The Uncrowned Emperor | Fedor Emelianenko | Early Reign: 2002 to 2004
Continued
Event: PRIDE Total Elimination 2004
Opponent: Mark Coleman
Opponent Ranking: 9
Result: Win // Submission (armbar)
Score: 4 points
Mark Coleman was an accomplished fighter coming into Pride Total Elimination 2004. He was already a former two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion, having won both the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournaments, as well as the inaugural UFC heavyweight championship at UFC 12 against Dan Severn. However, Coleman didnāt care about any of that. He just wanted to go in there and show the world he was still a top fighter, and beating Fedor was the way do just that. With Colemanās losing streak on the way out of the UFC a distant memory, the recent PRIDE Openweight Grand Prix winner is ready to face the The Last Emperor. Fedor himself, coming off the victory over Goodridge (and Japanese Pro Wrestler Yuji Nagata), is looking to claim victory over the legend. Fedor is taken down by Coleman in the opening seconds, and there is a scramble as Mark is able to take Fedorās back and briefly obtain a semi-rear naked chokehold over Fedorās chin. After Coleman is able to land some shots from the back position, Fedor reverses him. After another Hammer takedown leads to a high guard transition to armbar for Fedor, forcing Coleman to tap at 2 minutes and 11 seconds of the very first round.
Weāre going to do things a little differently for this fight. I looked up the ranking for Kevin Randleman coming into the fight against Fedor. The fight was in June of 2004, and the closest ranking to that was updated for April of 2004. Kevin Randleman was noticeably absent from this list (which ranks the top 15 in each weight class), due to his move from heavyweight to middleweight, then back up to heavyweight. Before āThe Monsterā fought Fedor, he had recent losses to Sakuraba and Rampage Jackson at middleweight. After those losses, Randleman moved up to fight Mirko Cro Cop, who was expected to win the 2004 PRIDE Heavyweight Grand Prix. In the opening round, Randleman landed the famous left hook heard around the world, and finished Cro Cop on the ground. Cro Cop was ranked as the number 5 heavyweight at the time. He was a wrecking ball bulldozing his way through the PRIDE ranks, knocking out almost everyone in his path. His only loss at the time was against Nogueira, and he was largely seen by fans and critics as a serious threat to Fedorās throne. When Randleman stopped Mirko in the first round of their matchup, he shocked the world and claimed one of the biggest victories in MMA heavyweight history. For that reason, I am giving Kevin the ranking of number 10 here, as I think itās only fair. I donāt want to give him a higher ranking than that, because I donāt want to overvalue his skills based on the sole win over Cro Cop. Unfortunately Fedor is a completely different fighter, and the glory Kevin soaked in from that victory didnāt last long. Although Kevin was coming off of a HUGE upset, Fedor was still considered the big favorite in this matchup, and to win the entire PRIDE Heavyweight Grand Prix. Randleman stunned us all in the opening minute when he got a MASSIVE suplex on Fedor, landing in side control. Fedor would prove to be tough to keep down, as he turned into a brief guillotine attempt, and used it to get on top and submit Randleman with a kimura from north-south position. Fedor needed less than two minutes to dispatch of the guy that just finished Mirko Cro Cop.
Itās PRIDE Shockwave 2004, to decide both the Heavyweight Grand Prix winner, and the unified PRIDE Heavyweight Champion. Four months prior, Big Nog and Fedor met in their second matchup and what was supposed to be the Grand Prix final. However, that fight ended just a few minutes into the opening stanza when an accidental headbutt opened a massive gash on Fedorās forehead. After 12 minutes of deliberation, the fight was deemed a no contest. In December of the same year, these two fought for the third time. Fedor was coming off wins over Randleman and Ogawa. Big Nog was coming off big wins over Herring and Kharitonov, and hadnāt lost a fight since Fedor took his championship belt in March of 2003. Nogueira, noticeably smaller and leaner in this fight, wanted to be the faster man and have some success on the feet before taking Fedor to the ground. His boxing was certainly improved by this point, and although he was becoming more well rounded, we all knew where he wanted the fight to go. All of these factors proved futile, as the mystery man Fedor came in a much improved version of himself. Although the second fight looked much like the first one (while it lasted), their trilogy matchup played out much differently. Fedor showed us a lot more patience and ring IQ in this fight. There was a lot more action on the feet, with Fedor exhibiting better footwork and landing the more powerful shots. Big Nog had moments in the striking but appeared a bit gunshy, likely from being taken down and damaged in both of their previous fights. When Fedor did take Nogueira down, it was easy, and he would instantly let Big Nog back up. Although Fedor had slowed down considerably in the third round, he was so dominant in the first two rounds that he was awarded the unanimous decision.
Barry Bonds entered my old thread when I had first written the articles about Fedor and Hendo. When I put up the scores for each of them, Hendo scored higher. He didnāt like it and tried to fight me on it. Lol.
No this isnāt my main thing and also isnāt funny but it is a way of staying active on social media while I work on the really cool and detailed shit that I like.
I watched this live and my heart hurt to see my favorite fighter get dominated like this. Coleman was far past his prime in this oneā¦ Then his daughters came in the ring after and that was hard to watch.
@HammerHouse4Life
Yeah I totally get it. That moment in the ring after the fight though with his girls has went down as an all-time classic moment in Pride though. So much emotion. Cool moment with Fedor after too. No matter what - Coleman was, is, and always will be a warrior!
I have really enjoyed reading this thread and checking out the videos! Thanks so much for posting. You are a true historian. Iām really enjoying the information on Fujiwara and early Pancrase. Iām a little obsessed with this organization especially the early years. Thanks again!
Thanks brother I appreciate it. All of this stuff fascinates me, thatās why I write about it. I love the history and I donāt want it to get lost to time.
Nice work @MasterOfMartialArts the site is looking good! The last time I checked it you didnāt have the videos embedded in the articles. They fit right in
