Props: Boston Herald
Quoteworthy:
“My thoughts on Fedor are what they’ve always been: he hasn’t fought anybody since 2005. He hasn’t proven himself and he hasn’t fought the best. It’s 2008, and he hasn’t fought anybody good since 2005. I don’t consider him one of the best heavyweights in the world…. Anderson Silva is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He might end up going down in history as the best fighter ever.”
Dana White has put his faith in UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva to anchor UFC Fight Night 14 tomorrow night on Spike TV. Meanwhile, Affliction MMA has Fedor Emelianenko headlining its first-ever pay-per-view (PPV) event just up the dial. Will the fighters step up to the challenge or will one (or both) disappoint their respective employers? We’ll finally find out in less than 24 hours. It’s almost time to let it all play out LIVE … and it can’t come soon enough.
78 Comments »
Dana White is like a politician. Repeat the same talking points and hope the repetition will convince ignorant people. Then when it’s convenient say something completely different and contradictory.
I wonder what he thinks of Noguiera, his current Heavyweight champion, by extension. Oh wait, he’s not actually serious, he’s just saying shit no one will call him on and hope it sticks.
Fedor is the best fighter mma has ever seen. If MMA ENDED TOday, Fedor would with out a doubt go down in history as the best fighter of all time, and its going to take more then a little inactivity to change my mind, Until I see someone beat him, he is the best
“If you dont know, now u know”!
Dana saying that he doesnt consider Fedor ONE of the top HW is just retarded and he is talking out his ass. Is Fedor the best? IMO no. One of the best? Without a doubt.
fedor is the best of all times… i you dont believme so check out every single mma fighter record an compare it to fedor`s and youll find out, nubers speak for themselves
thats why silva is where he is right?
I hope Tim beats Fedor (which i doubt) that way we can get rid of this Fedor is the greatest stuff.. Anderso Silva is a grea fighter and it would be a dream fight
Why does it bother u so much that Fedor is the greatest? How can u guys hate on this man? He is the most down to earth fighter in the world, Cool as Ice and straight NASTY, but u guys just Hate on him.
It makes me think that the guys who hate on him, are just ignorant and didnt follow PRIDE very much, because I have a hard time believing that a Fan of mma that has actually seen this guy fight (not watch the highlights), but actually watche him fight, couldnt possibly hate on Fedor….I just dont get you people…….He doesnt have to be your favorite fighter, but dont hate on the guy, he is a great pertson and 1 helluva fighter, at the very least he deserves everyone’s respect!
When I hear a guy hate on fedor, it reminds of the few idiots of the 90’s that used to hate on jordan! Get with it!
I was scared after the Herring fight. Fedor looked so nasty in that fight. The kind of power this guy has is gruesome. But that being said he needs to fight top level compitition in order to keep the title of best pound for pound fighter in the world.
It’s because Fedor has been coasting on his reputation (well-earned, BTW) but has fought nothing but carnival acts for three years. It’s like that episode of Seinfeld when Jerry beat that kid in a foot race in junior high, then refused to give him a rematch and lorded his one win over him for 25 years.
Good one PW. I didn’t follow Pride that much, but I have seen alot Fedors fights and as of late I’m not impressed. Tim keeps it standing and Fedor losses.
War Timmy, HA HA I hate when people type that.
I don’t hate the man, I just get sick of hearing he’s the greatest ever by the jock riders all the time. If he’s the greatest he needs no hype everyone will know soon enough, just let it be seen. Why not just change his name to God and let there be no doubt.
fedor has proved it. he proved it for about 5 yrs. in PRIDE. just because it wasn’t in the ufc and on spiketv for u to see it doesn’t mean he hasn’t proved himself. he was like 25 or 26 yrs. old and he beat nogueira like a rag doll. beat him to a pulp my friend (twice). nog was an outstanding fighter then as he is now, but he couldn’t come close to this man they call fedor
iMO, Fedor has proved it. He destroyed Cro Cop in his Prime, NOgueira twice when he was/is a freakin Legend (who happens to be the current UFC champion). He looked like a killer against Heath Hearing. Dominated Semmy Shilt in Fedor’s 1st Pride fight. Sumbitted Randleman after he got suplexed on his head. Finished a very tough Mark Hunt and fought through being rocked by the great Fujita and choked him out!
Without ever loosing in years fighting in PRIDE. I agree that he hasnt fought the best guys recently, but until I see someone beat him, I have to consider him the best Heavyweight of all time! Tim will be a great challenge, and if Fedor finishes Tim, it can NO LONGER BE DISPUTED, and you all wont have anything left to hate on him about.
If he looses, then maybe his best days are behind him, but I have a heard time believing thats going to happen tonight. Fedor is a Ball of Power, Tim wont be able to keep the fight standing.
I promise 1 thing, when they are both in the ring together tonight, getting their names announced. Tim will be very nervous, a little scared probably, and I guarentee that he will have some doubts running through his mind. On the other side of the ring, Fedor will be standing there calm, cold and Cool as Ice with that stare that will look like he is staring right through Tim….Business as usual!
That right there is a huge advantage for Fedor to start the fight off with! Should make for one of the best Heavyweight fights in a lONG time!
It would be a nightmare, not a dream. I LOVE watching both Silva and Fedor, but Fedor would beat Anderson to death! At this point I don’t believe there is a person alive who can beat Fedor.
Can anyone confirm… if the UFC card will re-air midnight??????????????????????????????????????????
I imagine so Robert. I just checked my local tv guide station and it has Silva vs Irvin on until 3 a.m.
Thanks man…. I’,watching Affliction live and then hopefully DVR’ing UFC later… it’s almost time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
fedor would eat silva alive just watch all his fight on youtube youl see for your self the last emperor is the best in the world alexzander emelianenko would be agood fifgt for silva then he could work up to the big bro
fedor would destroy silva on the first round.
