Fans rejoiced as it was announced that Fedor Emelianenko had won his first fight in four attempts, a dominant effort at M-1 Global’s show in Russia over veteran Jeff Monson. The Russian crowd were on their feet cheering as the decision was announced in favour of “The Last Emperor”. They were less kind to the man that some call Russia’s real-life Emperor.
In a story that is making international waves, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin entered the ring post-fight to offer words of congratulations to Fedor and address the crowd. He was booed roundly for his efforts in what the Associated Press called “an unprecedented rebuke”. The story has also been picked up by news agencies such as the BBC and the New York Times.
Russian spin control has already been called into action, with reports claiming that the booing was not actually meant for Putin, but from everyone from a Russian singer to Monson to a lack of toilets in the arena. Presumably, the fact that the booing started when Putin started speaking and ended after he stopped will be labelled as mere coincidence.
One wonders how this will play out for Putin, who has announced he will seek a third term as Russian President in 2012 but whose popularity appears to be waning. Russian commentator Konstantin von Eggert was quoted by the Associated Press as saying “We have never seen anything like this on this scale before…it is a symptom that some in Russian society are tired of Putin’s image.”
Political shenanigans aside, it was a sweet night for Fedor. The native of Stary Oskol desperately needed a win to continue a career that had all but written off after three straight losses in Strikeforce. Fedor looked dominant from bell to bell, employing a more conservative game plan than he had used previously. He was able to keep Monson at bay with leg kicks and effective combinations that sent the American to the mat multiple times. Monson’s takedowns were completely ineffective against Fedor, who controlled the entire fifteen minutes and left no doubt about the decision.
Fedor’s next move is rumoured to be a bout in Japan New Year’s Eve against Olympic gold medal judoka Satoshi Iishi. If Fedor’s career stalls again, he may want to try his hand at running for the Presidency. He was certainly more popular than Putin was Saturday night.
Complete M-1 Global results:
MAIN CARD
265 lbs.: Fedor Emelianenko def. Jeff Monson via unanimous decision
155 lbs.: Daniel Weichel def. Jose Figueroa via KO round 1
170 lbs.: Alexander Yakovlev def. Juan Manuel Suarez via TKO at 3:15 round 2
155 lbs.: Mairbek Taisumov def. Joshua Thorpe via KO at 3:15 round 2
185 lbs.: Albert Duraev def.Xavier Foupa-Pokam vis submission (triangle choke) at 2:40 round 2
UNDERCARD:
155 lbs.: Yuri Ivlev def. Jerome Bouisson via KO at 0:58 round 1
265 lbs.: Alexander Volkov def.Arsen Abdulkerimov via KO round 1
205 lbs.: Salim Davidov def. Sergey Kornev via unanimous decision
155 lbs.: Mikhail Malyutin def. Seydina Seck via KO round 1
