A fight between former UFC heavyweight champion and current Adrenaline MMA fighter, Tim Sylvia (24-4), and the last man to hold the Pride FC heavyweight strap, Fedor Emelianenko (27-1), is in the works for July 19 at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas, according to Sherdog.com.
The blockbuster showdown would be promoted by Affliction and air on Mark Cuban’s HDNet network.
Here’s a snip from the Russian:
“[Sylvia] is a good fighter, a strong fighter, the former UFC heavyweight champion, which is important. I am looking forward to fighting him and training hard for this fight.”
Sylvia recently parted ways with the UFC in a split that has been categorized by both parties as amicable. The decision came after a submission loss to Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro: Nogueria at UFC 81: “Breaking Point” for the interim heavyweight championship in February.
With just one fight remaining on his contract — and another crack at the belt in the not so near future — “The Maine-iac” was granted permission to sign on with his long time manager, Monte Cox, who runs the upstart Adrenaline MMA promotion.
Prior to that Cox was the President and CEO of M-1 Global — a failed partnership between Russian and American backers that never staged a single event. The promotion was centered around Emelianenko; however, the two sides were at reportedly loggerheads when it came to compensation and competition.
Emelianenko became a free agent once he returned a $1.5 million signing bonus. And now he’s apparently set to kick-off 2008 with a fight against the 6′8″ Miletich-trained product, which would certainly be his biggest test since a fight with Mirko Cro Cop back in 2005.
Indeed, Emelianenko — once widely regarded as the most formidable pound-for-pound mixed martial artist on the planet — has taken a beating from critics because of his inability to take on top-level competition in recent years.
Hong Man Choi (freak show), Matt Lindland (a middleweight), and Mark Coleman (past his prime) are three of his last four opponents — not exactly the worthiest opponents for an individual who has been described as unbeatable in a sport in which anything can and often does happen.
Fedor, however, somehow seems to find ways to overcome those unpredictable odds … at least up until now.
It’s more than likely the case that Emelianenko will look to takedown “Big Tim” early and often to avoid that reach and his big punching power. Not to mention Emelianenko cuts very easily — it is the reason behind his only career defeat, in fact.
Sylvia has demonstrated decent takedown defense in the past; however, he has been susceptible to submissions throughout his seven-year professional career.
Definitely a very interesting match up if it comes to fruition. Randy Couture — the man who defeated Sylvia in March but is now embroiled in a bitter legal battle with the UFC because he wanted to fight Emelianenko — has got to be going nuts with this latest news.
Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story.
April 8th, 2008
198 Comments »
R U kidding me! That is an awesome fight! But it’s kind of a lose lose for Fedor. If he wins people say that Tim’s a bum if he loses people say he lost to a bum. Still I would watch it, it’s been awhile Fedor fought someone half decent!!!!!
Look I read all of these forums and yet i never comment, so this is a rare occasion. I do this only to say that Fedor is the best pound for pound fighter in the world. He is the best there has ever been and will ever be for a long long time. If you disagree go onto the internet, and watch his fights it will not take you long to see the truth. Sylva is garbage, pride fighters are better look at the ranks in the ufc RAMPAGE(pride),ANDERSON SYLVA(PRIDE),NOGUIERA(pride)3 of 5 belts are held by pride fighters. I think that pretty much sums up the whole pride vs ufc debate. I love randy couture, before it was FEDOR it was randy. But im sorry, Fedor will destroy RANDY COUTURE. Ill make sure to follow up on my post, after he runs through sylvia, and again after couture. Fedor is god.
I 100% agree and I am on a 50/50 % thought right now that the ufc sometimes fixes fights
Look, I understand your thought about Fedor. I have watched him for years and have had nothing but the most respect for him as I do any real fighter who gets in there with success, but best ever? Best pound for pound? First of all that really doesn’t come from the heavyweight division anyway by most people’s thought. I would agree he is up there… but come on! Have you watched Anderson SIlva, or St. Pierre? Not to mention the Hall of fame Matt Hughes (let’s not forget all the great fighters he put away with ease). At one time it was easily Wanderlei Silva. I guess my point is you are an apparent fan, and you love the fight game and that’s good, but if you ask real fighters who’s the best pound for pound in the world ever they are going to either say themselves or (and this is the real answer) it depends on the era. And in this era the best overall (this means in every aspect of fighting) are really coming from the people in 155 to 185 area with a few exceptions like Fedor, He is not God, but he is a great fighter.
it is a win win for Fedor because there is no chance of a loss
that comment is so so true in every aspect!! i’m still gonna watch it too!!
