During their career, the Emelianenko brothers never met face to face in official fights according to the rules of MMA, although they performed in the same category and periodically crossed paths in the same organizations. They explained their unwillingness to beat each other simply – we are brothers. However, fans of martial arts still saw the fight between the two legends.

The outcome was a disappointment to many.

MMA stars at the Russian Championship

The Combat Sambo Championship of Russia, held in Moscow in 2012, brought together a whole scattering of future and already held MMA stars. In the category up to 57 kg, the victory was celebrated by Ali Bagautinov, who in a little over two years had to fight for the UFC championship belt. In weight up to 74 kg, the promising, but not yet very well-known to the general public, Islam Makhachev, was content with bronze.

Islam Makhachev / Photo: © REUTERS / Christopher Pike

The future Bellator champion Vadim Nemkov also became a bronze medalist in the category up to 90 kg, and Vyacheslav Vasilevsky, who was waiting for the title in the M-1 Challenge, took the gold. Mikhail Mokhnatkin and Kirill Sidelnikov got to prizes of various standards, but all these bright fighters were in the shadow of the two main stars of the tournament.

Both Emelianenko brothers, who by that time had significant achievements in mixed martial arts, showed up for the Russian championship in the category over 100 kg. Fedor boasted a record of 33 wins with four defeats and an impressive collection of championship belts. Alexander had five defeats for 18 victories in official fights according to MMA rules. He also had his championship title.

It would seem, why should eminent fighters waste their energy on a tournament that will not bring them some crazy money, and is unlikely to add fame? Fedor curiously explained his point of view.

— I always try to perform at the Russian Combat SAMBO Championships. And if I don’t have professional fights at this time, I fight at the national championship. And he also performed at the world championship for our country more than once, ”said the elder Emelianenko in an interview with RIA Novosti Sport.

Keeping the intrigue

The organizers tried to do everything possible so that the battle of the brothers could take place only in the final. By the main battle of the tournament, Alexander and Fedor were moving along different parts of the grid, which allowed them to keep the intrigue as long as possible.

The Last Emperor did not meet much resistance – not that the rivals surrendered without a fight, but still the status of a legend played a role. For example, in the semi-final Kirill Sidelnikov, who also represented the Belgorod region, was clearly not going to act at full strength and eventually capitulated after 11 seconds.

Photo: © RIA Novosti / Alexey Druzhinin

The path of Alexander was more difficult – he had to take his own not by charisma, but mainly by skill. His opponents did not want to give up without a fight, but in all four fights Emelianenko won and eventually got to the main fight of the championship. Getting into the final of both brothers was not a big sensation for anyone.

The main question for fans and journalists was how the final would go. In the world of MMA, of course, Fedor is quoted higher, which means that the Last Emperor should win, some thought. Others hinted that combat sambo was a slightly different discipline, in which his brother was far from new. In addition, Alexander had an advantage in height, weight, arm span.

Whistle win

And then the decisive moment came, the ring announcer Alexander Zagorsky invited the three-time world champion in combat sambo from St. Petersburg to the carpet. Alexander appeared before the eyes of the audience. Soon the time came for the representative of the Belgorod region Fedor, who had four victories at the world championships, to his credit.

The opponents greeted each other before the fight, then dispersed to different sides of the mat. When the referee started the fight, they got back together and hugged. Perhaps someone saw the struggle for capture in these embraces, but this required a rich imagination. They didn’t hug for a long time, Fedor threw his brother over his thigh and performed a submission on his arm – Alexander didn’t even resist. It only took seven seconds for the Last Emperor to win.

– I, as a younger brother, always yield to the elder. Why should my brother and I sort things out in the ring? Fedya is better, stronger, older. We are brothers, we love each other. We will never oppose each other, – Alexander said after the defeat.

At the same time, the younger Emelianenko immediately began to contradict himself, very clumsily trying to retouch the obvious agreement.

– We went out to work at full strength, I just got distracted for a second, and at the same moment, you all saw, my legs flew above my head. I fell, and after Fedya gave me a submission on my arm, ”Alexander continued.

Fedor did not invent anything and said that the finale developed according to the scenario, which was previously drawn up by the brothers. Not all fans considered it a good idea to act in such a way on the official sports condition – through the applause it was not difficult to distinguish the whistle from the stands.