After 10 years of professional competition, Fedor Emelianenko has reached a pinnacle that few athletes ever achieve: near universal recognition as the most dominant champion in the history of his sport.

Of course, with great success comes great expectations, and "The Last Emperor" is no stranger to the fickle passions of fans. 

Currently going into the last two fights of a three-fight Strikeforce contract, Emelianenko has probably been at the center of more heated debate than any other fighter in MMA, concerning both his recent level of competition and his relationship with his management company, M-1 Global.  Much of the discussion inevitably leads to one topic: how would Emelianenko fare in the UFC, which arguably features the deepest heavyweight talent pool in the world?

Of course, there's only one way to know the answer to this question for sure, and so far Emelianenko isn't taking the bait.

In fact, rather than showing any desire to test himself in the last arena he hasn't conquered and end the controversy once and for all, Emelianenko (31-1 1 NC) seems content to simply keep winning. 

Emelianenko currently has only one official loss on his record, a TKO to Tsuyoshi Kohsaka back in 2000, but it came about as a result of a cut stoppage from an illegal elbow and its legitimacy is often questioned.

"I'd like to finish my career without any losses and at that point we'll see what God has planned for me," said Emelianenko in a conference call to promote his June 26th fight with Fabricio Werdum. "While I'm an athlete and while I'm fighting I will not pursue a career in politics. What happens after that we'll see. But I don't have an intention to do both at the same time."

Although "The Last Emperor's" disavowal of any immediate desire to pursue a career in politics will come as a relief to his many fans, there seems to be little doubt that the clock is ticking on the remainder of his MMA career. It's a fact that Fedor himself is quick to admit, saying that he takes his career these days one fight at a time.

"I do feel that there is a pressure and a demand for me to keep fighting and for me to keep getting back into the ring," Emelianenko stated. "Right now I'm OK with that and after each fight I balance whether I should continue or whether I should stop. Until I feel that I am not effective or not getting out of the sport what I want then I will make the decision to stop."

For now, Emelianenkowould rather focus on his upcoming fight with former Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion Fabricio Werdum (13-4-1) at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum on June 26.

"I don't want to look too far ahead," Emelianenko said. "Right now I'm just looking forward to this fight with Fabricio Werdum. Right now we have two more fights left with this relationship (with Strikeforce) and if everything goes well and we feel good about the relationship I don't see why we wouldn't want to extend that."

Strangely enough, despite his undisputed qualifications for a title shot, Emelianenko has not yet faced the current Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem. It's a match-up that fans would love to see, and along with a purely hypothetical fight with Brock Lesnar was a topic that the Russian superstar was happy to comment on.

"Size and strength doesn't always define the ability for a fighter to perform in the cage," Emelianenko stated. "These particular fighters are all...