June 26 to July 3, 2010. 

Saturday to Saturday. 

Only eight days on the calendar, but an epic span in the world of MMA.

It was a week bookended by the defeat of an almost mythical figure in Fedor Emelianenko, and the hard-fought victory of a returning champion in Brock Lesnar. 

A week that no true fan of MMA is ever going to forget.

Any time an athlete comes to dominate in his or her chosen sport, especially when that domination comes with the special luster of an undefeated tag, the speculation begins. Are they the greatest of all time? Will they retire without a loss? And if not, who will be the one to dethrone them?

In the case of Fedor Emelianenko, that domination began ten years ago, with a victory in Rings: Russia vs. Bulgaria, a first-round submission over Martin Lazarov in the last year of the old millennium. 

A quiet man with eyes of Siberian ice and a famous lack of emotion when he fights, Emelianenko moved forward with the implacable force of something not quite human as he began to defeat everyone who stepped up to face him. Although an otherwise perfect record would be marred early in his career by a loss to Tsuyoshi Kohsaka in 2000, that loss came about as a technicality imposed by a doctor stoppage from an illegal strike, not a true defeat. Aside from that one highly questionable loss, "The Last Emperor" rolled onward, overcoming 32 opponents as he came to symbolize everything a MMA fighter should be: capable of winning anywhere the fight went, seemingly able to overcome any adversity and emerge with his hand raised, bloody but unbeaten.

Of course, with fame comes a certain degree of notoriety. After his years of demolishing opponents in Japan's defunct Pride organization, Emelianenko found himself fighting on smaller stages for a time. In the short-lived Affliction promotion, "The Last Emperor" made quick work of two UFC cast-offs, former heavyweight champions Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski, who lasted less than a combined total of four minutes with the Russian fighting machine. People began wondering about the level of competition Fedor was facing as the rival UFC did its best to raise doubts about his stardom.

Then came Strikeforce.

When Affliction folded, speculation ran rife that Fedor would come at last to the UFC, which prided itself as the proving ground for the best fighters in MMA and featured an already dangerous heavyweight division. Despite the fan demand for Fedor to appear in the Octagon, his management company, M-1 Global, and the UFC were unable to negotiate a deal, and "The Last Emperor" signed with fast-rising Strikeforce instead. There Emelianenko found a stable of dangerous opponents as well, although the heavyweight champ, Alistair Overeem, remained curiously out-of-reach in Japan.

After defeating the previously unbeaten Brett Rogers in his Strikeforce debut, it seemed destined that Emelianenko would fight for the heavyweight belt, but instead, he was matched against Brazilian jiu-jitsu phenom Fabricio Werdum.

Werdum, who holds multiple world titles in jiu-jitsu as well as the highly-prestigious ADCC submission grappling tournament, had already beaten Alistair Overeem as well as Emelianenko's younger brother Aleksander Emelianenko earlier in his career, but few observers gave him much chance against "The Last Emperor."  After all, it's hard to bet against someone who's never lost.

Then, on June 26, at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum, the Brazilian with the slow smile and stars in his eyes did the unthinkable, submitting Emelianenko with a triangle choke just over a...