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The Emperor's Last: MMA pioneer Fedor Emelianenko retiring
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Fedor Emelianenko, left, laughs at a comment by interpreter Georgiy Litvinov during a news conference in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. Emelianenko says he is retiring from his memorable mixed martial arts career after he fights Ryan Bader for the Bellator heavyweight title on Saturday, Feb. 4. - photo by AP Photo/Greg Beacham
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Fedor Emelianenko became a near-mythical martial arts figure two decades ago at the grey dawn of the social media age, so his earliest exploits had a tantalizing touch of mystery. His vicious knockouts and submissions weren't broadcast worldwide or posted on YouTube and Twitter for immediate viewing. They had to be excavated from the internet's dark recesses, or watched on grainy VHS tapes and sketchy DVDs by devotees of a sketchy sport called mixed martial arts.