Watch the full Fedor Emelianenko vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira fight video to see the third and final confrontation between the heavyweight legends, which took place at Pride Shockwave 2004 on Dec. 31, 2004 in Saitama, Japan.
After Emelianenko and Nogueira’s second meeting ending in a no-contest due to an accidental headbutt, they got a chance to settle the score. The New Year’s Eve bout served as both the finale of a 2004 Heavyweight World Grand Prix and a title unification bout, with Emelianenko putting his undisputed title on the line against interim champ Nogueira. Excluding the no-contest, Emelianenko had won 16 straight fights heading into this trilogy bout with his greatest rival.
Both men continued to have great success afterward. Emelianenko added PRIDE favorites Mirko Cro Cop and Mark Hunt, and former UFC champions Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski to his hit list, while Nogueira eventually moved onto the UFC, where he captured another interim heavyweight title.
