Wearing a forest-green T-shirt and camouflage shorts, Fedor "The Last Emperor" Emelianenko wandered through a hotel lobby earlier this week, looking like a weary tourist in need of directions.
As the world's top-ranked heavyweight fighter in mixed martial arts, Emelianenko rarely passes through a restaurant in St. Petersburg, Russia, or a cafe in Tokyo, without drawing attention. During this lunch hour in north Orange County, however, he was happy to blend with his surroundings.
"I try to stay away from all the fanfare," he said through a translator. "I'd much rather prefer a quiet life, so I try to keep people away from me as much as I can."
His quiet life will be interrupted Saturday night, when the 31-year-old Russian is scheduled to headline a pay-per-view card at the Honda Center in Anaheim. He'll fight 6-foot-8 Tim Sylvia in the debut for Affliction, a Signal Hill-based apparel company that's in high fashion at MMA shows.
"It's a very important fight," said Emelianenko, who stands 6 feet and weighs 235 pounds. "Hopefully, one that will lead to bigger and better things."
Emelianenko has lost just once in 30 professional fights, and that was eight years ago, the result of a gash above his right eye caused by a head butt. What sets Emelianenko apart from others in his weight class is his versatility. On his feet, he's dangerous. On the ground, his submission skills make him nearly unbeatable. Combined with the ease in which he adapts to his opponent's strategy, Emelianenko is considered the full package.
"He comes in with his emotions completely under control and an ability to change a game plan midway into the fight," said heavyweight Ben Rothwell, who will also fight on the Affliction card. "Because of that, it makes him extremely dangerous. . . . I don't believe anybody's going to be able to beat him, unless they use those same skills."
Sylvia, 32, has the reach to keep Emelianenko at a distance and a long leg sprawl that prevents most lower-body takedowns. Sylvia (24-4) said his biggest advantage Saturday night might be the quality of his recent fights.
"I've fought top-level opponents, top-10 guys, the last two or three years," said Sylvia, a former champion in the Ultimate Fighting Championships, the most well-known MMA organization in the world. "Back before that time, he was fighting top 10 guys, but times have changed, he hasn't been in a big organization."
