The youngest Emelianenko brother has joined the family business.
Decades after his siblings built their names in MMA, Ivan Emelianenko (1-0) made his professional MMA debut on Friday, winning a unanimous decision over former Russian judo champion Alexei Ledenev (0-2) in a special rules contest as part of a REN TV Fight Club event at the Dynamo Volleyball Arena in Moscow.
Emelianenko, 35, is the younger brother of heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko, 46, and former Pride FC contender Aleksander Emelianenko, 41.
Check out highlights of the youngest Emelianenko brother’s pro MMA debut below.
Full fight video of Emelianenko vs. Ledenev can be watched above.
Ivan Emelianenko def. Alexei Ledenev by unanimous decision. Successful MMA debut for the mysterious third Emelianenko brother. pic.twitter.com/6vimXNRsWw
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) May 26, 2023
Ivan could have been one of the GOATs pic.twitter.com/dLUdTzaaW0
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) May 26, 2023
As it turns out, the REN TV Fight Club event was a family affair.
Aleksander Emelianenko also competed on the card, earning a dubious submission win over Russian vlogger Evgeny Ershov.
Highlights of that “win” and the full contest can be watched below.
So, this just happened in Russia.
— Al Zullino (@phre) May 26, 2023
A vlogger TKOs Aleksander Emelianenko, the ref steps in and stops the fight. But the vlogger says "Nah, why? Let's keep it on!", then shots and takedown and gets submitted?
Couldn't have been more fixed.
(h/t @pelunaton pic.twitter.com/vZMKtwZkgX
