Original subtitles

Once upon a time, Alexander Emilianenko was among the heavyweight cream of the crop.

Blistering speed.

Brutal Chokes.

And merciless ground and pound.

The younger Emilianenko had all it takes to dominate in MMA.

Now, the most talented of the three brothers is a shadow of his former self,

taking fights against YouTubers to entertain the local audience.

So it would be nice to reminisce about the heyday of Russia's most scandalous sons.

The Emilianenko brothers grew up in the industrial city of Staria's coal.

In a family of a welder and a teacher.

At the age of seven, Alexander followed his older brother

Fador and started attending Judo and Sambo classes.

The kindergarten was two or three neighborhoods away, so to get there faster

I would carry him on my back and we would walk home.

After completing the ninth grade, the younger Emilianenko went to a

vocational college to become a cook, but only lasted a week due to misconduct.

In 1999, he won the European Sambo Championship, while simultaneously getting

involved in criminal activities, which would

lead to his first prison term at the age of 18.

The exact charges remain unknown to this day, but there

are rumors that Alexander was convicted of banditry.

According to various estimates, he spent three and a half years behind

bars, until Fador helped him get free in 2003.

Upon leaving the penitentiary system, Emilianenko

immediately began preparations for his MMA debut.

Alexander joined the Russian top team, along with

Fador and another elite heavyweight, Sergey Haritolnov.

By that time, the elder Emilianenko had already held the Pride Championship title

and played a role in securing his brother's contract with the Japanese promotion.

Entering the stage for the first time in the autumn of

2003, the 22-year-old Alexander showcased fast hands.

Enterting the audience with signature Sambo techniques,

and grounded pound similar to his older brothers.

In a span of eight months, he secured three wins in the professional circuit and

won the Combat Sambo World Championships, gaining

success in two sports shortly after being released.

However, his alcohol addiction did not subside, and

Fador had to frequently drag him out of dark places.

Following three victories, the matchmakers offered Alexander a rendezvous with Mirko

Crocop, who was a top five heavyweight in the world at the

time, and regularly ventured into K1 to collect some scalps.

Emilianenko's team believed that such a level of opposition was a step too far,

but Alex was more than confident in his abilities.

During the camp, he went on a drinking spree, which clearly had a detrimental effect.

The potbellied Emilian enko brazenly lunged

forward, trying to catch Mirko against the ropes.

Meanwhile,

Felipovich steadily attacked the body.

The patented high kick was just a matter of time.

Let's check, and it's over!

Just like that, Mirko Crocop defeats Emilianenko!

Fador watched the fight in the locker room, preparing for his own bout.

He eloquently described what had happened.

Also present was coach Voronov, who mentioned his protege's lack of discipline.

In the dressing room, Emilianenko still had little understanding of what had

occurred, while Crocop's first move was to call his mother.

Getting back in the wind column back home, in the autumn of

2004, Alexander found himself in the Snow White Ring once again.

The counterpart was the newcomer, James Thompson.

The Englishman was so pumped up, as if he had been

waiting for hours for his turn in the restroom.

From which a satisfied Emilianenko finally came out.

In a fleeting moment

of chaos, the Russian delivered a batch of tranquilizers.

And sealed the deal at the 11 second mark.

Easy work for Alexander.

The return took place six months later.

Ricardo Marace was renowned for winning a truly old school, no holds barred Grand

Prix from 95, where he finished off five opponents in a single night.

Having apparently reserved a table at the pub,

Emilianenko had no intention of being late.

The very first flurry cracked the Brazilian,

and only subsequent strikes held him upright.

The whole affair took 15 seconds.

At the end of 2005, Alexander appeared at the Bushido event in the Netherlands.

Replacing his injured brother, he stepped into the main event spot

against the European kickboxing champion, Renee

Ruse, fired up by the Bruce Boffer Wannabe.

He charged forward from the word go.

Correling the victim into the corner, Emilianenko left the sledgehammer's fly.

This time, Alex delighted the spectators for 28 seconds, thus needing less than a

minute in total to dispatch his last three rivals.

After redeeming himself in the eyes of Japanese promoters, at their New Year's

event, the 24-year-old Alexander faced Olympic judo champion Pavel Nastula,

following the initial exchange.

The pole decided to avoid stand-up altogether.

Nastula snatched an arm bar on the ground.

But did not expect to get kicked in the head in that position.

And look at the power rake out of that.

Oh my god.

Wow, you talk about Bruce straight to the part of a million ankle now.

Grabbing a Kimura.

There you go.

Working at it now.

He's okay.

He's okay.

He's all right.

Emilianenko scrambled back up and easily passed the guard.

Firmly secured behind the stool is back.

He applied a lock across the jaw, forcing the judoka to tap.

It's a little high though, he's got his chin in there.

He tapped out.

He tapped out.

He tapped out.

Thus ended Alexander's second year in MMA.

In a short span of time, the Russian scored eight wins.

Suffering only one defeat against the peak cro-cop.

However, his bad habits remain steadfast, refusing to fade away.

On the contrary, the easier the victories

flowed, the longer he was absent from the gym.

In May 2006, Emilianenko took part in Pride's most prestigious Grand Prix.

In the round of 16, he faced the experienced Josh Barnett, the former UFC

champion, the classy man putting on the belt and

catch wrestling's finest representative in MMA.

Emilianenko took control of the center and let the hands go.

See that?

Alex Averman.

Nice uppercut by Emilianenko.

