FEDOR EMELIANENKO

If there ever was a mythical warrior of our time it would have to be Fedor Emelianenko. Forget the Hollywood myths like Rocky and Gladiator. Fedor is the real deal. He is a Russian mixed martial arts fighter who has risen to the top of his game. He has been unanimously labelled the best pound for pound fighter in the world. He height is six feet and he weighs just over 200 pounds but he has the uncanny ability to "bear" handle opponents who are double his size. Anyone of equal size is nothing more than childs play for him. Now one would assume he looks like a bad ass but what confounds most people is that he looks rather pudgy and boyish looking. He doesn't seem to show any degree of emotion when he fights. He could be landing a devestating flurry of punches and look bored doing it. Outside the ring he has a pleasant and almost shy disposition. He has none of the qualities that we in the west were taught would make a tough guy. He shatters our myths and makes us rethink "the tough guy" persona. I personally think he is a legend in the making. A sort of Achilles if you will. No one but the Gods know his real weakness.

As for how he does it. I have analyzed him enough that I think I know what makes him so great. I listed my ten reasons below.

1. He has an endomorphic body type with wide neck, shoulders, hips and feet. With this structure, his center of mass is well balanced and difficult to offset and he knows how to effectively shift his mass for leveraging various positions.
2. He is exceptionally flexible, wiry and springy for his body type. He moves 220 lbs around like he is a 150 pounder.
3. He knows how to effectively pace and conserve energy, invariably to the oppenent he is fighting.
4. He doesn't show any fear or intimidation about exchanging face punches with an opponent. Most fighters worry about having their faces beaten in. This isn't a concern for Fedor and he exploits his opponents fear of this by confidently taking the surprise initiative and causing his opponents to be opened up to his devestating bombs.
5. His submission skills are almost artful. He has a background in a russian fighting style called Sambo and intuitively knows how to expose vulnerable submission opportunities.
6. His durability by way of his genetics must be exceptional. Noone knows if he has a larger than average cardiovascular system. His brothers are larger than he is, so he could be a compact energy machine. The racing horse Secretariat was given an autopsy to determine why it was more powerful than other race horses and they found that his heart was 1.5 times bigger than average. Fedor not only possesses excellent endurance, his constitution for how long he can endure a beating is unique as well.
7. His early influences in life may have had an effect on his overall mental philosophy and how he navigates a fight. Mentally he may have a greater edge over his opponents. Experts say that 80 percent of winning all sports is mental.
8. His training methods are more diverse and natural. He's not the hamster in a cage running a treadwheel. He is literally out in the field where the oxygen is fresher.
9. He was said to be an extremely hard worker in training. His will and intesity was comparitively unique.
10. His family, friends and support group are a strong foundation for his psychological well being. My guess is that he is extremely centered having no inner demons to distract him.