Fedor Emelianenko has been trying to have his final bout in mixed martial arts for quite some time. The longtime veteran and disputed Greatest of all time has had the political situation impact his career and cancel anticipated showdown with Ryan Bader in Moscow.
Like many of his countrymen, Fedor is in the midst of a big crisis. But his perception of the youths response to the latest political moves out of Moscow has been interesting.
Bloomberg reported that over 400,000 individuals have fled to nearby nations like Georgia, Kazakhstan, or Mongolia. Some men have even gone as far as self-mutilation to dodge the drafting.
According to Forbes, “search terms like “how to break an arm,” “how to break an arm at home” or “how to break a leg” spiked on Google (which is still used by millions in Russia) in the days after the draft was announced.”
In an interview with Championat, heavyweight Emelianenko responded:
“There are different [reactions] in my environment, people have different thoughts, questions arise. But for me personally, it was a great discovery and a slight shock when you read the news in our country, what is happening in the military registration and enlistment offices and that people are fleeing the draft.”
One person who isn’t dodging the draft is Fedor’s brother. Ivan Emelianenko, who once worked for one of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs’ special forces teams.
Aleksandr Emelianenko recently spoke to Match TV. He said,
“Ivan will be sent as a volunteer under contract. I know that he’s already passed a medical examination. When exactly he’ll go, I can’t say.”
Ivan has a history in sambo and like his siblings, he was previously anticipated to follow in Fedor and Aleks’ footsteps.
Ivan is the only one of the three Emelianenko siblings that has been drafted to war in Ukraine. Aleksandr said he is not “eligible” but would nonetheless go to war if necessary.
Aleksandr said, “I am not eligible for military service, I wasn’t called up. If the Motherland calls me to defend the borders, I’ll go. I just didn’t serve in the army. My brother served in the special forces, so he volunteered.”
Fedor Emelianenko served in the Russian army from 1995 to 1997. He was a military firefighter before joining the Tank Division near Nizhny Novgorod.