By The Numbers: Fedor Emelianenko-Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Trilogy

The sport of mixed martial arts does not get any more regal than Fedor Emelianenko and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira—two men who set the heavyweight bar for the better part of a decade.

They met on three different occasions between March 2003 and December 2004, boosting the Pride Fighting Championships brand while bringing their respective disciplines and personalities to the masses. Emelianenko served up the kryptonite to the Brazilian’s Superman, as he won two of the three matchups between the revered combat sports icons; the other resulted in a no contest. Now nearly 20 years removed from their last battle against one another, the former Pride heavyweight champions remain inextricably linked by what took place between them once they climbed through the ropes.

As memories of their historic rivalry continues to fade into the past, a by-the-numbers look at what made Emelianenko vs. Nogueira so unforgettable:

656: Days between their first and third meetings. Emelianenko laid claim to a unanimous decision over the Brazilian in their first pairing at Pride 25 on March 16, 2003 before their long-awaited rematch at Pride Final Conflict 2004 ended in a no contest due to an accidental clash of heads on Aug. 15, 2004. Emelianenko then closed out the trilogy with a three-round unanimous decision over “Minotauro” at Pride Shockwave 2004 on Dec. 31, 2004.

115,274: Fans to witness the three chapters of the Emelianenko-Nogueira rivalry. Attendance peaked for their third battle, which drew a crowd of 48,398 to the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

2,632: Seconds of fight time for the Emelianenko-Nogueira series. They fought one another inside the ring for a total of 43:52.

133: Significant strikes by which Emelianenko outlanded Nogueira in their head-to-head encounters. He connected with 158 such strikes while absorbing only 25 of them in return.

389: Total strikes landed against one another in their rivalry. Emelianenko was responsible for 61% of them (239).

7: Takedown attempts from Emelianenko in his three appearances against Nogueira. He completed six of them. Nogueira, meanwhile, went 1-for-12 on his tries.

58: Percent success rate for Emelianenko on his significant strikes against Nogueira. He found the mark with 182 of his 313 attempts. Nogueira, by comparison, landed at a 52% clip (99-for-192) against the Russian.

1: Knockdown credited to Emelianenko in the series. He floored Nogueira in the first round of their third and final confrontation.

3: Submission attempts levied against one another, two of them by Nogueira.

.690: Cumulative winning percentage between the two men following the completion of their trilogy. Emelianenko compiled a 19-6 record and cemented himself as the greatest heavyweight of his generation, with wins over Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, Mark Hunt, Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski. Nogueira, meanwhile, went 10-7, with victories against Sylvia, Josh Barnett, Fabricio Werdum and Randy Couture.