VIDEO: Fedor Emelianenko's Mystery Brother Wins Pro MMA Debut in Russia
The name Emelianenko is synonymous with the sport of MMA, and now 35 year-old Ivan Emelianenko has followed in his brother Fedor and Aleksander’s footsteps by entering the cage as a professional fighter.
The youngest of the three brothers certainly took his time to decide he wanted to compete in MMA considering the other two Emelianenkos already have over 80 pro bouts between the two of them, but Ivan did have a successful debut when he defeated Alexei Ledenev at REN TV Fights in Moscow.
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Ivan took a unanimous decision over Ledenev, who was also making his pro MMA debut. It certainly seems as if he carries some of the same punching power that helped bring his brothers so much success, as highlights from the matchup show Emelianenko dropping Ledenev with a big combination.
REN TV Fights also featured Aleksander Emelianenko competing in MMA for the first time since 2021, but his fight ended up being one of the weirdest bouts the sport has seen in the modern era.
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The 41-year-old took on Russian vlogger Evgeny Ershov, who battered “The Grim Reaper” with punches late in the second round until the referee stepped in. The bout resumed after Ershov apparently told the referee that he’d like to let Emelianenko continue, and in the second round the vlogger tapped to a kimura as soon just seconds after he landed completed a takedown.
Aleksander’s reputation in the sport had already been sullied considerably when he was found guilty of sexual assault in 2015 and served time in prison, but the oldest Emelianenko brother Fedor is still celebrated as one of MMA’s all-time greats. “The Last Emperor” was arguably the sport's biggest star while competing in PRIDE, and he later went on to fight in Strikeforce and M-1 Global before closing out his career with Bellator.
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