Former Pride star, and the bane of Josh Barnett's existence, Aleksander Emelianenko (15-3) was in action over the weekend, along with former UFC welterweight champion Carlos Newton (14-13) who made his return to active competition after a year off. 

Both men were victorious, with Aleks scoring a TKO via cut over Ibrahim Magomedov at ProFC 5: Russia vs. Europe on Sunday night, and Newton notching a KO via ground-and-pound over Nabil Khatib at Warrior 1: Inception in Quebec on Saturday.

Cory Brady and Ariel Shnerer at Five Ounces of Pain had the recaps:

About thirty seconds into the bout the two exchanged right hands following a brief exchange. Aleksander undoubtedly caught the worst end of the exchange as the overhand right thrown by Magomedov clipped the two -time Russian national Sambo champion on his chin and sent him reeling.

Although obviously wobbled, Aleksander was able to compose himself and clinch Magomedov up. During the clinch the referee noticed a nasty gash to the face of Magomedov which caused him to consult with ringside physicians who promptly waved the contest off. The cut had come from a punch Aleksander had thrown during the previous exchange.

Although Aleksander was hurt significantly more during the initial exchange of punches, the punch he had landed caused the end of the bout.

Newton used superior boxing skills to overwhelm his less-experienced opponent before taking him to the ground. Once on the mat, Newton trapped Khatib’s arm around his own neck and subsequently delivered a lethal dose of ground and pound en route to a knockout at the 3:12 mark of the opening stanza.

Obviously, opinions about Aleks in the MMA world vary (especially if you ask Josh Barnett or the CSAC), but he continues to fight in his native Russia, where Hepatitis is perhaps seen as merely a mild distraction.  Another interesting note about Aleks's fight was that Magomedov was his former training partner and current training partner of brother Fedor at Red Devil Sport Club, a gym which Aleks recently severed ties with on (supposedly) good terms.

As far as Newton, I was always a huge fan of the "Ronin", and it's great to see him back in action.  Although his overall record is not impressive at a glance, he was always a tremendously talented fighter, and has fought some of the toughest opposition possible in his career, including his legendary clashes with Matt Hughes, Kazushi Sakuraba, "Pele", and Pat Miletich.  This was Newton's first win in over two years, although facing the likes of Matt Lindland and Renzo Gracie in that time-frame was no easy task.  It's also pretty cool for the jiu-jitsu specialist to get the first KO win of his 13-year career.