Joe Rogan has long been vocal about his admiration for former Pride FC heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko. During episode #2439 of The Joe Rogan Experience with guest Johnny Knoxville, the UFC commentator once again expressed his reverence for the Russian fighter.
When Knoxville brought up the legendary icon, asking directly about Rogan’s thoughts on Fedor, the response was immediate and enthusiastic: “I love him. I love him. He’s one of the all-time greats. He was one of my favorite fighters of all time.”
Rogan explained what made Fedor so special during his prime years: “He was the most complete out of all those guys because he was a guy that could fight you standing up at an elite level, but also in any kind of wild scramble. He would catch an armbar off of his back. He would submit you on the ground. He could throw you. He could do everything. He was the most complete out of all of the heavyweights of his era.”
The conversation touched on one of Fedor’s most famous moments, when Kevin Randleman delivered a devastating suplex that landed Fedor directly on his head.
“You remember when Kevin Randleman suplexed him?” Knoxville asked. “And I’ve never seen someone get suplexed on their head and not only push through it, he submitted him pretty soon afterwards, right?”
Rogan confirmed the timeline, noting Fedor caught Randleman in an arm bar shortly after the slam. Rogan marveled at the recovery: “That could have knocked most people completely unconscious. Could have separated your vertebrae.”
What made Fedor particularly unique, according to Rogan, was his mental fortitude. “His mindset was f**king impenetrable,” he said.
Rogan stated: “Stoic. I mean, stoic. Like deadfaced. No matter what was going on, it could be the most chaotic, insane fight, getting blasted in the face. Never changed his expression like a f**king robot.”
Rogan emphasized the importance of judging fighters during their peak performance window: “There’s a time where a fighter can operate under that peak form and it’s a short window, you know, and I always say when you’re looking at the greatest of all time, you have to look at them in that peak window.”
He acknowledged one of MMA’s great missed opportunities: “The great tragedy is Fedor never fought in the UFC against Cain Velasquez because they were both in their prime at the exact same time and they could have made that happen.”
Despite this, Rogan’s final assessment left no doubt about where he ranks the Russian heavyweight: “Fedor in his prime was about as good as anybody who ever lived.”
