Chicago fans ready for Fedor Emelianenko
Unassuming Fedor Emelianenko, the most talented heavyweight in MMA, brings his aura of invincibility to Chicago on Saturday
People compare him to the brilliance of Michael Jordan, the dominance of Tiger Woods, and the invincible aura of Mike Tyson.
What: ''Strikeforce/M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Rogers''
Main Card: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers, Jake Shields vs Jason ''Mayhem'' Miller for the Strikeforce middleweight title, Gegard Mousasi vs. Rameu Thierry Sokodjou, Fabricio Werdum vs. Antonio Silva.
Where: Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates.
When: The undercard begins at 6 p.m. Saturday and the televised portion begins at 8 p.m.
On TV: Ch. 2
Tickets: Available at the Sears Centre Arena ticket office, online at ticketmaster.com or by phone at (800) 745-3000.
Full name: Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko
Born: Sept. 28, 1976 in Rubizhne, Luhansk in what is now Ukraine
Resides: Stary Oskol, Russia
Personal: Recently married to Marina. Two daughters -- one from previous wife Oksana.
Record: 30-1-1 Ht: 6-0 Wt: 231
Nickname: The Last Emperor
* Graduated from high school in 1991, then graduated from trade school in 1994
* From 1995-1997, served in the Russian army as a firefighter
* Four-time winner of the World Combat Sambo championships.
* Medaled in the Russian national Judo championship.
* Five time MMA champion (Rings World Heavyweight, King of Kings Championship, Pride World Heavyweight and Heavyweight Grand Prix, World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts)
* Carried Olympic torch through St. Petersburg in 2008
* Andrei Arlovski, Tim Sylvia, Matt Lindland, Mark Coleman, Mirko ''Cro Cop'' Filipovic, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Kevin Randleman.
Though his name isn't as familiar or his face isn't as recognizable, in the mixed martial arts world, Fedor Emelianenko is the most talented heavyweight in the world.
Emelianenko, is coming to town -- and coming to your living room via over-the-air TV. He will headline ''Strikeforce/M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Rogers'' at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates. The undercard will begin at 6 p.m. Saturday and the CBS broadcast will begin at 8 p.m. The card includes fights between Jake Shields and Jason ''Mayhem'' Miller for the Strikeforce middleweight title.
Emelianenko was instrumental in the event coming to Chicago.
''We actually had a couple offers to take it to the Atlantic City and the New Jersey area,'' Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said. ''But actually, Fedor and his group wanted to fight in Chicago.''
His opponent Brett Rogers is originally from Chicago, but that didn't stop Emelianenko from wanting to fight here.
''There are a lot of Russian people nowadays in Chicago,'' Emelianenko said through a translator. ''I love to perform for the American people, but also for the Russian people as well.''
And Chicago fight fans are set to turn out for Fedor. Coker estimates 85 percent of the tickets have been sold at the Sears Centre Arena. He expects a sellout by Saturday.
Emelianenko is a dominant force in MMA with a record of 30-1-1. He is a well-rounded fighter with a background in Judo and Sambo, the Russian self-defense/combat sport. Numerous fighting publications and Web sites rank him as the No. 1 heavyweight in the world and he has held five different major championships.
''Technically, he's beaten all the other styles. He's never been hurt, he's never shown any weakness -- or expression for that matter,'' said MMA legend Frank Shamrock, who will be on this weekend's CBS broadcast team. ''He has just an aura [he brings] in to the ring, like Mike Tyson had. He'd just crush people with his spirit.''
He doesn't particularly look like an elite athlete. He's a 6-foot, 235-pound Russian that doesn't have a ripped physique -- not fat, but not exactly toned. If you saw him on the street, 'athlete' wouldn't be the first word to pop into your head. I've seen many men in Ukrainian Village that could easily pass for his long-lost brother or cousin.
Nor does he act like the stereotypical modern athlete.
''He is this humble guy. Very religious, doesn't drink, doesn't party. He has this great attitude about him,'' Coker said. ''He doesn't have this overbearing, cocky, egotistical attitude that some of the other fighters have that think they're the man --when really Fedor is the man. You'd never think he's a fighter until the bell rings.''
It was his skill after the bell rings that made him the object of a bidding war this summer.
Emelianenko is one of the few big names in MMA to operate outside of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Many of his critics believe he cannot be the true No. 1 unless he fights the best competition, which they say reside in the UFC. In 2006, after the UFC bought Pride FC, where Emelianenko was the heavyweight champion, many of its fighters signed with the UFC, but not him.
For years, fans have clamored to have the UFC sign him and it almost happened in August. Emelianenko became a free agent after Affliction got out of the fight promotion business.
Emelianenko's management company, M-1 Global, held talks with the UFC. Huge salary numbers were tossed around, but the main issue was co-promotion. M-1 wanted to co-promote Emelianenko's fights with the UFC. The UFC has never done that and said they never will. The talks deadlocked.
Strikeforce was willing to accept M-1's co-promotion terms. It already has a co-promotion deal with DREAM, a Japanese MMA company. So it was Strikeforce that signed Emelianenko to a four-fight contract.
UFC president Dana White was furious with Emelianenko, M-1, and Strikeforce. Fans were teased by the tantalizing thought of a match with Emelianenko against the UFC's dominating heavyweight Brock Lesnar. But this week Emelianenko didn't seem to worry about fan backlash.
''I think it would be good if they would understand that I could not sign a one-sided contract with the UFC,'' Emelianenko said. ''Vadim [Finkelchtein], my manager he considered that we deserve a little bit more.''
Most fighters dream of an opportunity to compete for the sport's biggest organization, but Emelianenko is certainly not the typical fighter.
He seems not to care if you know his name, if he achieves commercial success, or if he achieves American superstardom.
''I don't think about that because I'm preparing for my fights. I want to show interesting and beautiful fights so that the audience loves the fights.''
On Saturday, an entertaining, talent-filled card awaits Chicago fight fans, who will get the opportunity to see one of the world's best close up and can make their own judgments.