Watch: Alexander Emelianenko wins 1st fight since early prison release

Alexander Emelianenko's return to the cage was a brief one.

In his first fight since being granted an early release from prison in late 2016, the Pride FC vet - and the younger brother of heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko - dispatched Geronimo dos Santos with a barrage of punches in under a minute at WFCA 42 in Moscow, Russia, on Wednesday.

Emelianenko, 36, was convicted on sexual-assault charges in 2015 after raping his housekeeper, but was freed on parole last October on good behavior with only a fraction of his four-and-a-half-year penance served.

The Russian's first trip to the cage since January 2014 came under the Akhmat Fight Club banner, one led by Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov - who's allegedly persecuted gay men and furthered his agenda through his ongoing involvement in MMA.