It was a decade ago when Fedor Emelianenko was at the height of his powers and the apex of his aura. Then 31 years old, the Russian had gone unbeaten for years, and after being the subject of a bidding war, was scooped up by the upstart Affliction promotion, with the backing of future U.S. President Donald Trump.
His profile was so quickly becoming mythical that he even drew a profile in the esteemed pages of The New York TImes, a news outlet that until that point had all but ignored the explosive rise of his sport.