Sherdog's Top 10: Greatest Pride Fights

9. Fedor Emelianenko vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira 3 | Shockwave 2004 (Dec. 31, 2004)

On New Year’s Eve, MMA saw its biggest fight of 2004, featuring the two greatest heavyweights it had ever seen up until then. On one side was Brazilian legend Nogueira, whose only defeat in recent memory had been to Emelianenko, and who desperately wanted to win back his Pride heavyweight crown. On the other side was the seemingly unbeatable reigning champion, who had never truly lost and would not for years to come. Emelianenko had dominated Nogueira in their first meeting and the rematch in the finals of the 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix was over prematurely due to a huge cut to Emelianenko from a clash of the heads. Thus, this third bout was to decide heavyweight supremacy. Could Nogueira improve on his previous performance? The showdown immediately began with a bang, with Emelianenko smashing Nogueira's leg with a kick that partially turned him around, the Brazilian clinching, and Emelianenko instantly reacting, throwing him down to the canvas with authority. Emelianenko then stood up and tried to head-stomp Nogueira, at one point landing a sharp soccer kick right to the face.

Thus it went for most of the fight: Emelianenko launching deadly accurate, fast, powerful strikes, many of which connected flush, and frequently using them to immediately transition to a gorgeous judo-based takedown if Nogueira was within range. On the ground, the Brazilian would try to trap and throw up submissions, showing tremendous heart despite the litany of ground-and-pound the Russian battered him with, including the aforementioned soccer kicks and head-stomps. Emelianenko, though, always managed to evade, sometimes by the skin of his teeth. Nogueira had his moments, including a takedown with 30 seconds left in the first round that saw him attain half-guard and land solid ground-and-pound. However, it was not enough, with Emelianenko winning the clear unanimous decision. Thus, while it was a dominant performance by Emelianenko that asserted his supremacy and showed him at his very best, the fight was still riveting for the entire 20 minutes. You never knew if Nogueira would pull a rabbit out of a hat, garnering a submission in a fight in which he was being badly beaten, something he had done and would do many times throughout his amazing career. In fact, one such fight will be discussed later on this list.

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