Fedor by armbar at 2:05 of the 1st.
My guess Fedor tosses him on his head and then a sub!
1st round!
looks like big tim beats couture to the punch , now imagine if he wins
Nice. This should be good to watch. I am very, very curious to see how their styles match up.
wow…
Great oogily moogily batman! What is HDNet Fights broadcasted on? TV or internet? If TV what channel? I dont know if I get that where I am.
Someone help.
Sylvia might be boring to watch, but it would take a real Forrest Gump type to call him a bum. He’s one of the top HWs in the world and losing to Fedor wouldn’t change that.
I do like Sylvia’s chances here, though. I think he’ll get submitted, but we’ll see.
Also, worth note, with Cuban fighting for Couture’s cause, this new fight makes the Fedor Couture fight seem a little more likely.
HDNet fights is on TV, a channel called (you guessed it) HDNET. I don’t have it, and I can’t get it so that sucks but I would hope it will air on the fight network.
This is a sick fight. Sylvia got sloppy and careless against Minotuaro and got caught in a submission. Fedor will give Sylvia problems, but Sylvia will give Fedor problems, as well. An interesting fight. I don’t think Fedor is gonna run through Sylva. Sylvia is no joke and I wouldn’t be surprised if he beats Fedor. It would be unfortunate if Sylvia is the one to give Fedor his first real loss. We all wanted our man Rany to give Fedor his first real loss.
PLEASE let Tim win this fight!!! (doubt it though) But Tim Has got the power to bother Fedor and lets be hones he’s 10x the fighter Hong Man Chump is so ought to have a much better chance.
wow, that is great news. if fedor makes quick work of sylvia, then no one could argue he is one of the best. Since sylvia lost to both current champs in the ufc, but randy couldn’t finish him and minotauro was in trouble the whole fight except when it look he had no chance and pull the sumission in less then a minute
I’m not saying that Tim is a BUM!
I’m saying that a lot of people view him as no good that’s just the truth.
I think he has a chance to win but I don’t think he will.
sylvia by unanimous decision. fedor cries. sherdog forums collapse.
MMAFAN, I know. I was just saying those people who would say such things are not so bright.
TYm will prove Fedor cant hang with real fighters!
cage or ring?
Anyone who thinks that fedor can’t hang with “real fighters” knows nothing of MMA. He has fought and beat anyone that Pride or any other organization has put in front of him. Explain to me how exactly tim sylvia’s slow ass is going to deal with fedor’s explosiveness. Fedor by KO or submission. It WILL NOT go to a decision.
Im a little bummed about this news, I was kinda hoping for an update on the progress of Timmay’s new hunting video………SIKE
Fedor by sub
Sylvia 2 minutes into the 2nd round.
Can’t wait for this 1! We all know where this fight is going. Tim better be eating, breathing, dreaming bjj for these next couple months. He’s been looking like a giant slug on the ground. I’d laugh so hard if Tim tapped out Fedor!!! lol
The “cage or ring” question is a good one. Anyone know? Either way I think Fedor submits Tim. What about Fedor’s chin? Does Tim have the KO power to put Fedor down?
yes. Tim has the power to knock Fedor out. Sylvia has the power to know almost anyone out. I know its a off the subject but if you watch TS lose to RC you will see him cope an unlucky head but that seemed to shake him up (but did not put him away).
Can’t wait for this fight. Fedor’s first legit HW challenge in almost 3 years. This is a ppv worthy headliner and we get it on free tv.
ramon, what about the real fighter that just beat Sylvia who Fedor has beaten down 2x?
HAHAHA!! POOR RANDY! HHAHAHA
I want Tim to win so Randy can shut up about fighting Fedor and fight Noguera
I think if tim loses that fedor should fight couture to see who is the best heavyweight in the world. Couture has beat everybody the only one felt is fedor he’s been avoiding a fight with couture because he won’t come to the UFC. Fedor is afraid to come to the UFC because the heavyweight division is loaded with good fights and fedor is scared of losing to couture and a bunch of other great UFC heavyweights that could beat him.
Randy hasn’t beaten everyone. Randy beat a fat obese hurt guy and then a fat obese 1 kick wonder.
I dont really like Big Dumb Tim, but for some reason I see him winning. Fedor hasnt really fought anyone noteworthy lately aside from Lindland who was way smaller than him
About damn time Fedor!!
I don’t know who I would want to win. Can you imagine how insufferable Timmy would be if he beats Fedor. He would
On the other hand, I want to see Fedor knocked off the imaginary perch he sits on. I would also enjoy very much hearing all the excuses the Fedor nuthuggers will give for him losing to Timmy.
