I Asked Fedor Emelianenko If He Could Beat Aleksandr Karelin In a Fight...
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.ค. 2020
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Chael Sonnen talks Fedor Emelianenko and Fedor Emelianenko on this episode of Beyond the Fight.
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My friend grew up in the Soviet Union and still goes back to Russia often, answered the who is more famous question. "Fedor is a huge celebrity in Russia, Karelin is revered. Fedor is an Icon for sport, Karelin is a symbol of Soviet superiority. When people talk about Fedor, they get excited like when Americans talk about Tyson. When people talk about Karelin, they get solemn like when Catholics talk about the Pope."
Wow. Beautiful.
Karelin is the guy u think when russian athletes are mentioned. One of the best athletes ever
More like Russian superiority. Soviet Union don’t exist anymore
Well said.
The Soviets sought superiority optics in many areas like music and sport. Wrestling, boxing, hockey and more.
The propaganda was absolute and Soviet people believed that they together were superior.
The Soviets owned the chess world as chess is well known for intelligence and the Soviets used their empire to find talent and dominate the sport because of their collective work.
Bobby Fischer the lone American genius with no support from the U.S. govt destroyed their monopoly.
The kgb followed Fischer since he was a child as his talent was unquestioned.
Despite their communist "state above the people" full establishment of Russian grandmaster assistance and preparation, Fischer took their dominance away and they could not do anything about it.
The Soviet govt apologized to the people.
Cubans and Russians dominated Olympic boxing as most American fighters fought professionally for the money, as opposed to Soviet athletes who were supported entirely by the govt.
Technically the Olympics are for amateurs who have not been paid for the aport.
Pro boxers do not compete in the Olympics.
What was unfair is that the Soviets basically had pro fighters as the government paid them and supported their needs entirely, where American athletes could not make income for competition.
The U.S hockey team beat their dominance with kids, Fischer stripped their intellectual dominance and people like Sugar Ray Leonard Muhhamad Ali (Cassius) and Foreman, displayed total dominance.
Fantastic why of describing this
Karelin is so goated he literally wrote a doctoral thesis on suplexing people
No way, cool fact. Certainly nobody more qualified. 👍
do you have the Title of the thesis?
Lmao!
I thought it was on defending a suplex
I thought it was on defending a suplex
Karelin is one of those legendary athletes that not only was dominant but actually looked exactly how you’d expect a monster to look
Karelin would do absolute bits in ufc today. He would get his hands on ngannou and there would be no chance getting up after that. It would be like brock lesnar but way better wrestling and better stamina
@@jjjyli686 way better wrestling than Brock Lesnar? It's not possible to be "way" better than Brock Lesnar at wrestling...
@@jackjack4412 ok , insolent young man. Brock lesnar is just a bunch of steroids . Alexander Karelin was a TRUE monster, and more importantly , A TRUE martial artist. He was the greatest greco roman wrestler that ever existed. Lesnar was just some jacked white boy in steroids.
@@jjjyli686 Yes he probably would've beaten him. His physical specs are at the same level but Karelin's technique is perfect.
@@jackjack4412 lmao ok kid. Karelin : Lesnar is an insulting comparison. one is the greatest wrestler of all time one was the best wrestler on college once. its about as sensible as asking whether Michael Jordan was "much" better than David Robinson, except. that d-rob was a much more dominant college ball player, and actually was a great NBA player for a time. Lesnar never even qualified for an Olympics, let alone taking three gold and a silver. Lesnar never competed at karelins level, let alone accomplishing anything like his years of never losing a match or even a single POINT against *Olympians* until his last Olympics.
it's just crazy to even put them in a sentence together. Brock was a good wrestler. karelin is the Wayne Gretzky of wrestling.
I honestly believe if Karelin had been invited to the first few UFCs, most people today would never have heard of BJJ.
Karelin picking up the 80kg Royce...
@@NateVHVT well we saw what Sakuraba wrestling was able to do to the gracies imagine him lol
@Watson Wallace Yup, the great Gracie-Informercial. Gracie's are masters of BJJ, but Grandmasters of marketing.
@@MrDragonkarp Sakuraba knew that Karl Gotch catch wrestling.
This is disputable if you have seen the bushido matches with Alexander. But i think in busido the only rule told to Karelin is "escape via ropes", because in real life he is very smart guy and i don't think he couldn't win half of his matches
In a recent interview (in Russian) Karelin was asked a question:
“When there were difficult times in your life, how did you fight through them ?”
He just said:
“Silently”.
The silent but extremely deadly type. They’re the ones you have to watch out for!
?
Screamn’ Eagle wanna go?
Dayum. That's cool.
YPeezy Sure! Where we go’n?
Here's how I know Karelin is the best athlete of all time, when there is a promising young wrestler nobody says "this guy could be the next Karelin". It never occurs to anybody that that could be a possibility.
Holy shit, that is a fucking sick comment.
The same thing applies with Sir Donald Bradman's batting in cricket.
ali as well though and probably ussain bolt
Drugs
@@stj00nes Ali is not even top 5.
I remember when Karelin was asked what it was like to be the strongest guy in the world. His response: "What? I'm not even the strongest man in my village."
xpat73 id love to see his village.
@@cameronmiller6240 are you sure?
He did participate in a World Strongman competition. He did great in some of it's events but in total there were other competitors that were stronger.
@@danfors1333 No, I have read what you said. The author claimed Karelin would come in drunk and lift atlas stones. That is a false story.
@@user-gt5zh6rw3r Seems my last post got deleted for some reason when I tried posting a link but there is video footage of Karelin participating in Strongman. He finished 8th place.
He has a PHD in sports. Wrote his thesis on the art of the suplex. Not only a beast but a genius
Lol, the beast in xmen comes to mind
having a phd in "sports" doesnt make you a genius lmao
@@BalkanManic was thinking the same thing lol
Imagine being so good that he had spare time to patent his own signature wrestling move Karelin could have body slam Sumos
Would you dare deny his phd thesis???
Karelin had a record of 887-2 both loses from one point deficit. He had a move called "Karelin lift" which is reverse body lift, he slammed wrestlers that weighted around 130 kgs around 800 times. Easily the greatest ever
And one of the greatest athletes ever!
@@aleksisuhonen5433 absolutely
He's THE most dominant athlete in combat sports history.
But you can't say he's one of the greatest athletes ever when he was a blatant PED cheater for almost 2 whole decades. It wasn't a secret either, they didn't G.A.F. as long as he was winning and making "Mother Russia" look good. Not taking away from his accomplishments, but that cloud will always loom over his name amongst elite wrestlers and athletes.
@@Gottiline_Ace Where do you get that? Any proof?
“He was only 60-0”.
Easy to say when you’re the greatest of all time.
Lmao wrestling records will crack you up. Gotta be 100-0 to get respect lol
Americans go well beyond 100 matches so it's not a lot of matches, relativley
go look at his track record
Marten Dekker
Haha no one cares about you opinion dude
Go do something productive instead of trying to be too smart for every joke, you are an idiot, get that in your head.
yeah and this guy was 887-2 in wrestling
Karelin was the ABSOLUTE BEAST of martial arts!
I used to be a Greco-Roman wrestler myself at 87kg and I met him in 1999 Greco_Roman WC in Athens ( I was a spectator ) when I shook his hand I felt like an infant. His hands where gigantic and he seemed like he was a giant made of rock. I met a lot heaveweights but noone so scary.
You were blessed with the opportunity of a lifetime. What was his grip like when shaking his hand?
Probably like an elephant trunk holding a peanut. Very gentle
Bro I was wrestling as a freshman in college back then. I used to study Karelin all the time. He was perfection as my coach once said.
@cabdymanGR7 At that same time that Karelin was dominating and suplexing guys through world and Olympic championships, Fedor was coming in and dominating guys for his brutal pace, accuracy, ruthlessness, and punch power.
Karelin's record was 887 wins, 2 losses (both by one point, and Rulon's victory was somewhat cheap). I don't believe anyone in any sport ever has had anywhere remotely close to that good of a record.
Sugar ray robertson 40-1 then went like 80 straight
@@Bff668 Sugar Ray Robinson's overall amateur and professional record was 201-19. He did win 85 consecutive amateur bouts which is what you're referring to. He's certainly a great of his sport but nowhere near Karelin.
@@Bff668 Sugar Ray Leonard's record was 36-3-1. Again great boxer but different universe as far as how much better he was than his competitors.
@@Bff668 Ray Robinson did start his career 126-1 and avenged that 1 loss 3 or 4 times by then. Certainly up there but Karelin has that beat.
Rulons victory was straight bs they literally made a rule for 1 year and 1 year only that gave him the win otherwise he always got stomped in every match he ever had against him. Such a BS medal to be praised for. Literally a rule won that medal not any actual wrestler.
Karelin won the 1993 world championship with two broken ribs. There has never been a more dominant athlete in my opinion.
@Ok Long A desperate attempt by America to play down what Karelin was able to do? The man dominated for a Decade and you're really asking how 2 wins compare? One on a rule change, a technicality where Karelin made the smallest error and Gardner did nothing to actually score that point?
Karelin is an all time legend while no one except americans even remember Gardner. That should answer your question about how they compare.
"Beat the Russian" lol *laughs in Putin*
I know someone who won an Olympic Gold medal ...with a broken freaking neck, lol
@@theronin365 Kurt Angle 🤣😂🔥
@Ok Long Pathetic to be honest,its like you are hypocritical kid with big envy for the great Karelin who Rulon didnt beat but got free win vs him,he did nothing againts him,Karelin would been 889-0 his 2 L come from point taking away,nobody ever dominate him or come even close to... And all this talk about steroids by Americans who got just as long history of taking them as Russian just most of Americans were never exposed.
