Aleksander Emelianenko

('And now I join you in holy matrimony, for better or for worse, until one of you starves or is eaten by wolves.')

Here’s how unconcerned Fedor Emelianenko is about fighting Brett Rogers on Strikeforce’s November 7 show on CBS: instead of training his ass off with a single-minded focus on destruction, he took some time out to get married this weekend.  Fedor took the plunge for the second time in his life (his first marriage ended in 2006), and he did it in a Russian Orthodox ceremony which involves a lot of awesome symbolism, such as being crowned the king of your own home.  The typical Orthodox wedding also usually involves a couple days worth of celebrating, but we're hoping that Fedor postponed that, along with the honeymoon, so he could be back hitting tires with sledgehammers and sparring in public parks by Monday morning.

Seriously, it’s great that Fedor has entered once again into wedded bliss, and we’re very happy for him, but couldn’t this have waited until after the Rogers fight?  Judging by the pictures, his bride wasn’t eight months pregnant, so they could have conceivably put it off until after the fight if they wanted to.  At this point we have to assume that Fedor knows how to prepare for a fight, but these distractions are starting to take on a little bit of a “Rocky III” kind of feel, and – we’re just putting it out there – Brett Rogers and Clubber Lang have very similar haircuts.

In other Emelianenko family news...

(Props: TSGIGOR)

We don't speak the Russkie, but according to rough translations of the above shout-out video, Aleksander Emelianenko would just like to say thank you to all his fans, and vows to come to America soon to "beat everyone in the UFC." Yes, everyone — even the lightweights, we'd have to assume. And sure, Aleksander seems to pop up every few months to make similar proclamations, despite the fact that the CSAC's Bill Douglas once stated that he'll never be licensed to fight in the U.S. again. But things feel a little different now...and dare we say, hopeful.

Back in March, Aleks said he was pondering an offer from the UFC. At the time, we pointed out that his Affliction contract would get in the way of a UFC signing happening in the immediate future, but now that Affliction is toast, he's basically a free agent again; remember, he no longer has any official ties to M-1 either. Just spitballin' here, but could the UFC pick him up to put in European shows, thereby skirting his blacklisted status in the U.S.? (After all, the CSAC never came out and said "Hep B" — that was just the widespread rumor.) Or is this one of those pipe dreams that will never materialize, no matter how many ethical guidelines are bent?

(Still the master of the just-woke-up-and-ready-for-murder look.)

The next stop on Aleksander Emelianenko’s “I Totally Don’t Have Hepatitis” tour is reportedly set for September 29 in South Korea, where he’ll meet Blagoi Ivanov, the Bulgarian fighter who defeated his brother Fedor in the World Combat Sambo Championships in November.  The fight is scheduled to go down in the newly-formed Fighter Mania Championship (or, if you prefer, the FMC) in Seoul, and the hook here is fairly obvious.  Aleks attempts to exact revenge on the man who embarrassed his brother in Sambo by beating him in MMA and maybe also infecting him with a blood-borne disease.  Ivanov is supposed to be making his MMA debut against Kazuyuki Fujita at Sengoku 8 on August 2, but apparently the FMC promoters are betting he’ll be fine to compete again less than two months later.

You have to give Ivanov this much, for a guy with zero professional experience in MMA he’s certainly diving into deep waters right away.  Fujita and Aleks Emelianenko may not be at the top of anyone’s heavyweight list, but they’re both experienced, dangerous opponents.  It seems we’ll find out in a hurry whether winning a Sambo tournament makes you an instantly credible MMA fighter.  Our guess is no, it probably doesn’t.

#9: Aleksander Emelianenko vs. James Thompson @ PRIDE 28 (10/31/04), 11 seconds

Beginning with one of the greatest face-offs in MMA history — which pitted Thompson’s theatrical fury against Aleks’s nose-picking stoicism — it was clear that this fight was going to provide an entertaining clash of styles. Thompson’s ridiculous “gong-and-dash” routine actually succeeds in catching Emelianenko off-guard, but as soon as the Grim Reaper springs back to his feet, reality sets in. Thompson proceeds to eat punch after punch until his legs give out, thus proving a very important lesson: It doesn’t matter how big you are, or how angry you look — real power comes from having tons of Russian prison tattoos.

CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO...

(He thought wearing the t-shirt would bring him joy, but still he felt a profound melancholy. Props: FiveOuncesofPain)

MMA Cube passes along a translation of a recent blog post by Aleksander Emelianenko, in which the ex-Red Devil fighter talks about his plans for the future, while denying rumors of his criminal history and health issues. No surprises there, really. Though this part was kind of interesting:

UFC, huh? Of course Aleksander would have to complete his three-fight U.S.-exclusive contract with Affliction first, and he's fulfilled zero of those three fights so far. But you have to believe that Dana White would want to sign Aleks to the UFC as a thumb in the eye to his brother Fedor. Oh! Delicious! By the way, not to beat a dead horse, but Aleks could totally compete in America if it came down to it: