Fedor Emelianenko on his troubled brother Alexander: 'I pray he will finally find himself'

Russian MMA icon Fedor Emelianenko cited the Parable of the Prodigal Son to explain his hope that his brother may one day leave his dark past behind and "come back to life" again.

Fedor's brother Alexander has had a 16-year career as a professional fighter, but has been plagued by controversy over recent years.

His lengthy criminal record includes a conviction for the 2015 rape of his house maid, for which he received a four-and-a-half year prison sentence.

After serving his time, Emelianenko vowed to keep his life on the straight and narrow, something which he managed until March this year, when he was arrested for DUI after ramming two vehicles in his all-gold Mercedes in the Russian resort city of Kislovodsk.

He was expected to sign for U.S. based organization Bare Knuckle FC, but needed to negotiate his way through the visa issues caused by his checkered past.

And, most recently, he was called out for a boxing or MMA fight by Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.

But while Alexander appears to be chasing more bouts, his older brother just wants him to step away from his past and come back to the family.

"As for Alexander. I pray that the he will finally find himself. For me, today he is dead," said a forlorn Fedor during an interview with Sport 24's Yaroslav Stepanov (via translation), before using the example of the Parable of the Prodigal Son to offer a way for his brother to return to the fold.

"You know, there is such a parable about two sons. A father had two sons, and now one asked for his part of the estate and left there he wasted his estate with harlots, and then came to his senses when he began to starve.

"He returned home, remembered that he was loved and expected at home. When he went to the house, he thought that he would come and ask for forgiveness from his father. His father I saw and ran to him, took pity, began to kiss.

"They arranged on this occasion a big celebration, and the slaughter of a calf (for a celebratory meal). And the eldest son was upset because of this. He told his father that he had been working with him for so many years, so many years, and he didn’t even give him a kid. To which his father said: 'We should be glad that your brother was your dead and revived, disappeared and found.'

"For me, today, Alexander is dead. He is disappearing. But I pray that he will come back to life and be found."

As well as returning to his family, and his faith, Fedor also said he wants his brother to face up and offer contrition for those his actions have affected over the years.

"Let him first apologize to those whom he raped, insulted, offended, and cheated on money," Fedor continued. "Help Alexander? Do you know how old he is, do you know for how long I am helping him? For a long time. Now, the best help is not to help him.

"I understand that he has his own way, his own life. God grant that he is reasoned and he did not just have conversations that he is different. That should be the case. Not to say that he is reading the scriptures, but to understand what he is doing.

"He calls other people animals, and most importantly the animal sits in it, (and to sit) inside and with it is necessary to fight against it. Then you will see people around you."