Fedor submitted mark Coleman with a broken neck. Both are pretty bad ass
Aleksandr Karelin said he did not want to do MMA / cage fighting because he did not want to hurt people! He is a nice guy and very good person.
Reality is he cant take punch and kicks which hurts
@@pakistan-fatherofindia113 Sure...
@@pakistan-fatherofindia113 and nobody probably survive getting their heads slammed by the guy. Your point?
@@pakistan-fatherofindia113 the guy got broken ribs going down by his lungs and still managed to defeat his opponents, I bet he can take one punch or two
@@pakistan-fatherofindia113 you’re not too familiar with Russian combat athletes are you?
I’m so glad you point out the rule change that lead to Karelins loss
Same
Fedor was and still is the most feared mma fighter of all time dude is a freak of nature💯 hes my all time favorite fighter
Fedor is a beast I can't believe DC said he wouldn't have been a superstar in the UFC, I beg to differ I think Fedor would beast wherever he would have ended up.
@@damienhughes1996 prime fedor KILLS dc in 1 round
I work at Walmart. So I know what I'm talking about. Fedor wasn't most feared.
Shortest discussion ever:
"- Can Karelin be defeated by..."
"- No"
Kevin C Like connor did with khabib?
@Kevin C ahaaha man im the biggest conor mcgregor fan but this is nonsense he would kill mcg
johny bones Well how good was karelin at MMA? Did he have any submission or striking skills that were on par with that of McGregors?
@@michaelterrell5061 So let me get this straight. All you guys say that Conor would beat Karelin or I'm mistaken?....
@@michaelterrell5061 man are u crazy?
If karelin did MMA there would be a funeral after each fight.
Not even joking! One scary dude!
And a failed drug test
@JOEL AND ELLIE DIE in the last of us 2 and MMA is not that sport...
@@WeBreakItAllDownRightHere only I'd he was on steroids.
Imagine if instead of inventing/mastering the reverse body lift, Karelin put those efforts into mastering spiking his heavyweight opponents on their heads. Scary
I recall watching that match when Gardner upset karelin. Me and my step-dad was rooting for Aleksandr. We didn't care that he was Russian and going against an American, we were rooting for a legend and wanted to see him go out on top. Gardner was such a damn wide body it was hard to do anything to him.
Karelin used to put 200+ on the bar, set a timer for 15 minutes then start lifting the weight until the timer went off.
He timed his weight lifting rather than count it.
That's utterly amazing.
He also trained by putting a refrigerator on his back and climbing stairs.
@@modsquad20
I was being serious
@@asoncalledvoonch2210 So was I. From his Wiki page...
When asked about his toughest opponent, Karelin instantly replied: "My refrigerator," referring to the time for which he bear hugged his refrigerator, weighing over 500lbs, and carried it up through eight flights of stairs of his hometown 9-storied apartment building.
If he benched that much for 15 minutes, he would have been doing like 1 rep every 30 seconds towards the end.
He is telling the truth brother@@asoncalledvoonch2210
Alexander Kerelin and men like him are why I learned how to use weapons.
I don't think Guns can hurt Karelin.
Yeah.., that would just piss him off
If all men where like Karelin, there be no need for guns..
mikkoj1977 best comment of all comments I read long time now
Bro a gun ain't gonna do anything against him
I wish somebody would make a good documentary on Karelin he’s one of the greatest athletes ever but it’s hard to find much out about him and there’s not much on TH-cam
Exactly! It sucks so hard, that wrestlers and grapplers in general do not get more recognition, and do not get paid more!
Aleksi Suhonen I agree 100% my uncle wrote a book in 2012 on the best Olympic athletes of all time and only included 1 wrestler! At the time it was before I got into grappling but looking back now I’m like “WTF”
All behind the iron curtain unfortunately
Yeah I was talking about him to my younger brother. He was juice head however the videos of him training are surreal. No wrestlers train like that full respect to him
I will be discussing him in my video on the Spartan mindset, I might do a separate one on just him because someone requested it.
You know what? I didn’t expect to subscribe to you but you were sooo spot on with this story that I had no choice. You’re a great orator and story teller and I really enjoy that. Thanks.
I met Karelin once, An extreamly nice person. Shoock his hand and felt giddy as a schoolboy. Huge hands.
Lil gay
Karelin was the greatest Olympic wrestler of all time, no doubt about that. Imagine if he had competed in MMA
He did
mpforeverunlimited once, I mean as a real fighter
USADA: Good joke
@@MrNonoya_Bizness His prime would have been way before USADA. He would have been fighting other juiced up guys like Mark Kerr
Saitiev and Kaori Icho have entered the chat...
