE but also in Lithuanian and Japanese editions of Rings. He also had success in Strikeforce and Bellator at the latter end of his career.
However, as far as UFC boss Dana White is concerned, not signing Fedor doesn’t keep him up at night since he doesn’t rate him as high as heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
Speaking to MMA Junkie and other reporters backstage at UFC Fight Night 218 in 2023, White claimed, “I don’t dislike Fedor or anything like that, but no, it didn’t happen. We gave it a shot, can’t say we didn’t try. It is what it is”.
The clip was posted just a day after Emelianenko announced his retirement (in February 2023), leading to discussions around the Russian fighter’s legacy within the sport.
Initially, White’s tone was relaxed when discussing the failed negotiations with Fedor. However, he became more serious and analytical when questioned about Fedor’s absence from his promotion and whether that had tarnished his legacy.
“He’s retiring tonight, but you guys know… He got knocked out by middleweight Dan Henderson. I think some of the guys in the business, people liked him, so they praised him. He never got to test himself over here. But I was never one of the guys who thought he was one of the greatest of all time,” White added.
Jones was the GOAT for White even before his heavyweight debut
While White never regarded Emelianenko in the same esteem as many other MMA aficionados, the UFC boss was crystal clear in his opinion on Jones.
“Nobody can deny that Jon Jones is the greatest of all time. He comes in and wins this heavyweight [title], it’s hard to debate if he doesn’t win the fight. He wins this fight, there’s no more talk, there’s no more debate, it is what it is,” White emphatically stated ahead of Jones’ highly anticipated debut in the UFC heavyweight division in 2023.
“It’s like when [Tom] Brady left the Patriots and won with the Buccaneers,” laughed White. “I get it, you want to hate on Tom Brady, but you can’t anymore. That’s what’s going to happen with Jon Jones if he beats Ciryl Gane,” the UFC boss had claimed.
Just a month after this interview, Jones claimed the vacant UFC Heavyweight title on his weight class debut at UFC 285. He won convincingly with a guillotine choke just over two minutes into the bout.
Jones went a long way that night in securing GOAT status in the UFC, and not just in White’s mind either.
However, that reputation has since been somewhat tarnished by his unwillingness to unify the heavyweight title in a fight against interim champion Tom Aspinall.
