Fedor Emelianenko and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira are two of the greatest heavyweights of all time. Both men made their names during the Pride era and they fought three times.
Pride Shockwave 2004 was the third time the two heavyweights had met. A crowd of nearly 50,000 people flocked to the Saitama Super Arena for a card which also featured Wanderlei Silva, Dan Henderson, Mirco Crocop and an up and coming Brazilian named Anderson Silva.
Emelianenko was the Pride heavyweight champion while Nogueira held the interim title. Not only was the fight a unification match, it was also the final of the Pride Heavyweight Grand Prix.
Both men had beaten three separate opponents to book their spot in the Grand Prix final. The Brazilian had got past Hirotaka Yokoi, Heath Herring and Sergei Kharitonov while the Rusian beat Mark Coleman, Kevin Randleman and Naoya Ogawa.
The semi finals and final had been booked for the same night at Pride Final Conflict 2004. But Emelianenko was cut by an accidental headbutt and the fight was postponed until December 31st, the biggest MMA show of the year.
It is a night that will go down in heavyweight history and you can watch the entire main event here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsG0Bgjg1ng