Just because you shot Jesse James doesn’t make you Jesse James
Interesting take
That's from breaking bad lol
Holy shit i was just watching that episode where Mike said that
I can’t not read this in mike’s voice.
Cough adesanya vs Silva cough
I love your Fedor stories Chael. I was a huge UFC fan years ago. A friend of mine told me about Fedor and Aleks in Pride, but I never paid much attention. Then a couple years ago I had a lot of spare time and came across Fedor fights on TH-cam. So I FINALLY decided to check him out after having moved away from MMA as a whole some years prior. I was blown away by Fedor's AND Alek's fights to a somewhat lessor degree. Aleks is a great fighter. They both look like ordinary dudes you'd meet and think they're just average Joe's. Watching Fedor fighting in Pride turned me into a MMA fan again 💯, and a Fedor fan for life.
Karelin was the smallest guy in his family, he is one of those super athletes that comes around once every 100 year.
Wrestling version of jon jones
@@james-bx4wrjon jones is not close to him
He was born abnormally big so I don't know where you got that info
He only got that big because the russians were trying crazy steroid mixtures and shit out on him.
I have seen multiple comments saying he was a 13lb baby. Some say 15lb. Either way, he was a huge baby
Karelin was a God. He once wrestled for 10yrs straight without losing a single point. Let's look deeper into why he lost the Gardner match. First, he wrestled earlier in the day leaving him a bit weathered to begin with. Second, and this is important, the referee warned Garner several times during the match for "passivity" meaning that he wasn't engaging in battle. Normally, when this happens twice, a point is awarded to the opponent. Well, Gardner was warned five times without a single point awarded. When Karelin lost, he didn't complain. Instead, he took off his wrestling shoes and left them on the wrestling mat as a sign of respect and also signifying a changing of the guard. To further his sign of respect, he attended the next Olympics in support of Gardner. I can go on and on, but I won't. Fedor and Karelin are both Gods of their respective sports therefore one will never badmouth the other.
You nailed it. He's the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler of all time.
Amazing! Reminds me of Yamashita in judo.
How can he go to olympics in support of gardener if he’s Russian
@@8326nazir Karelin attended the 2004 Olympics as a Political Dignitary of Russia. Even though Russia's Baroev was heavily favored to win, Karelin cheered Gardner on as he was the reigning champion. Karelin, felt for Gardner as did everyone, due to his unfortunate snowmobiling accident resulting in an amputation of his toe and lifelong neurological numbness in his foot. When Gardner secured his Bronze medal, he then layed his wrestling shoes on the mat just like that of his hero...Alexander Karelin.
@K GehringerYes, Standing or Par Terre is awarded to the Aggressor. However, Passivity Sequence # 4- Stoppage of the match by referee. Passive Wrestler is disqualified from the bout due to three cautions (there were five). Karelin was older, Gardner trained hard by wrestling cows on his farm. Great match overall. However, the new rule and old rules were botched.
Alexander Kerelin is a legend. Looks like a demon.
I know it's lame, but I'm kinda proud for sharing the last name with the legend.
That's that Russian wrestler who was like crazy good
Looks like a man who hunts demons for sport
Unreal match with Ruan Garner(sic) when Karelin was deadlifting him and Ruan flopped around..just 20 lbs lighter and he'd be a victim of that signature throw.Rulan sorry.
@awis linear what's wrong with the name Nikita? seems like a very typical russian name.
I’ve pondered these same questions many times myself. I wonder how Karelin would answer these questions, my guess is the same way Fedor did. A good topic, Chael. More like this, please!
Beautyful and respectful breakdown by Sonnen. I loved it
You gotta respect Marty - 5% body fat with 0% charisma.
😅
Lmao
I don't know about that. Have you seen his charisma when he goes into marriage counselor mode?
And 100% badass. He's going to ragdoll the shit out of Jorge.
Fair
Karelin deserves more recognition. I mean, he's a respected figure but more people should learn about him, his achievements are amazing. One of the best combat athletes ever.
I have a hard time arguing how he's not the greatest athlete of any sports. His record is even more insane than Charlie Zelenoff's, and actually real.
@@Keranu 887-2
@@TheClinchMagazine Unbelievable. It's so ludicrous.
@@Keranu His nickname "The Experiment"
You have to admit that he still showed respect to everyone in that match . He made one mistake in 13 years . He’ll always be a legend.
In my opinion, Karelin is the single best athlete in any combat sport. His accomplishments were simply insane. The only wrestler who comes close to him in terms of as the GOAT is Cael Sanderson, who went 159-0 in his collegiate career and won 4 straight NCAA championships. But Karelin was simply ridiculous. Undefeated for 13 years, with no one scoring a point on him in 6 years, a feat just as impressive as his record. I can't imagine someone doing something like that in high school, let alone against the best wrestlers in the world, and as for his record, his two losses came at the beginning and very end of his career. Wrestling is not like, say, boxing, where you can pick opponents, and go up against 2 people a year. Karelin average more then 50 matches a year. I'm wrestling, you go up against whoever you go up against. So for 13 years, he beat literally everyone. Even crazy records, like Mayweather's 50-0, aren't even close to 887-2. Also, saying that Karelin juices isn't fair. There's no proof, and Karelin trained like a motherfucker
Do you think he was not juiced considering the soviets we're known for juicing for decades?
