Fedor Emelianenko's 36 Seconds of Destruction Change MMA Drastically

Mike Iwankow — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 07:00:23 -0400

I must say, I didn't think it would end so fast!

I thought Fedor would do exactly what Sylvia planned for him to do. I thought the two fighters would have spent half of the first round feeling each other out, with Fedor taking Sylvia down closer to the end of the round.

Sylvia would panic and use his legs to keep Fedor's ground-and-pound at bay while he recovers on the bottom. Fedor would come out in the second round and take Sylvia down again, this time applying an armbar while Sylvia thrashes around trying to get away.

Hell, Hong Man Choi did a better job against Fedor. At least Fedor broke a sweat in that one.

After the fight, Randy Couture was brought into the ring. It was a great moment in MMA history, but a little too premature in my opinion. As fans of MMA, we need to think into the future of the sport.

After last nights Affliction: Banned PPV, it seems a franchise war is on the horizon. The UFC could win quite easily if Affliction moves too quickly, especially with the futures of Anderson Silva and George St. Pierre looking as bright as they do.

The UFC has more than enough "ammunition." Sure Fedor vs. Couture could be looked upon as the equivalent of the atom bomb in this war but what happens after that fight? The UFC can continue to put up excellent fight cards for a long time based on its huge pool of talent.

Donald Trump should wait and see what the UFC does next. He should wait for the next UFC "Superfight" and plan Fedor vs. Couture around that.

Hell, if Dana White and the UFC officials are wise, they might try to create a PPV in which UFC fighters would fight Affliction fighters, hence, getting a piece of Fedor vs. Couture.

This is all wishful thinking, of course, but I'm sure of one thing. As a huge fan of all MMA, if this sport ever wants to make it into the Olympics, a franchise war is not what we need right now.

Money ruins the purity of sports, and I predict a lot of money is going to be thrown around in the next year.

Bleacher Report - Articles by Mike Iwankow

Fedor Emelianenko's 36 Seconds of Destruction Change MMA Drastically