When Mark Hunt was defeated via first round submission on Dec. 31, 2006 at PRIDE Shockwave 2006 event it was yet another feather in the cap of PRIDE Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko.
At that point in Fedor’s career, he was on top of the world. He was widely considered the best pound-for-pound MMA fighter in the world and it was not debatable.
Since PRIDE Shockwave 2006, Fedor has been the subject of negative rumors, has been knocked down the pound-for-pound list by most media outlets and fans, and has endured harsh criticism along the way.
Matt Lindland was Fedor’s next opponent on April 17, 2007.
He defeated Lindland via first round submission due to an arm bar. Lindland is one of the best MMA fighters in the world, however, he typically fights around 185 pounds.
Around this time the UFC purchased the PRIDE organization and Fedor and his management would attempt to sign a contract with the UFC.
Throughout the negotiations, the rumors began to fly that Fedor and his management were making outrageous demands.
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These included large sums of money, putting fighters from Fedor’s Red Devil Sport Club on the same fight cards, having the ability to pick and choose opponents, and permitting him to compete in Sambo competitions in his native Russia.
The UFC was never able to come to a compromise so Fedor signed a contract with Monte Cox and M-1 Global.
Dec. 31, 2007 would mark the date of his next fight, which would come under the M-1 Global banner.
He would take on and defeat a mediocre fighter named Hong-Man Choi via first round submission due to an arm bar to run his MMA record to 28–1–1, with one no contest.
Flash forward to the current date, May 7. The Choi fight is only the second fight Fedor has had in the last 17 months.
A combination of the time lapse, the quality of his last two opponents, and the rumors regarding his contract demands have led many media outlets and fans to take shots at Fedor, criticize his decision making, and to downgrade his status amongst the great MMA fighters.
Enter Tim Sylvia.
Fedor’s upcoming fight against the former UFC Heavyweight Champion on July 19 could turn out to be another milestone in his long and storied career.
A victory over Sylvia would force the media and fans to appreciate his greatness once and for all.
Sylvia is no slouch.
He is an elite heavyweight striker who holds a 24–4 career MMA record. He is still widely considered to be a top 10 MMA heavyweight fighter. He has beaten some great MMA fighters in his career including Ricco Rodriguez, Andrei Arlovski, Ben Rothwell, and Brandon Vera.
The Sylvia fight will give Fedor a chance to silence his critics, and it will be a chance at redemption.
He will be out to prove why he’s still the best pound-for-pound MMA fighter in the world, possibly the best of all-time.
Mark your calendar and let the countdown begin for this epic heavyweight battle.
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4 months ago
great read. if he beats sylvia it will show us hes still the king. I have a feeling randy will be watching closely too, and be checking for any potential weakness he can exploit in their potential matchup.
from 4 months ago
For sure, this is great for couture to be able to look at his tape vs sylvia and then watch the fedor/sylvia tape. He's one of the smartest fighters out there and he's gonna gain a wealth of information from this fight. He should know pretty quick what his best approach against fedor should be.
It's interesting though b/c couture's approach was obviously to get in close w/ sylvia, inside the reach, then take him down numerous times which he did. Against fedor i'm thinking couture might feel like he has the striking advantage on his feet.
4 months ago
I think that fighters.com has the heavyweight rankings right. People love to say Fedor is #1, but you hit the nail on the head with the fact that he just hasn't fought anyone worthy of keeping him in the top spot. Beating Sylvia would boost his ranking, but #1 might still be tough to call.
from 4 months ago
Fighters.com has Fedor at #6, which I feel is a little low. He's not #1 but I can't see him below Andrei Arlovski who they have at #5. Fedor should be a top five Heavyweight.
from 4 months ago
Yeah i think the #6 ranking is a little silly. I don't think he should be downgraded like that. The ranking is essentially a snap shot and doesn't really take into account his entire body of work.
4 months ago
I'm not particularly religious, but I have one word for you Derek: Amen.
Fedor will show us why, once again, that out of 6.6 billion people in the world he is the absolute best at fighting. He is the Bret Hart of MMA: the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be.
Rankings are just numbers, but we all know, deep down inside, that if there ever was an open-weight tournament for all MMA fighters Fedor would be the #1 seed and the favourite to win. That is how you determine who the top fighter is.
I once read a quotation that said: "Fedor is the best fighter not because he will never lose, but because he would never lose to the same man twice."
I believe that Fedor would beat every fighter in the world in a best of three trilogy. You could catch him once, but he'll find a way to beat you in the rematch and rubber match.
I just hope that Sylvia doesn't land the same head kick on Fedor that he knocked out Tra Telligman with:)
from 4 months ago
Yeah i'm anxious to see how fedor plans to attack sylvia. Hopefully he will watch the couture/sylvia fight because that is how he should game plan.
If Fedor thinks he can stand with sylvia that will be a mistake. He'll find that out real quick when he eats a couple punches and maybe a couple kicks like you mention.
4 months ago
I guess Im glad to see fedor vs silvia, though I give silvia little chance. I like Tims standup but his ground game is nowhere near enough to defend agains fedors submissions for long. Once the fight goes to the ground (and it will) I think the fight will be over soon after. Tim might be able to defend against take-downs, however or at least be able to get up from them for about a round and a half. But past round 2, I think its over, probably an arm bar or a foot lock. And beside excellent submissions, Fedor has very explosive striking. His punches are way fast for a heavy weight, and Im sure that Fedor has watched the cotour/Silvia fight and has figured out that lots of head movement, and getting off first works wonders against silvia. I think silvias only chance is to show up to the fight with the cardio of a race horse and sprawl, sprawl, sprawl. If Tim can manage to make the fight into a stand up war, he has a chance, or even a good chance. I admire silvias acomplishments as a fighter and I would like to see Tim stay competitive and looking good, as well as get what must be a killer payday. Has anybody heard what his take will be?
4 months ago
Tim is rumored to take in $800,000 for the fight, with an additional $200,000 win bonus. Fedor will be raking in $1.5-2 million. The rumored payroll for the card is said to be $5-6 million.
I wonder how long Affliction will last with such exorbitant payouts, but it is good to see Tim making some cash. And Fedor's manager is obviously squeezing him for every penny that he's worth.
from 4 months ago
In a recent interview with SI an affliction spokesman said those numbers were inflated. It's a big deal because affliction has to take a bond out for twice the fighter payroll. I wouldn't be surprised if Tim is making 500,000 and Fedor at least a million. we won't know until those numbers are released, if they will be.
from 4 months ago
Thats some serious cash if those figures are true. Makes me wonder how those guys will stay in business too.
That entire fight card is going to be awesome - matt lindland, babalu, josh barnett, ben rothwell ...
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