Of course he was juiced. It's just that everyone else was also juiced, so if doesn't matter
@@secretagent4610 Only Dothraki female slaves from Game of Thrones use "It is known" as an argument. You forget that it was a Cold war back then and that the West tried to demonize any success coming from a communist country so that God forbids yall westerner-peasants don't start getting revolutionary ideas...
@@secretagent4610 Also, USA national basketball team was excluded from doping test at the Olympic games many times, bc the government of US guarantees for them, so whose known for what?
@@rodpec9097 Proof?
As a life long wrestler, Aleks was one of the most dominant and intimidating forces who ever lived. Had MMA been a major sport in his time I have no doubt he would of been a Mark Coleman type but better.
lol
try goat.
CHAELIPEDIA
Physi-logically : To physically and logically be able to accomplish one’s goal.
Fedor had very good English . That’s shocking I don’t remember him ever speaking it.....
He spoke good English in France for some weird reason (while giving a seminar).
I just recently gently started watching Chael’s videos. Damn he's such a great story teller lol. Totally enjoying his videos
Boy, Chael remembered this fight incorrectly...
The grip was very easily lost and it was lost before OT but since you needed to be up 3-0 to win it then went to OT where the win went to Gardner.
Came here to say this. He didn’t “change his grip,” he lost it completely. It happened early in the second period because after a scoreless first was when the rule made them start in the clinch. Also, I only remember two cautions to Gardner, maybe three, to the commenters who keep saying five. I could be off but I just watched it and I think it was two or three tops. Either way, great match, Karelin fought like hell but Gardner did too.
@@superman1148 That 1st par terre position gassed the hell out of Karelin. It tired him out so much he made that enormous blunder breaking the lock.
He was referred to as "The Karelin" .....an unstoppable monster....feared and revered by all wrestlers. His reverse lift from the floor are things of legend.
I thought the Russian language didn't have articles like "the".
@@MichaelShulskiit doesnt
Until a Gardner stopped him.
My senior yearbook quote was out of his book. " i train everyday of my life as they have never trained a day in theirs."
To me that means you dont need to train at all
@@chrisw5150 no, it means he trains harder everyday than they have trained on their hardest day
@lol you Idiot a little bit but at the same time I've said lots of cringy macho shit in my day.
Ha GAY!
You idiot people it’s not the full quote search on google for the real version....
My father was best friends with Aleksandr back when they both were competing. My father was a Cuban so when the Russians starting coming in to train with the Cubans they met and became great friends. So great, my father named me after him. The true GOAT of wrestling.
What's your father's name
Top 10 Sports Jose
@@AB-dh5ld Nice made up story bro 🙄
@@jimh.412 Clown
That’s great man I hope u do something great with ur life fr
Karelin always impressed me with his opening move in every match...he wished his opponent well with a genuine handshake of appreciation. He is a GOAT.
Karelin was 33 when he competed in the Olympics in 2000. He was the most tested athlete in the history of the combat sport and he never tested positive. Those are the facts.
Everybody was on steroids
@@petarvodenski5477 Presumption of guilt? Thats gonna take you far in life, friend...
@@OkurkaBinLadin thanks for seeing into my future just by looking at one comment
Dirk Diggler not like America doesn’t
Russians are good with undetectable drugs😂
Dude this is one of the best videos you’ve released. I love hearing back room stories like this
We were moving into the same apartment block in Novosibirsk (I was about 11 at the time), he had a flat on the 5th floor and the elevator was out. The guy loaded a double “American-style” fridge freezer on his back and walked it up the stairs... Nice man though, used to chat with my granny all the time.
I have heard of him doing things like that
Karelin had an MMA fight with Akira Maeda. He was offered gloves so that he could hit. Karelin refused and used only wrestling
yeah. just watched it right now. he rag dolled Maeda
@@oedgracias1646 Maeda looked like he was about to die at the end.
A young Karelin trained in MMA would have been something, he was awesome and 286+ pounds of muscle, strong like a bull.
He boxed in his younger days too.
Are you related Nikita?? :)
EyesArePlanets probably not I think
He would never pass a drug test he would be the King of Bellator
@@kjayclowers12 he passed all the olympic ones. Pretty sure would pass the USADA in UFC too.
