There are Levels in This Game… As Chael Sonnen Found Out When He Took on ‘The Last Emperor’ Last Night…
Chael Sonnen got absolutely battered in the first round by a resurgent Fedor Emelianenko at Bellator 208, in the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York. ‘The Last Emperor’ will now move forward to face Ryan Bader in the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix final, which will take place in January.
This fight had a lot of promotion, with two of the biggest names in noughties MMA fighting in it. Obviously, both men are past their best. Fedor is 42, while Sonnen is 41. However, it was the Russian who came out of the blocks chomping at the bit and showed the levels there are to this game.
Sonnen was in trouble from the beginning as he struggled to cope with Fedor’s power. Watch the footage below, as Sonnen basically seemed to just give up under the weight of the Russian’s relentless ground-and-pound.
https://twitter.com/GlobeSvcs/status/1051322526347845634
Bad Start
‘The American Gangster’ might talk the talk, but there was only one way he was ever going to win this fight, and it involved taking Fedor down. He came out fast, but within seconds was caught with a meaty paw, sending him sprawling to the ground. Sonnen gamely got back to his feet and went looking for the takedown again, but it was avoided.
The third time he tried to get the takedown, Emelianenko countered with a judo toss, ending up on top. Sonnen was able to create space with his feet, and Fedor contemptuously told him to get to his feet. The Russian was already dominating this fight.
At the fourth time of asking, Sonnen took Fedor to the ground. However, he didn’t count on how explosive the Russian is and ended up underneath before he even knew what was happening. The next thing he knew he was eating punches.
https://twitter.com/GlobeSvcs/status/1051320925977628672
The End
Chael scrambled and managed to get back to his feet. He shot again, this time scoring a big takedown, and establishing half-guard. Finally, it looked like he was getting a bit of rhythm and the chance to dictate the pace of the fight. Not for long though. Fedor scrambled, winding up on top and moved back to allow Sonnen to stand.
As soon as his two knees left the ground, Fedor unloaded. He cracked Sonnen with a heavy hand, sending him crashing. Then he stood over him battering ‘The American Gangster’ with ground-and-pound until Dan Miragliotta intervened. While it looked like Sonnen just gave up, he was clearly stunned by the strike that dropped him in the first place.
🐐 #Bellator208 pic.twitter.com/zZ9pJcZhf8
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) October 14, 2018
Final Time
Fedor will move forward and face Ryan Bader in the heavyweight grand prix final next January. It does feel like this competition has been going on forever. Bader will definitely be the favorite, especially after yesterday defeating the last man to beat Fedor – Matt Mitrione.
Will ‘The Last Emperor’ be able to cap off his career with one more fantastic crown. Or is it the turn of Ryan Bader to climb to the top of the heap?