He's having Torino in a Mercury cyclo GT, so

giving Jay Leno a run for his money there.

Once the intoxicating spirits departed from his system,

he began to fade and gradually lost the initiative.

The fresher Barnett executed a takedown.

Fired a couple of knees and got the job done with an Americana.

Later, Barnett would apply a Kimura on Marcon and snatch a victory from Big Nog

himself, but ultimately fell short against good old Mirko cro-cop in the finals.

Oh no!

That's it?

Meanwhile, Alexander resolved a conflict with his former teammate Sergei Haritorno.

Back in 2003, the brothers left for another gym without notifying anyone,

which caused distress among their comrades.

One of those dissatisfied parties was Haritorno,

who had a 7-2 record in the promotion.

He even challenged Fedor, but it was the younger brother who answered the call-out.

Emilianenko got going with boxing combinations.

Haritorno adhered to bait-and-counter style, waiting for the right opportunity.

The grappling portion lacked action, so the referee stood the athletes back up.

Drawing his men in, Emilianenko landed a right hand, and gladly served an extra meal.

Councing on the wounded prey, he showered

Haritorno with knees, which was legal in pride.

Oh my goodness!

More than 15 years have gone by, but the hatchet remains unburied to this day.

In the spring of 2007, the UFC bought pride, and the Japanese League ceased to

exist, most top fighters transitioned to the American promotion, but the famous

brothers weren't among them due to a failure

to reach an agreement between the parties.

Temporarily unemployed, Alexander embarked

on a journey through various organizations.

His first stop was Bodog fight, which offered him Eric Pele, the king of

the cage champion, on a win streak of five.

Emilianenko uncorked his quick combinations, and solid knees in the clinch.

Clearly having other plans for the evening, he did not let the Samoan off the hook.

Re-adjusting the mouth guard for maximum comfort, Emilianenko put a cherry on top.

Alex returned to home soil shortly after, and applied

to Kimura on the relatively unknown Jesse Gibson.

Towards the end of the year, he went overseas, where he was welcomed by Dan Babish.

Despite the appearance of a circus strongman, the monstrous brawler was no

punching dummy, entering the bout on a run of six straight finishes.

Imagining his foe as a juicy burger, the giant expected to devour him swiftly.

Emilianenko tamed the 330-pound adversary,

delivered a knee to the gut, and put on the squeeze.

Time on the counter, suspicious, 69 seconds.

In the late 2000s, the 28-year-old Alexander became the biggest star in Russian MMA.

He dispatched relatively unknown journeymen.

And maintained excellent speed for a heavyweight.

In the same timeline, Emilianenko Jr. found

himself increasingly involved in public scandals.

He would appear drunk, even at his own seminars.

In 2010, Alexander faced experienced K-1 veteran Peter Graham.

The Russian expected another cakewalk, and was

unpleasantly surprised when Graham refused to go down easy.

And during the initial assault, the Australian

striker unleashed his notorious leg kicks.

And when Alex fell for the fourth time, there was no point in continuing.

With his eight-fight winning streak broken, Alex

returned to the leading Russian promotion, M1.

On the other side of the ring stood the former boxer, Magamiad Malekov,

relative, not superior.

It was all over before it even started.

An overhand landed right on the chin, and the

subsequent onslaught destroyed any hopes of a comeback.

Emilianenko had no intention of admitting defeat.

By this moment, Alexander's presence in bars had

evidently surpassed his time spent in the gym.

His talent still allowed him to achieve victories against less prominent opposition.

Returning from the monastery in 2013, he got rid of

Bob Sapp, who worked part-time wherever they paid.

It was also the last time we would see Fedor and Alex together.

The turning point in their careers in relationship would be in 2014.

Emilianenko Jr. offered zero resistance to the young Dimitri Sosnovski.

And soon found himself locked up again, accused of raping a woman while intoxicated.

This incident would be the last straw for Fedor, and he completely disassociated

himself from his brother, saying he is dead to me.

After being released on parole a couple of years later, Alexander would come back to

the sport, fully transforming into a homegrown hero,

whose main mission is to beat up on foreigners.

And now even bloggers to amuse the local crowd.

His alcohol addiction didn't go anywhere.

It's worth noting that he continues to rise from the ashes time and time again.

But with each new setback, the abyss of his downfall grows deeper.

Also worth mentioning is Ivan Emilianenko, the youngest of the three brothers.

He also achieved success in Sambo, but chose not to pursue a professional career.

When asked, who was the more talented among the brothers?

Ivan confidently answers.

Alexander was undoubtedly more gifted.

By far, Fedor busted his ass off after the army service and started showing results.

At 17, Alexander would be nowhere to be found in the training room, then go on to

effortlessly win the Russian championship, and then conquer the European Cup as well.

Again, without much preparation.

Didn't he train at all?

He made a brief appearance to the gym a week before the tournament just to say

hello, and then dismantled everyone like it was nothing unbelievable.

During the golden years of pride, Alexander and Emilianenko

cemented himself as an integral part of the promotion.

No lack of discipline or abundance of bad habits could stop him from impressing the

fans with a cold-blooded gaze and innate speed.

Alexander might have only displayed tiny fragments of his talent, but it was enough

to build a career full of memorable highlights.

We now go to three six-minute mark.

Oh my goodness.

It's not a good job.

Thank you very much.

I want to thank you for your support.

Isn't this wonderful?

I want to thank you for your support.