Regarded as one of the best ever to grace the sport, Fedor Emilianenko has finally retired from MMA. Also known as, ‘The Last Emperor’, Fedor took on Ryan Bader at Bellator 290 for his career swan song.
In a career spanning over two decades, the Russian fighter has solidified his legacy as one of the greatest ever. Although his nickname is ‘The Last Emperor’, many would instead call him the first and the only Emperor of the sport. Accumulating a legendary 40-7 record, Fedor has certainly seen his fair share of action, and, has been handsomely rewarded for it as well.
Per MMA Fighting, Disclosed Purses for #Bellator290, pic.twitter.com/0iicoOLagT
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) February 5, 2023
According to MMA Fighting, Fedor has taken home $100,000 for his retirement fight against Ryan Bader. In what was a rematch of their UFC 214 bout, Fedor faced a similar outcome. Initially unleashing a wild right, Fedor was caught by Bader’s left hand and taken down for some ground and pound. After that, it was only a matter of time before referee Herb Dean called off the fight.
As such, Ryan Bader made history and became the first-ever fighter to beat Fedor twice. After the fight, Bader was quick to embrace the Russian, hailing him as a true legend of the sport. Moreover, we also saw several legends like Randy Couture, Chuck Lidell, and Dan Henderson step inside the cage as Fedor laid down his gloves.
Having fought against the best in the sport, watching Fedor take his leave was certainly an emotional sight for many. As such, many fighters took to social media, wishing Fedor the best and bidding him farewell.
Fedor Emilianenko MMA career earnings
Known for being able to roll with the biggest and baddest heavyweights in the world, Fedor is sure to have made good money from his fights. As such, let’s examine some of Fedor Emilianenko’s biggest career earnings during his time in numerous MMA promotions around the world.
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According to sources, the 46-year-old made $300,000 for his first-round submission win against Tim Sylvia at Affliction: Banned in 2008. In his next fight with the same promotion, Fedor took on UFC veteran Andrei Arlovski. Following a KO/TKO win against Arlovski, Fedor was awarded another $300,000.
After this, Fedor made his way to Strikeforce where he beat Brett Rodgers but lost to Fabricio Werdum, Antonio Silva, and Dan Henderson. Despite his losses, Emilianenko reportedly raked in $400,000 for each fight. Further, the Russian would then go on to beat Jaideep Singh at the Rizin World Grand Prix 2015 Finale, bringing in a career-high $2,200,000.
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The amount was closely matched when he took on Fabio Maldonado at EFN 50, bringing in an estimated $2,000,000. This led to Fedor’s move to Bellator where he beat Frank Mir and Chael Sonnen before losing to Ryan Bader at Bellator 214. For each of these bouts, Fedor Emilianenko took home approximately $300,000 in fight purses.
Ending his career with 40 wins to his name, Fedor is quite possibly the greatest to ever do it. As such, he walks away from the sport having pocketed approximately $8 million in earnings. Recently, Fedor also revealed that he was in talks with Dana White to join the UFC, but could not come to an agreement.
Would you have liked to see Fedor in the UFC? What did you make of his extraordinary career? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.