This is big news.
Yeah, Mike C. That’s one big reason why I think Tim will have trouble with Fedor. Fedor’s great in his own right, but Tim’s loss to Big Nog could be a preview of his fight with Fedor.
What is the point of this fight?!?!?
I for one, and I am sure that I will be in very little company, do not care about this fight!
What are they fighting for?
I am more intrigued of fighting for a belt, for a championship. Not for the sake of fighting (insert whatever sport you want here). This is basically an exhibition. I don’t understand the intrigue of it. This is a glorified scrimmage. And I know no one cares about NFL pre-season. Why? Because it doens’t mean anything. Just like this fight. It has no value. Win–so what. Lose–so what. Not like you are going to fall down the ladder.
This type of fight is what is wrong with combat sports. We watch for the spectacle of watching 2 men beat the hell out of one another. Not for the goal of a title, but the goal of beating another person up.
Not interested.
You sir, are an idiot.
WOW, You’re NFL example doesn’t work. The NFL preseason would be the equivalent to sparring practice in MMA. The SuperBowl is the ONLY game in the entire NFL season that decides who the champion is. So you don’t watch the regular season? Timmy/Fedor is still and MMA fight. If there is no belt , you don’t care? Then please tell me this - WHY oh WHY did you watch UFN last week? WHY do you watch TUF? Do you order the PPV and turn the TV off until the championship fight is on?
WOW!
wow man obviously you don’t train in mma and are prolly one of those guys who just thinks he knows the sport because he watches it on tv! Fighting isn’t for a title or a belt its for pride and respect which for a fighter is way more important and meaningful than a belt! Maybe you should try the sport instead of just being a critic!
You clearly have a misunderstanding of MMA. You should stick to watching NFL exclusively.
MMA is about each fighter bringing in his own skills and characteristics as well as his unique persona and facing off and fighting his opponent to see who will win.
It’s the most pure of the sports.
I noticed so many people here bag out these fighters so eagerly and lose interest if one loses a couple in a row.
LMAO @ muto!! what the hell are you talking about?! do you even like mma?!?! lol… try to think of it as the PRIDE belt then. take that you beezy!!
Why would Randy be upset? Once Tim loses it’ll just hype up the Randy Fedor fight even more.
Muto- that’s one way to look at it. Another is that some watch for the display of skill and strategy it takes to defeat top caliber athletes in this sport. The belt is just gravy.
Holy Crap! This is a big fight!! I bet Cuban is a happy dude.
I wonder how pissed Randy Couture is?!? I can’t even imagine. Should Fedor lose, it would take a bit of the shine off of the Randy/Fedor fight.
i’m not real high on tim sylvia but i respect his accomplishments. i just think fedor is the more skilled fighter of the two and is better coordinated. anything can happen though.
“I wonder how pissed Randy Couture is?!? I can’t even imagine. Should Fedor lose, it would take a bit of the shine off of the Randy/Fedor fight.”
Exactly.
Muto, some of us care about the actual fights. This isn’t the NFL.
I’m just surprised that I’m the first person to suspect this fight won’t happen. Garunteed there will be some Fedor’s-management-esque bs before this fight occurs.
If it does, it will almost certainly be in the ring.
MUTO.
Do all fights have to be for something?
If the fighters have self respect and they fight for pride that is more than enough to make a great fight.
There have been a lot of great fights that were basically for nothing. For example the last GSP and Hughes fight! They already knew who the champ was but they fought anyways.
This fight is simply to see who is the better fighter.
So I guess what I’m trying to say is that they are fighting to see who is the best at what they do in their weight class. I think that is something! Don’t you?
It’s not like they got 2 bums from the street and said fight for a sandwich……is that more interesteing because they fight for a sandwich?
Anyways this will be a great fight and will go a long way in figuring out who is the best HW in the world!
Sorry for the long winded essay!
ckrump
Apr 8th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
I think if tim loses that fedor should fight couture to see who is the best heavyweight in the world. Couture has beat everybody the only one felt is fedor he’s been avoiding a fight with couture because he won’t come to the UFC. Fedor is afraid to come to the UFC because the heavyweight division is loaded with good fights and fedor is scared of losing to couture and a bunch of other great UFC heavyweights that could beat him.
couture has not beat ricco or barnett or big nog the only top h.w. he beat recently is tim.fedor is not afraid of randy or any ufc h.w. plus the ufc h.w. devision is a little weak right now and he already beat the champ twice
This is BS. Why would fedor do this fight?? Who cares if he beats Tim damn it!
