50 MMA Fights You Must Watch Before You Die
38. Fedor Emelianenko Vs. Fabricio Werdum - Strikeforce: Fedor Vs. Werdum
Over a period of 10 years, Fedor Emelianenko created a legacy that most fighters can only dream of. With dominant victories over legends like Mirko Cro Cop, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Kevin Randleman during his career, the stoic Russian seemed practically unbeatable.
Although he'd lost to Tsuyoshi Kosaka early on in his career in controversial fashion, many fans believed The Last Emperor would never taste defeat again. Clearly his opponent, Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Fabricio Werdum, had other ideas prior to their main event bout for Strikeforce.
Following a wild exchange, Emelianenko dropped Werdum with an overhand right and dived down to land strikes on the ground. While this same plan had worked a number of times during his stellar career, trying to implement it against such an exceptional grappler like Werdum was like fighting against quicksand.
By evading Emelianenko's famous ground and pound attacks, Werdum was slowly but surely able to finish his opponent with a wicked triangle choke-armbar submission that left the entire MMA world shocked.