Thank you for this. I met him once when he was a competitor. Man, this guy was a specimen and he had an aura like Mike Tyson did. It felt like you were near a wild animal that can chop your head off like its nothing. But the strangest thing, he was one of the nicest athletes i have ever met, next to the great and untouchable Sergey Bubka and of course respectable Jonah Lomu. The most impressive part about him other than his sheer size was his intellect. You don't get to hear about Solzhenitsyn or poetry or class struggles when you talk with a heavy weight wrestler other than The Experiment.
Supports Putin like a big dumb coward.
@@blackjesus804 why a coward? you know a lot of people support him genuinely, right?
@@vittocrazi I don't know that because Putin assassinates and jails people telling the truth.
@@blackjesus804 Yeah, you've been fed stupid myths. There are folks here speaking shit on him day and night, and there are fine, it's going on for decades.
@@blackjesus804 But the US doesn't right?
great report. one of the best i have ever seen ......... respect
Thank u for this story. Both are legends and GOATs
I am always impressed with Karelin's injury list and how many championships he won while injured. I'm sure he had all the medical care he needed once he became famous, but still...Around January 1988 he had a serious concussion, and doctors considered removing him from the 1988 Olympic team. Karelin won the 1993 World Championships despite breaking two ribs in the opening bout against Matt Ghaffari. At the 1996 European Championships in Budapest, he had torn the right pectoralis major muscle so badly that doctors predicted he would not be able to use his right hand for several months. Karelin won the Championships, but had to be urgently operated on in Budapest. He recovered within three months to compete at the 1996 Olympics
Sounds like he had some drugs helping him recover
@@tlz124 this is not how drugs work. They increase your chance of rupturing a tendon, they don't help you to regrow it back.
@@SpaceMarine113 sure, HGH for example helps with recovery
@@MultiMeschi hgh was not around in wide use when karelin had his career. And even if it was, i am not aware of any studies that shows it counteracts the damage done by steroids to tendons, or that it helps regrow them back in shorter period of time.
@@SpaceMarine113Maybe not specifically for ruptured tendons, but PEDs are practically specifically used for faster recovery and he was on everything known under the sun at the time.
Chael, we need more of this for the college-international wrestling. Need to get the sport out there more. Talk about personalities, rivalries, and more.
I saw rulon about 8 years ago, and it was sad to see how far he has fallen. I hope he is better now.
He lost to McDonalds. It was a tough fight
Thanks, this story was great man!!
Dammit. Chael has the gift of gab. I sat out in the parking lot of my gym waiting to hear what Fedor said all the way to the end.
I always imagine Chael actually never stops talking. In the shower, in the middle of the night in his sleep, making love to his wife, in the middle of a forest 100 miles from another human being...you know?
Between Masvidal vs Usman there is only one winner; it is Uncle Chael.
All MMA pick'em contests need a "write-in" option for this very reason.
The other way round would be a vast improvement.
@@KONAMAN100 do tell
Chael is such a great story teller!
I remember some story about Karelin lifting a big old school fridge on his back, up a flight of stairs, like 5-6 floors. This guy is such a legend, and he looks like a savage as well.
Uncle Chael with another great video.
Bruce Prichard said in his podcast the WWF was trying to sign “The Experiment”, and said they watched one of his workouts where he went on the bench and did 225 lbs for 15 minutes. Not reps, 15 minutes!
Wow
Sounds about right. He routinely worked out with 450+ on the bench press.
That was a great story to hear that Chael tells. Aleksandr Karelin and Fedor Emelianenko are
both superstars in their own sports. I watch that match between Karelin and Rulon. Rulon should never have beaten Karelin, but Aleksandr was preparing to win his 4th Olympic title.
The problem was when they panned over to the Karelin match. Karelin looked so disinterested in the match. He didn't even look like he wanted to wrestle that match. I thought he wasn't prepared. Sure enough, Rulon fought the match of his life to defeat one of the
greatest heavyweights of all time.
thanks a lot Chael, love this 'report' of LEGENDS, and i 'd to say you thank you for the way you are speaking you are really easy to understaand for a (quite old) foreigner who has that 'english roasted' problem.
Thanks for explaining the rule that changed Katelin"s perfect record on his last match, most people have no clue about this
who's katelin? was that kerelin's cornerwoman?
@@markredford84 Who is Kerelin? < See how easy it is?
@@thatguythatdoesstuff7448 I'll do you one better, WHY is Gamora?
Alexander has been my athletic hero for as long as I can remember.. Never enough on him or his achievements. thank you Bad Guy for acknowledging him. 🇨🇦🌎🇺🇸❤👍👍👍👍
I just started appreciating him over the past few years, I think its badass he was swole and jacked and somehow competed in tested competitions. His size and conditioning was badass.
I love when u talk about history ,best trash. Galmet every,but also great storyteller,love the channel
You’re a great storyteller, funny thing is my father is an amazing storyteller and also a wrestler. All wrestlers I know are really good at telling stories.
How good was Karelin? And where does kevin lee fit into all this?
