Famed MMA veteran Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson admits Fedor Emelianenko was the hardest hitter he faced in his career.
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Jackson fought the who’s-who of light heavyweight during his almost two-decade run, including hard hitters like Chuck Liddell, Kevin Randleman, and Dan Henderson. Despite this, it was his last professional bout against Emelianenko that registered as the hardest he’s been punched.
“I always said Kevin Randleman [was the hardest hitter]… until my last fight with Fedor,” Jackson revealed on his JAXXON podcast. “Fedor hit me with a punch; I never even saw that punch coming. Never even saw it.”
Although he was fighting an out-of-shape Jackson at Bellator 237, Emelianenko displayed pure dominance on the feet, exhibiting his impressive hand speed for a heavyweight. The fight ended three minutes into the first round when Emelianenko landed his patented no-tell right hand, flooring Jackson and bloodying him. Watch the full fight below, courtesy of Bellator MMA on YouTube:
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Emelianenko fought fellow MMA and UFC veteran Chael Sonnen at Bellator 208 in 2018. ‘The Last Emperor’ TKO’d Sonnen at the end of the first round. Sonnen would have this to say about his underrated power:
“I knew he was fast,” Sonnen said on ESPN directly after the fight. “I thought it was for a heavyweight, I didn’t know it was just plain fast; I didn’t even see some punches, I mean he must have knocked me down four times. I just felt like I kept falling down and getting up and falling down…”
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Emelianenko might be the front-runner for the most underrated power puncher in heavyweight MMA.
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