Russian Dmitry Sosnovsky brightly burst into the world of mixed martial arts, demolishing all rivals in his path. Even the experienced Alexander Emelianenko could not hold out in a duel with him for more than 100 seconds.

The undefeated heavyweight nicknamed “The Evil Machine” fought successfully in the UFC and could become a division thunderstorm, but stumbled and ended up in jail for a long time.

Crazy rise and ridiculous finish of a bright fighter’s career.

Rapid start

A native of Yalta did not immediately come to mixed martial arts. Initially, the young athlete was interested in other disciplines of a power nature. Dmitry tried himself in weightlifting, arm wrestling, then mastered the Russian bench press and other fun with an overloaded barbell. But in the end, Alexey Oleinik met on the way of Sosnovsky, who introduced the athlete to the world of MMA.

Alexey Oleinik / Photo: © James Gilbert / Stringer / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

From the Moscow region, where Sosnovsky lived from early childhood, he had to move to Kharkov. While training under Oleinik at the Oplot fight club, Dmitry began a fast-paced career in mixed martial arts. For his debut victory, 20 seconds were enough for him, for the second – 37. The fighter completed the first four fights ahead of schedule.

At the Oplot Challenge tournaments numbered 68 and 73, he had to spend three rounds each, but here the opponents had no chance either – the judges unanimously gave the victory to the Russian. It became clear that the start of the career of Oleinik’s student was set. It was time to get out of Kharkov and find more serious opponents. In August 2013, Sosnovsky forced Mukhomad Vakhaev to surrender in Rostov-on-Don. In January 2014, he went to St. Petersburg, where an even more dangerous enemy was waiting for him.

100 seconds vs. Emelianenko

After seven victories, five of which were won ahead of schedule, “Evil Machine” Dmitry Sosnovsky finally got a chance to loudly declare himself. At the Coliseum FC: New History 2 tournament, he had to fight with 32-year-old Alexander Emelianenko, who at that time was still far from the world of pop MMA and the glory of the main brawler of Russian fights.

Despite the statistics of a promising opponent, Emelianenko was considered the favorite of the fight. However, from the very first seconds it became clear that it was impossible to intimidate an opponent hungry for big victories with a loud name. Sosnovsky knocked Alexander to the ground and began to thrash him with his hands. The referee stopped the fight, fixing the cut on Dmitry’s head. The doctors quickly completed their work and the battle continued, and in the same position in which it stopped.

Emelianenko failed to take advantage of the respite. Separate local successes, such as avoiding pain, did not help Alexander much. Unable to complete the fight with a technique, Dmitry took his back and brought down a hail of heavy blows on Alexander. Emelianenko almost did not defend himself, and the judges stopped the fight.

As a result, 1 minute 40 seconds after the start of the fight, the judge recorded Dmitry’s victory by technical knockout. The decision was followed by the emotional growl of the Evil Machine. He proved to himself and others that he is ready to break into the elite of mixed martial arts.

Photo: © COLISEUM Fighting Championship

Bellator and UFC

After the victory over Emelianenko, Sosnovsky moved with Alexei Oleinik to Moscow. At the new stage of his career, he was waiting for a contract with Bellator, which the fighter signed, but never fought in the organization. And then he disappeared from the radar for almost three years.

Despite injuries and health problems, Sosnovsky returned, and immediately found himself in the most popular organization in the world of martial arts. On March 17, 2018, an undefeated fighter from Russia met Mark Godbeer at UFC Fight Night in London. As it turned out later, Sosnovsky performed with a fracture, which he received while sparring with Alexander Volkov. But this did not help the opponent – in the second round, Dmitry strangled an experienced Englishman.

A good start allowed him to count on continuing his career in the UFC. The Russian was waiting for a fight with the Brazilian Junior Albini, which ultimately did not take place due to Sosnovsky’s injury. And then Dmitry got into a very unpleasant situation, which ended his successful career.

The fighter volunteered to help his friend, who was required to repay a debt of 400 thousand rubles. As a result of this maneuver, Dmitry became a suspect in the case of kidnapping by a group of people. In May 2021, he was sentenced to 8 years and 5 months in prison. In MMA, Sosnovsky still has a chance to return – the example of Marat Balaev proves that this is possible even after a long term of imprisonment. But still, we have to state with regret that the once promising fighter failed to fully realize his potential, and the powerful victory over Alexander Emelianenko remained the most striking episode in his sports career.