🤭🤭🤭 stop it
😂😂😂😂😂
Karelin only lost after they changed rules on him. The guy was an absolute beast!
I love the way chael breaks things down
Karelin was not a juicer. In fact he trained on his own very often separate from the Soviet system. He also never tested positive for anything and he didn't do the mandatory tests, he'd volunteer to be tested. No one associated with wrestling EVER suspected Karelin. Plus, look at him today. He's still massive.
They all juice
@@goldtiger9453 That's not accurate.
He wasn't called "The Experiment" for nothing
@@mr.ditkovich6379 You have watched to much Rocky 4. Where is the proof?
do you have sand for brain cells?
Gardner stalled the whole match and didn’t deserve the win. As an American it was a very hollow victory
Lol...it wasn't hollow to Rulon.
@Semper Fi Well, Karelin had a small slipup, and the rest was Rulon being heavy as a cow. Not the biggest accomplishment, but he still earns respect for not giving up in fear or anything like that.
@@beauchapman4155 I mean I sure couldn’t do what Rulon did, but Karelian was the better wrestler even on that day
@Semper Fi The purpose of the rules of the sport of wrestling are to help keep opponents safe, and establish who is the best wrestler. Some techniques are used to try and take advantage of the rules to win, despite being a worse wrestler. He didn’t deserve the win because he was not as good and trying to take advantage of the rules. No shade if you are out matched by a talent like Karelin you will take every advantage you can get
Richard Demsick and Karelin was hopped up on steroids. So it seems even to me.
YES! I'm so glad Chael brought up this legend for others to learn about. I still don't know enough about him even though I wrestled since I was a kid, and was astonished by Karelin's stature. Before the days of losing to Rulon, back when Karelin was in his prime, I'd never seen anything like him. PED's or not, nobody looks or wrestles like that from only drugs. You might be looking at leftover genetic mixing that developed size and strength demanded by Siberian winters and living amongst some of the harshest environments any hominid lineage endured. Either be big and strong, or die. I'm only half joking here. Thought that since I was a kid, and it's taking scientists forever to finally say "Hey! you know what? Everybody is a mix! Seems that some genetics for certain areas and necessities are leftover! That's why we're all human but different!" Derrrrrr. Just look a people and where they're from, numb nuts. It's a compliment.
Anyway, yeah Karelin is a beast, and that reverse lift he used to do was against other huge and strong men that would chuck most of us a country mile. I met Rulon Gardener and got the shameless photo opportunity, and he put one arm around my shoulders the way they do for that nice scene implying we're old friends. Then like he did to everyone else, he started to squeeze. Now I'm a smaller guy, only about 5'7", but at that time in very good shape; at just around 160 pounds, strong enough to bench a little over 300, muscular, could do sets of 30 pull-ups, former wrestler, etc... blah blah you get it. I wasn't fragile. When Gardner squeezed my shoulders SIDEWAYS I thought something might pop or a slight injury would happen if he went further. It was with control but it caused something that I call "educational pain". With one arm. He's THAT strong, and believe me he used everything he could to beat a past-prime Karelin that day.
When Karelin did his reverse lift move, some other world-class wrestlers actually quit before it happened. They actually called it, like verbal tapping because the move often put these extremely heavy people briefly towards a pile-driving position, which feels fatal. It eventually gets back exposure and that's all Karelin was going to do with it, but it's terrifying for the victim to feel their 285 pound bodies being tossed in the direction of the head before their back exposure, upside down and backwards possibly paralyzing them for life or death.
Karelin would have had to train earlier in life to handle the nasty striking some heavyweights can do; because there's always that chance, but a healthy, somewhat young Karelin trained in MMA? If Alexander could avoid big mistakes, I don't know if there would have been much hope for anybody.
I remember Rulon being interviewed after his win against AK, I think it was Conan O'Brien) and describing wrestling against AK as "you feel like you are wrestling a horse" :-)
He also explained that in their last match prior to Sydney he had thrown him 3 times, so he was a bit nervous going into that, I guess.
Hard to imagine what a hug from A. Karelin on competition level would come to feel like?
I think Rulon also mentioned in that same interview that he would do muscle-snatches with 280-300 lbs (so approx his bodyweight) which is solid since wrestlers would usually do that for reps and not 1 max, but AK was known to lift 400 lbs - just for comparison.
Great vid Chael!
I happened across this video after watching some of Keralin's old matches. You said a few times that you weren't sure how old he was during the Gardner match. While I was watching the US coverage of the match from 2000, one of the commentators mentioned that he had just turned 33 years old with his birthday falling within the span of the Olympic games.
Before Alexander Karelin goes to sleep, he checks under his bed for Chael P Sonnen.
