Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures) won the open-weight division of the 31st Combat Sambo World Championship on Nov. 10 in Prague. With the win, the 31-year-old Russian, widely regarded as the No. 1 heavyweight fighter in the world, defended the title he won two years ago in the Czech Republic capital.

To do so, he had to step on the mats only once. The 220-plus-pound representative from Uzbekistan did not show in Prague, thus giving Fedor a bye to the semifinals. There he quickly took out a Bulgarian fighter via choke to set up a meeting with a Ukrainian competitor in the finals.

Much to Fedor's chagrin, the Ukrainian fighter, who had defeated UFC veteran Kristof Midoux (Pictures) in the other semifinal, did not turn up either, handing Fedor the victory.

The win gives the member of Red Devil Sport Club his fourth world championship medal in combat sambo, a sport not unlike mixed martial arts. Victory can be achieved by submission and by points scored for throws and activity. With a total of 10 championship medals in Russian, European and world competition, Fedor has become one of the most successful fighters ever in the sport.

His participation in the competition, which with 780 representatives from 45 countries was by far the biggest of its kind, had been one of the sticking points on why the undefeated PRIDE heavyweight champion turned down a very lucrative offer to fight in the UFC. Instead he opted for a contract with newly established promotion M-1 Global, which allowed him to compete on Saturday.