At least this fight is a pretty good measuring stick of where Fedor would possibly stand if he fought in the UFC.
Couture’s definitely having second thoughts, that he should have just finished out his contract. However, I’m sure Couture has dug his heals in deep and going to ride this out in court.
For Couture, hopefully Fedor wins and he gets his chance after October.
SeeRed:
“Muto- that’s one way to look at it. Another is that some watch for the display of skill and strategy it takes to defeat top caliber athletes in this sport. The belt is just gravy.”
Ahhhhh, someone with an educated opinion. Not the caveman response that I expected and received from this crew.
I do see your perspective. Intersting to admire the skill and strategy of a sport. Not too many on here will be looking for startagy other than “beat the holy crap out of him” strategy.
GTFOH, hahahhhahaa
Fedor gets the take down in the 2nd and thats that
You should ask yourself, can Fedor take the beating that Nog took for 2 rounds? The answer is NO. No one can take a beating even close to NOG. It will be a close fight and that’s the truth.
dude, the point is that Fedor WON’T get a beating. He’ll be the one giving the beating, not the reciever. In any case, Sylvia will be the one being beat the cr*p out.
B., everyone should care if Fedor beats Sylvia. Sylvia is top 8 at worst. That is a pretty legit win. It is a lot better than Hong Man Choi.
Muto:
You’re maybe giving me too much credit and the others not enough. There are several other responses to your post that say the same thing I did in a different way. This fight is interesting (IMO) because it pits two of the top HWs in the world in a very tough sport.
Was just starting to like Big Tim…
but now, I hope Fedor smashes his facial bones, teeth, etc… to shut up all the Fedor/Pride is Overrated/America is the only worthy place/this isn’t Japan Haters….
WOW.
Mike C.- No sh*t. What a joke the Fedor-Choi fight was. They were seriously creeping into the “Let’s just make a spectacle people will pay for” arena as opposed to hosting a true mma event. Think Fedor needed the money? lol
MMAFAN204
Apr 8th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
MUTO.
“Do all fights have to be for something?
If the fighters have self respect and they fight for pride that is more than enough to make a great fight.
There have been a lot of great fights that were basically for nothing. For example the last GSP and Hughes fight! They already knew who the champ was but they fought anyways.
This fight is simply to see who is the better fighter.
So I guess what I’m trying to say is that they are fighting to see who is the best at what they do in their weight class. I think that is something! Don’t you?
It’s not like they got 2 bums from the street and said fight for a sandwich……is that more interesteing because they fight for a sandwich?
Anyways this will be a great fight and will go a long way in figuring out who is the best HW in the world!
Sorry for the long winded essay!”
This is where the organization comes in to play. The structure is what keeps the sport going. If not, lets get rid of the organizations and have all fighters as free agents that will be “sponsored” by DREAM, M-1, etc and anyone can fight anyone. That is what I feel this is. It is like prostituting yourself for a dollar. I know, I know the UFC fighters are doing the same thing you will surmise. However, their is an end goal in an organizational setting.
This is where I think the difference is coming in at. I am looking for goals (belts) and means to an end (fight your way the rankings for a fight with the champion). Where as the educated posters seethis as a display of skill sets and total weight class superiority.
Muto nutzoe? This is a very interesting fight. Like Tim or not he has actually fought while the sport has evolved over the last few years. Look at the difference time has made with Rampage. Time could easily have the opposite effect on Fedor. Since his management is so hard to negotiate with I ll take Fedor vs. Sylvia over like Fedor vs. a Midget wrestler.
MUTO
Why do you watch anything sports related?
You watch because the people are so skilled at what they do and its interesteing!
The point about “admire the skill and strategy of a sport” really goes without saying doesn’t it?
You are really making it sound as if there is only skill involved when there is a title on the line?
Should be good. If you are in Canada HDNet is on Rogers, Bell, Shaw, Starchoice etc etc. It may cost extra depending on you package. But you’ll need a high def receiver and or upgrade if you have a dish. This should be a good fight. HDNet I think has one more IFL event. They are covering alot of MMA though.
Can’t this also be a set up for Randy to fight the winner (Fedor) when he finishes up with the UFC this fall? Affliction can use this time to build a name for their promotion and then market the SUPERFIGHT between Fedor and Randy later.
wow, UFC watches another one go by……..
Couldn’t land Fedor for him to fight Coture. They let Sylvia go because he wants more money and gets no respect in the UFC.
So look what happens. I don’t know about you guys, but it’s a win loose situation.
Fedor goes to UFC, but no Coture, so he fights Sylvia and wins….Sylvia proves to be a big disappointment.
