Fedor Emelianenko handpicked UFC light heavyweight veteran to be his main event opponent at Euro Fight Nights 50 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. That move nearly backfired in spectacular fashion. Maldonado had Fedor essentially knocked out in round 1, but he wasn't able to get the referee to stop the fight by virtue of Fedor having a pulse. Emelianenko saw out the round but was hanging on for dear life and was out on his feet. It's miraculous that he was able to see a 2nd round.
Rounds 2 and 3 were also madness, but madness in spurts, and Fedor ended up taking those rounds on all three judges' scorecards. You're probably thinking that this meant the fight ended in a draw, right? Wrong. Only one judge scored round 1 a 10-8 for Maldonado, and 10-7s don't seem to exist in MMA judging, so Fedor got the majority decision win in front of the jubilant Russian crowd. I bet you never thought you'd ever read that Fedor, whom I must add shot for 0 takedowns in this entire fight, was highly fortunate to get a decision win against Fabio Maldonado, but here we are. It's harsh on Maldonado, who clearly faded in the last two rounds but otherwise nearly pulled off the shocking upset, and is once again on the wrong end of a decision. The general consensus was that it should've been either a Maldonado win or a draw.
Watch the highlights at the top of the page, watch the full fight on UFC Fight Pass (sign-up for a 7 day free trial if you don't have an account), and PLEASE listen to the commentator. He's the star of the show. If you're just watching the ESPN vid, that he declared the fight to be almost over just 20 seconds in on a Fedor flurry that didn't hurt Maldonado was one of his many gems throughout the entire event. He actually suggested that Maldonado respected Fedor too much to knock him out.
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