MOSCOW, June 14. /TASS/. World-renowned MMA (mixed martial arts) heavyweight fighter Fedor Emelianenko has been elected the president of Russia’s MMA Union on Tuesday, according to a TASS correspondent.

Emelianenko secured the majority of votes against his closest contender in the elections, Radmir Gabdullin, who had been at the helm of the Russian MMA Union since 2018.

The MMA Union Conference was held in the Russian capital if Moscow on Tuesday. Radmir Gabdullin was elected a vice president of the organization on Tuesday.

Emelianenko, 45, currently boasts an official MMA record of 40 wins (16 by KO/TKO; 15 by submission and nine by decision) and six defeats (five by KO/TKO; one by submission) and he is still active on the line for more bouts.

In late April this year, Emelianenko told TASS that he intended to hold a bout in August this year to wrap up his fighting career with a battle for the Bellator championship belt.

Emelianenko has been fighting under Bellator promotion since 2017 having held six fights, chalking up four wins and two losses. In late October 2021, Emelianenko defeated 35-year-old Timothy Johnson of the United States with a KO win in the opening round of their Bellator 269 tournament fight in Moscow.

‘The Last Emperor’ Fedor Emelianenko

The MMA star had temporarily retired between 2012 and 2015. During that hiatus, Emelianenko held the post of the Russian MMA Union’s president and also served from November 2012 as an advisor to then-Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko.

Following his 2015 comeback, Emelianenko has had eight bouts so far, defeating India’s Jaideep Singh, then clinching another victory over Brazil’s Fabio Maldonado. In June 2017, he lost by TKO to US fighter Matt Mitrione. In April 2018, he defeated US heavyweight Frank Mir with a KO win in the first round and in October 2018, he enjoyed a TKO triumph over American fighter Chael Sonnen. In January 2019, he lost by TKO (punches) to Ryan ‘Darth’ Bader of the United States and then knocked out US fighter Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson in December 2019.

Late last month, Emelianenko defeated 35-year-old Timothy Johnson of the United States with a KO win in the opening round of their Bellator 269 tournament fight in Moscow.

Born on September 28, 1976, in the town of Rubezhnoye in Ukraine’s southeast, Emelianenko fought his way to the top earning numerous titles throughout his career.

He is the MMA Pride Fighting Championships Heavyweight Champion (2003-2007), FIAS World Combat Sambo Championship Heavyweight Champion 2002, 2005, 2007 and Russian Judo Federation National Championship bronze medalist (1998, 1999).

In 2009, the esteemed American sports magazine, Sports Illustrated, named him "the top MMA fighter of the decade.".