Fedor comes to the UFC and looses, Syliva scores a huge win, but for some reason, doesn’t get the respect he wants. Fedor signing is a waste.
They are in another organization, and the UFC looses out, however, we as fans finally get to see a big Heavyweight bout.
Maybe UFC should just scrap the Heavyweight division. Dana hates guys laying on top of each other and makes that clear. The fact that there’s really no excitement in the HW now. Coture is gone, Syliva is gone, Arlovski is gone, Cro Cop is gone.
So know we have Nog, Herring, Mir and Lesnar. Congo if you want to throw him in there. Whoopie!!
Didn’t read any comments so sorry if repeat, but LOL at Randy and the UFC. Now what??? heres how it will go down. Fedor beats Tim (who Randy beat) 3 months later fights Randy. It’s a win/win for Mark Cuban, if Tim wins, sets up rematch between tim and randy
this is great news, finally! Hope fedor will silence all the haters with this, and hopefully finish early against a healthy tim instead of going the whole 5 rounds with a injured tim.
Muto, do you watch non-title fights in the UFC? do you only order UFC where a belt is on the line and skip all the pre-fights and only watch the main event fight for the belt bout? If you say yes, than I respect your opinion, but if you say no, than you don’t have room to bash this fight on the grounds of it not being for a belt.
Doesn’t make sense though…rumer had it Fedor wanted a clause in UFC contract to not have to fight Tim, so I’ll believe it when it’s signed
This is one of the reasons I think Tim could beat Fedor. Fedor has stated before, Tim is a bad match up for him. Fedor knows Tim could give him problems. Tim hits HARD and Fedor cuts EASY.
aaaaa but what if Fedor finishes Sylvia in nasty ass fashion, he would accomplish what Randy couldnt do in 25 minutes after spinning his head like an owl… that fight my friend silences the critics about fedors lack of worthy opponents and helps build up even more the phenomenon that is and hopefully one day will be Fedor vs Randy
but then again if Sylvia wins all hell will break loose dont even know what will happen if Tim knocks Fedor out i think the world would stop spinning…
Fedors manager needs to go to business school and figur out how to do things on the public relations/money/everything side of his fighters lives, hes blowing a chance at a lot. Lose and who really cares about the Randy fight, Win and who really cares . . . not enough upside and too much of a downside for Fedor. Fire that shmuck Fedor, get a real agent with a brain!! I hope you have a rwal agent b the time BJ Penn comes looking for you so that doesnt go to crap like the randy fight is. Actually, lose to Tim and BJ wouldnt waste his time . . .
Ring or Cage? Elbows?
To be honest (and I hate Tim) he’s got a great jab, power and great takedown defense as well as the drive to show the world Fedor is over hyped, he may be able to pull this one off. Now we may have something to talk about for the next few mnths
great fight. sylvia has a lot of heart but fedor’s skill will prove to be too much
Tim must have had this as a plan as he stated that he wanted to fight Fedor in his little announcement clip on HDNET.
HE looks like a pretty dumb guy, especially that picture of him on a little scooter. We can say he is smarter than he looks….
Kevin, that’s what happens when you only listen to rumors. Fedor is not scared of anyone, not tim and definitely not randy. Fedor didn’t sign with the UFC for many reasons, including wanting fellow colleagues to participate in the event, wanted to continue competing in sambo, and as I’ve just learned from John he didn’t want to be a slave for the UFC (if he became champ he could never renew his contract with his demands and would need to continue fighting for the UFC for the same money, not being able to re-negotiate as long as he was still champ).
Just remember, this is a fight that is “in the works”. There have been a lot of Fedor talks “in the works” lately. Let’s get excited when it is CONFIRMED!
what a disgrace. fedor will not fight randy with his mouth full of excuses, but he will fight tim.
he should be embarrassed. for the first time, i hope tim wins.
“To be honest (and I hate Tim) he’s got a great jab, power and great takedown defense as well as the drive to show the world Fedor is over hyped, he may be able to pull this one off. Now we may have something to talk about for the next few mnths”
I might have agreed with this if not for Tim’s recent loss to Nogeira. But does Fedor have Nogeira’s freaky ability to recover after a KO shot? Either way, I see this fight going to the ground early and Fedor winning by submission.
“Just remember, this is a fight that is “in the works”. There have been a lot of Fedor talks “in the works” lately. Let’s get excited when it is CONFIRMED!”
Damn! The voice of reason! How dare you! Some of us prefer to get hyped up and then bitch about the big letdown when it doesn’t happen! lol