Full Fight Video: Fedor vs. Sylvia

As you all know, Affliction Banned was shown on Pay Per View but you can watch the whole fight video for Free.

All you have to do is to download and play it using your Windows Media Player or any other video playing application.

Result: Fedor vs. Sylvia

The fight lasted for 36 seconds! The nose of Sylvia was bleeding after the fight. That was really freaking fast!

Round 1: Fedor moves in quickly with punches and knocks down Sylvia. Fedor taps Sylvia out with a rear naked choke. That was rally quick.

Fedor wins via submission - R1 (0:36)

"I was very pleased with my performance," said Emelianenko after the match. "Everything I wanted to do, I was able to do."

"I was prepared to stand up, but I knew I had a better chance to end it on the ground."

"I know I’m one of the best heavyweights in the world, and I was amazed at him," said Sylvia. "I really don’t think that he’s human."

Press Conference: Fedor vs. Sylvia

Watch the press conference video of these 2 great fighters. Hear their insights before they crash each others faces...

Predictions: Fedor vs. Sylvia

Look for a boxing match early in this fight, with Fedor taking it to the ground in Round 2 once Tim tires out and finishing it quickly via arm-bar.

The main event of the evening is also a historic matchup, as former PRIDE Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko faces off with former multiple-time UFC Champion Tim Sylvia. Fedor, widely considered the #1 Heavyweight in the world over the last few years, has come under some scrutiny lately for his failure to fight a Top 10 competitor. Now, all of those criticisms are being put to rest as “The Last Emperor attempts to validate his #1 ranking once and for all.

Emelianenko’s (27-1) dominance of the Heavyweight division is the stuff of legend. His record has been marred only once, by a fluke cut from an illegal elbow that was, for whatever reason, ruled a loss. In reality, Fedor has essentially manhandled his way through a who’s who list of heavyweight greats with not so much as a speed-bump along the way. After handily defeating K-1 World Grand Prix champion Semmy Schilt and perennial contender Heath Herring, Fedor utterly dominated current UFC champ Noguiera, smashing him with vicious ground and pound for twenty minutes. What followed was a reign of terror, in which Fedor tore apart every contender to his title. Wins over Kevin Randleman, Mark Coleman, Mark Hunt, Cro Cop and a second, equally dominating win over Noguiera cemented Fedor’s spot at the top of the Heavyweight ladder.

PRIDE’s closing, though, halted Emelianenko’s momentum, and he fought only twice last year, defeating middleweight Matt Lindland and the untested Hong Man Choi, neither of which helped silence the critics saying Fedor was ducking top competition. Clearly, regardless of who he faced last year, Fedor Emelianenko is as skilled and accomplished a fighter as there is in the Heavyweight division, and Tim Sylvia is going to be faced with a tough task come July 19.

This will hardly be the first time, though, that Tim Sylvia (24-4) has gone into a huge fight as a decided underdog. At UFC 41, Tim was widely expected to lose to then-champion Ricco Rodriguez. Defying all expectations, Sylvia dominated Rodriguez, knocking him out in just three minutes. After being submitted in under a minute by Andrei Arlovski, Tim entered two different rematches, each time as the underdog, and emerged victorious both times. source: mma betting blog

What really makes this fight so interesting, aside from the implications for the Heavyweight division, is that each fighter’s strengths play off his opponent’s weaknesses. Fedor’s biggest weakness is his tendency to get cut. His “loss” to Kohsaka was because of a cut on his forehead, and his second fight with Noguiera had to be stopped after an accidental headbutt split his head wide open yet again. Tim Sylvia’s long reach, punching power, and solid take-down defense make him a perfect candidate to exploit this weakness. If he can use his reach to keep Fedor at a distance, he has a good chance of using his sharp jab to open up Fedor’s head and put him in serious danger.Sylvia’s weakness, obviously, is his ground game. Any long-time UFC fan will never forget Frank Mir snapping Tim’s arm like a wishbone. Arlovski almost submitted Tim easily, and it took Noguiera about 15 seconds on the ground to make him tap.

If any fighter is capable of exploiting this weakness, it is Fedor, who has arguably the most impressive slate of submission victories in the division’s history. He submitted Mark Coleman and Kevin Randleman, both of whom are light years ahead of Sylvia on the ground, with almost comical ease. If he can manage so much as one take-down against Sylvia, Fedor will win this fight easily, as the only thing more devastating than his submission game is his ground and pound.

Basically, this fight will be decided by how well Fedor can close the distance and take the action to the ground. If Tim can keep the fight standing like he did against Noguiera, there is no way Fedor can survive the same kind of beating that Noguiera had to take in order to secure a submission. In the end, though, I think that Fedor’s striking, while not on the same level as Tim’s, will at least be good enough to create openings to tie Sylvia up in the clinch and secure the takedown.

Like Silva vs Irvin I will be placing a bet for Sylvia in hopes of an upset and a big return as he does have a punchers chance also.

Look for a boxing match early in this fight, with Fedor taking it to the ground in Round 2 once Tim tires out and finishing it quickly via arm-bar.

Preview: Fedor vs. Sylvia

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia: Fedor hasn’t fought a legitimate heavyweight contender since taking on Mark Hunt back at PRIDE: Shockwave 2006 on 12/31/06. That sure is a long time. Still, he did easily defeat current UFC Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira twice before that. In fact, he literally manhandled him, powering out of submission attempts and chucking him around the ring. Further, at the height of Mirko Cro Cop’s prime, Fedor also defeated him rather handily.

But then came the lack of action. A time period where Fedor fought an excellent, but much lighter fighter in Matt Lindland and a giant striker in Hong Man Choi with little in the line of ground skills. So what do we believe in, the 27-1 overall MMA record or the recent lack of action?

Hard to say. Still, if we see the guy that was fighting in PRIDE not too long ago show up to take on Sylvia this is what to expect. source: mmafighting

First, one of the strongest guys pound for pound in the game. Second, one of the most well- rounded fighters in the heavyweight division. Along with this, Fedor possesses excellent takedowns and takedown defense to go along with above average technical striking skills, power on his feet, and submission skills (from the guard and otherwise).

He’s also a ground and pound nightmare. And the heart, toughness, cardio, calm demeanor, and ability to put together a fight plan and execute it have always been there as well.

Whereas Fedor has never been a very big heavyweight, Tim Sylvia stands 6-foot-8 inches. So he’s very big, and along with that size possesses ridiculous power on his feet. But if that was the entire story on him he never would’ve amassed a 24-4 record with 16 (T)KO’s while fighting some of the best that the heavyweight division has to offer.

In the end, Sylvia has very good technical striking skills to go along with tremendous heart, toughness, and cardio. He also has very strong takedown defense, a skill that will be of use in this fight. In terms of ground skills, he’s improved, even if his submission defense would seem to be a relative weakness.

But that only comes to play if you get him to the ground.

Prediction: How do you make a prediction regarding a fighter that you really haven’t seen fight in a couple of years? Answer: You make a decision as to whether you’re going to analyze him as we saw him in his prime or guess that he’s lost skills since then. In this case, let’s go with the Fedor Emelianenko we’ve always been impressed with; the guy that always seems to come up with the right game plan and executes it to perfection.

That Fedor Emelianenko would take some punishment on his feet against Sylvia. But eventually, despite the big man’s strong takedown defense and excellent size, would probably get the fight to the ground. There he might wear Sylvia out.

But this one could go Sylvia’s way via knockout, even if we do see the best Fedor we’ve ever seen. Still . . .

Fedor Emelianenko wins via decision in a very close fight.