In this Comparing Kings piece, MMA Heavyweight greats Fedor Emelianenko vs Stipe Miocic. We want to do an apples-to-apples comparison of the two greats, champion vs champion, just the facts. The last PRIDE FC champion versus the UFC heavyweight champion with the most title defenses. In Comparing Kings, we try to compare generational greats across eras. We narrow down our comparisons using only statistics and facts.
Stipe Miocic holds the record in the UFC for most title defenses with three. Fedor Emelianenko is the last champion in PRIDE FC and was the number 1 ranked heavyweight for nearly a decade. Miocic fought his way to the top of the UFC’s heavyweight division dispatching former champions and top contenders along the way, mostly by TKO. He defeated an impressive roster of heavyweights with superior hands and power.
Emelianenko went on a 28 fight win streak during his career when he was the top-ranked heavyweight in the world. During the time Emelianenko was in his prime the PRIDE FC title was the more illustrious title, even so, he dispatched many UFC champions in his title run, and also won the PRIDE 2004 heavyweight Grand Prix.
Comparing Kings: Fedor Emelianenko vs Stipe Miocic
Stats and Facts
| Fedor Emelianenko | Stipe Miocic | |
| 40-6-0 1NC | Record | 20-4-0 |
| 4-0 | Championship Record | 6-2 |
| 9-1 | Vs. UFC Champions | 6-3 |
| 16 | (T)KO | 15 |
| 15 | Sub. | 0 |
| 632-265-25 | Defeated Opponents Record (When Fought) | 260-68-2 |
| 18-29 | Opponents UFC Title Record | 14-13 1NC |
| 28 | Win Streak | 6 |
| 4-1 | Vs. Olympians | 2-1 |
| 3-0 | Vs. Kickboxing Champions | 2-0 |
| 2-1 | Vs. BJJ Champions | 2-0 |
| 51% | Sig. Strike Accuracy | 53% |
| 63% | Strike Defence | 54% |
| 63% | Takedown Accuracy | 34% |
| 82% | Takedown Defence | 68% |
| 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) |
| 76 in (193 cm) | Reach | 80 in (203 cm) |
| 233 lb (106 kg) | Weight | 234 lb (106 kg) |
| Orthodox | Stance | Orthodox |
| Russia | Born | USA |
Vs. UFC Champions
Both combatants have an impressive record against UFC Champions. Stipe Miocic has victories over UFC Champions such as Fabrício Werdum, Junior dos Santos, Andrei Arlovski, Francis Ngannou, and Daniel Cormier x2. He has three losses against UFC Champions, and two of which have been avenged. These are to dos Santos and Cormier, the lone un-avenged loss is to Ngannou.
Emelianenko has a large list of former UFC champions that he has dispatched. These include Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira x2, Mark Coleman x2, Kevin Randleman, Tim Sylvia, Andrei Arlovski, Frank Mir, and Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson. His lone loss against UFC champions was to Fabrício Werdum.
Many of their opponents had notable records in UFC title fights. Emelianenko’s opponents would have a record of 18 wins with 29 losses in UFC title fights, having fought many champions and contenders. Miocic’s opponents would fair slightly better in UFC title fight having a total combined record of 14 wins and 13 losses.
Vs. Olympians
Typically in Comparing Kings, we would use versus NCAA D1 wrestlers. However, in this case, we have a rare opportunity where we can use each combatant’s records against qualified Olympians.
Miocic fought one Olympian in his career and went 2-1 against him, this being the trilogy with Cormier who competed in wrestling. Emelianenko fought Olympians Coleman x2, in wrestling, Satoshi Ishii, a Judo medalist, and Matt Lindland, who wrestled at the Olympics. His loss to an Olympian came at the hands of Team USA Wrestler Dan Henderson.
Vs. Kickboxing Champions
Both Miocic and Emelianenko would go undefeated against kickboxing champions. Miocic defeated both Mark Hunt and Alistair Overeem via TKO. Emelianenko would defeat Hunt, Mirko Cro Cop, and Semmy Schilt.
Vs. BJJ Champions
Miocic went undefeated against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champions being Werdum and Gabriel Gonzaga. Emelianenko would get two wins over BJJ champions these being Jeff Monson and Ricardo Arona, the one loss to Werdum. Nogueira had competed and medalled at BJJ championships however never won gold.
Other Notable Statistics
Both fighters would have similar weight however Miocic would have a height and reach advantage. Miocic has a background in boxing and NCAA D1 wrestling whereas Emelianenko has a decorated background in Combat Sambo. It would be an MMA style contrast.
Regarding titles, Miocic competed for the UFC title which was recognized as the paramount title for that period. Emelianenko held the title of WAMMA but this was not used as it was not the most prestigious title for that period, the only title included for Fedor is the PRIDE FC title. Officially he went 4-0 with title defenses. He held the title for most of the fights in PRIDE but the title officially was not on the line for most of those bouts.
For more statistics and the sources for the statistics, one can use UFC Stats (Miocic/Emelianenko ). For records Tapology was used (Miocic/Emelianenko)
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