No
other way around
You clearly are not a wrestling fan. Karelin is the scariest man to ever fucking live.
how horrified would you be if Chael Sonnen shot a single at you from under your bed. idk about anyone else, but i'd shit myself
@@ericcomstock2249 you clearly doesn't get jokes
Karelin is just one of the scariest athletes of all time
I watched him back in the day when they had done a Cameo on him...he looked like a true beast of a man,definitely a legend and his myth will always follow.
That was so cool! Trying to get Fedor to answer that!
*It was a clear cut case of changing the rules to win via cheating....then changing rules back to normal once he's gone.* And I'm an American...Alek was just on another level....last minute rule changes had to be implemented in order for him to place 2nd place....
This!!! 💯
Not to mention his opponent not getting a point deduction for inactivity which was ridiculous, he was just laying on his belly most of the fight praying that Aleksandr won't be able to lift him.
I'd have rather watched Chael talking to Fedor than whatever media crap we actually got to see.
He was 33 , he is almost 55 now . He was competing senior level since he was 13 and hadn’t lost since age 16. That why it seems he was older then. I was 15 in 1988. And he was triple champ of everything . At 21.
Your stories are awesome. It's like watching a movie or reading a great book.
Yeah, Russians are the synonym for doping while you have: Andre Agassi, Lance Armstrong, Marion Jones, Jon Jones, Ryan Lochte, Tyson Gay, Ben Johnson, Roy Jones Jr., Florence Griffith Joyner
@Rob Thomas roy jones was ABSOLUTELY on steroids... please don't be that guy.... also, the most athletic boxer maybe of all time, but let's not be delusional... he juiced like everyone else
Rob Thomas i’m not on meth, but all those americans are on steroids!
Barry Bonds and every other baseball player...
American exceptionaliZm at its finest "Steroids are bad, nobody allowed to use them-what?our guys are on steroids? Oh well, we want to win right?
you forgot chael p sonnen
"But know that he didn't" who else loved this part. So well delivered.
Yeah same here.
A great story. Told brilliantly by the brightest combat sport guy of all time
Karelin was BORN with 12 lbs in him. Peds or no Peds, the guy was a monster from the get go...
I recently rewatched Uncle Chael's win over Fedor. Is it just me, or did Chael genuinely attempt an RKO OUTTA NOWHERE on him?
The great Chael emeliasonnenko can do what he damn well pleases!
The poor guy was concussed and was trying anyting against the greatest of all time
@@deadarmd Fedor is the GOAT? He got smashed when he came to the UFC.
@@zephyr1969 Are you drunk, or just ignorant? You do realize you don't have to post dumb shit, right?
Came to the UFC?! Not sure what you are smoking mate but it must be good
Karelin never tested positive for PEDs and was probably the most tested wrestlers in the olympics. Not saying he was clean but some people are just freaks of nature.
Edit: I'm not looking for a debate. Steroids or not he was by far the best to ever do it at his sport and weight category. He beat plenty of confirmed juicers.
His brow line and jawline beg to differ
@Semper Fi, all the weak pussies say that
@Semper Fi No he was definitely tested the most because compared to his opponents he looked like a freak.
Their testing was horseshit back in those days, nonetheless he was the best and everyone was juicing
lmao you fuckin idiot
Watch the match again chael, the unlocking of his clasped hands happened in the first period, and he completely broke his grip and moved his hand from overlook to under on Gardeners shoulder and relocked his grasp .. it was blatantly obvious, but the fact that it was a new rule at the time, and apparently only a temporary one... that better explains their hesitation in calling it, cuz it went to review.
The experiment walked on his shoulders faster than a toddler walks on it's feet.
His "move" was picking up and tossing other Heavyweight wrestlers.
He held an undefeated streak of thirteen years.
He is a modern day Hercules.
AK was one of a kind. That combo of skill, strength, size and speed was nuts.
Chael: ‘I, as a viewing fan, am very astute of the rules.’
Also Chael: “ that triangle choke? I thought that Anderson only won round 5, and I won the rest of the fight.’
I think that Anderson fight appeal is still under deliberation by the athletic commission.
@@chilidem Chael clearly wasn't tapping to quit. He was trying to save Anderson's legs from being torn apart by Chael's brilliance.
@@johnbach2380 exactly
Ridiculous comment.
Anderson did not win round 5. Chael choked him out after dominating.
He thought they were going by Pancrase rules
This is some great talk here!!
Chael can really tell great stories.
887-2 Record.
What?
Really???
And both losses due to a single point technicality. Karelin was a direct descendant of Hercules for real.
He didn't gave a point in six year or something. In boxing ,it equals to don't lose a single round in that amount of time. Total dominance of the sport
Yes Karelin is a legend, he won all Gold medals possible between the years of 1888-2000 in all world championships in Greco-Roman wrestling, and only lost two out of 889 matches in his carrier and lost only by a point, he is truly the Best of All time in wrestling...
112 years competing damn he was good
Good show mate
Great stories awesome questions! I remember that match with Gardner a decent farmer kid taking on a titan