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Fedor Emelianenko turned his family name into combat sports royalty by becoming one of the very best pro MMA fighters on the planet, after already dominating the Sambo scene. His brother Aleksander followed suit and began carving out his own path, although tarnishing the family legacy with horrific acts. Well, there is a third Emelianenko brother that many fans have forgotten about named Ivan, and he just won his professional MMA debut at the age of 35. Ivan Emelianenko just scored a unanimous decision over Russian Judo champion, Alexei Ledenev, at REN TV Fights in Moscow.
The youngest of the Emelianenko brothers had a ton of hype behind him 20-years ago. Fedor would routinely speak highly of his teenage brother, but for whatever reason, an MMA debut just never came to fruition until now.
The match was three three-minute rounds, and wasn’t the sort of dominating performance you might expect from an Emelianenko, but it was a fine fight between two guys who were both making their debuts. Ivan even scored a sweet knockdown in the opening round, showcasing that familiar Emelianenko power.
Does this mean that Ivan is now ready to pursue the life of a prize fighter? Not exactly. I mean, I made my pro debut at age 34, and haven’t fought in MMA since. Point being, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if this was some sort of bucket list item for Ivan, and we never see him compete in a cage again. Who knows, though, because the last time I checked cash was still king and Russian MMA is going to Russian MMA.
Full fight video
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