(Would it kill the Sambo guys to put on some pants?)

Fedor Emelianenko actually lost a fight this weekend. Sort of. Competing in the World Combat Sambo Championships, Fedor lost on points (8-5) in the semi-finals to Bulgarian Blagoi Ivanov, who went on to win the gold medal. Fedor won the bronze after his opponent in the third-place match conceded without a fight. So…does this mean he’s no longer the world’s best heavyweight?

No. Of course it doesn’t mean that. Jesus, it’s just Sambo. Would you calm down? In case you’re wondering whether this Ivanov character is some preternatural fighting genius who’s set to take over the world, he probably isn’t. Fedor beat him earlier this year at the Russian Federation President’s Cup. It just so happens that Ivanov got his revenge this time, and you could make a strong case that Fedor’s been distracted by running around filming movies and hawking Affliction in the past few months.

Fighters Only floated a rumor that Affliction had already signed Ivanov to a contract, but MMA Rated has talked to VP Tom Atencio and he says it isn’t true. The way things go in Affliction, someone else in the company may very well contradict that statement tomorrow.

Long story short: Sambo isn’t MMA, so this isn’t a sign that Fedor is washed up. It is, however, wonderfully ironic when you consider that Fedor’s burning desire to continue to do Sambo was part of his problem with the restrictive UFC contract. Just think, it could have been him beating Randy Couture this weekend. At least then he wouldn’t have had to fight that mean old Bulgarian guy.