According to a report from RT.com, mixed martial arts legend and icon Fedor Emelianenko has been admitted to a local hospital in Moscow for complications from the COVID-19 disease. The facility is best known for treating patients who have contracted the virus is called Clinical Hospital #52. The 44-year old fighter took to Instagram and thanked fans and supporters for his well-being.
“Thanks to all who are genuinely concerned for my health,” the message reads, via translation by RT Sport. “I feel fine, I am going into recovery. I’m grateful to the doctors and medical staff for their care and hard work.”
Emelianenko was known as one of the most feared fighters in the entire sport of MMA as he went on to a dominant run in PRIDE FC, running through opponent after opponent en route to capturing the heavyweight crown over in Japan. He has had many memorable victories over Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira, Mark Coleman, Heath Herring, and Gary Goodridge. He also had some impressive first-round wins over Andrei Arlovski and Tim Sylvia in the Affliction promotion.
The Russian sportsman was last seen on the Bellator MMA heavyweight roster. He last fought in December 2019, defeating fellow PRIDE alumnus Quinton Jackson via TKO in the first round. He was a contender for the heavyweight championship in his prior fight against Ryan Bader before falling short.
The most notable part of his two-decade career for him is having never set foot in the UFC Octagon throughout his two-decade fighting career, though UFC president Dana White did attempt to set up a fight between Fedor and former UFC champion Brock Lesnar back in 2012. Negotiations between the three sides fell through and the fight never materialized.
Aside from his mixed martial arts career, he is also a nine-time sambo champion back home in his native Russia. More than three and a half million infections have been reported in the world’s largest country with over 66,000 deaths reported and 20,000 cases confirmed. The most notable pandemic tragedy in Russian MMA was Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, the father, coach, and mentor of UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, who passed away last July due to COVID-19 complications.