You know I have to be honest. I did not watch a whole lot of Pride back in the day when Fedor was King. I however have been watching UFC’s for 10+ years. I have seen videos of Fedor and read COUNTLESS posts about his God like abilities. I will be very interested to see just what this Russian can do against a fairly game Timmy. After watching Tim on the ground with Big Nog, it would not come as a suprise to me to see Fedor submit big Tim. Deep down in myheart however I’m hoping Tim KO’s the Russian just to shut the mouths of those who probably jumped his bandwagon without ever seeing him fight. As for Anderson Silva, who knows, it’s MMA, anything can happen.
then I’d like to see what will you say after Fedor’s victory over Sylvia.
STFU!!!! Only time I ever see you, is when there’s a thread on Fedor…. Get over and get off his nuts dude, honestly you have one of the biggest man crushes I have ever seen. By the way I am a fan of Fedor and Big Tim, and do want to see a great fight, because that’s what I believe it will be, not some lop sided thrashing that all of you Fedor nut huggers are screaming day in and day out. Give both men credit where credit is due, and just hope for a good fight and not some crazy 30 second in arm bar and the fights done spectacle. Because honestly with a name like Zheka you wouldn’t get in the ring/cage with anybody in MMA or this board.
Hindsight has a way of making stupid people look even more stupid. Nuthuggers huh?
yea me neither. one of my closest homeboys turned me on to mma in highschool. he used to say pride is better but i always liked ufc better cuz they had the fights i could relate to. the pride that he orderred had too much grappling for my preference back then. i never used to keep track of names, records, & who beat whos until posting comments online, cuz you gotta be vicious wit your comebacks and arguments so those fights were fuzzy in my memory. i’m not the biggest fan of fedor’s but he truly is in the elite level from the few fights i seen of his. i hope & expect him to win only cuz big timmy was messing wit aa’s ex. lol.
FEDOR WOULD EASILY BEAT ANDERSON SILVA.IM BETTING ON SANDMAN BY KO FOR TONIGHTS FIGHT .YEAH SPIDER HAS BEAT A LOT OF TOP GUYS BUT I DONT THINK HE IS THE BEST POUND FOR POUND.AND WHAT ABOUT RICH FRANKLIN WHEN HE WAS AT HIS PRIME EVERY ONE FORGETS HE WAS UNDEFEATED FOR HOW LONG AND BEAT THE TOP 185 POUNDERS UNTIL ANDERSON SYLVA BEAT HIM AND RICH EVEN BEAT YUSHI OKAMI. WHO ACTUALY BEAT SYLVA A FEW YEARS AGO..FRANKLIN WAS 21-1 UNTIL ANDERSON BEAT HIM .NOT BAD FOR A MATH TEACHER AAA.
i’d pick anderson over fedor because the speed,agility,and dexterity of anderson is nuts against a guy like fedor and i don’t see fedor getting a submission on anderson..
i really don’t see james beating anderson but i hope he does he’s my favorite fighter at lhw in the ufc,but anderson silva is like a robot or something that is indestructible i would bet on him against a nuclear missile
ANDERSON WILL GET HIS SOONER THAN LATER. WATCH AND SEE.GO SANDMAN TAKE THE SPIDER OUT.THAT WOULD BE AWESOME.
It’s the other way around. The Sandman will be put to sleep by the Spider…zzzzzzzzz…..
I hope Anderson and Fedor both lose because I’m tired of hearing promoters pumping their fighter as bestest in the universe.
Then that is what we would call a “major” upset!…I bet if this happens, a lot of guys here will be losin’ a lot of money. Easy on the bettin’ Stinky! LOL!
Adam, please turn your caps button off.
True Adam, but everyone jumps on the band wagon, who ever is the next best thing and forget other great fighters.
Anderson Silva lost because of an illegal head kick to a downed opponent, or some kind of illegal kick. He was dominating the whole fight and if you saw it (which you clearly didn’t) than you would know that. Plus it doesn’t matter about who beat who because in MMA anything can happen. For example, Chuck beat Wanderlei, Wanderlei beat Jackson (2x), Jackson beat Chuck. I can give you many more exaples: Henderson beat Wanderlei, Wanderlei beat Jackson, Jackson beat Henderson. Vovchanchyn beat Sakuraba, Sakuraba beat Jackson, Jackson beat Vovchanchyn. Its all about the styles..
OH GOD, Timmy is going to win - I feel it.
Oh yeah!
P4P, of course it’s Silva! The guy’s lighter and it just takes 205 lbs to come up with a killing machine like that. I bet if fedor were as big[or small] as Anderson, he wouldn’t stand a chance if the 2 guys go toe-to-toe. Anderson all the way on this one.
But Fedor will shut all the doubters up when he either submits little Timmy or ground and pounds him. HAven’t you seen how a lesser Randy Couture manhandled Sylvia? Lesser in such a way that he’s a little older than Fedor and smaller[but age really doesn’t matter for Capt America]. So I really can’t see Tim stand a chance against the Russian Experiment!
Fedor is only 6 ft tall and 15 pounds heavier than Silva. He could be fighting in 205 easy.
Good point that aa. Fedor looks really huge though on tv. As compared to the Spider fighting at 185. He really looks lean and w/0% body fat…If you know what I mean…
anderson silva is taller then fedor a.silva usually always fights guys smaller then him fedor takes out ne one
dude i would love to see silva knock his ass clean out.
but on a cooler and realistic note:if some how irvin beats silva then he will be super hyped and a fight or two away from title shot or contenders match.he is one of my favorite fighters and ive been following him for a long as time but i can see him winning by crazy ass knockout and winning KO of th year…then like normal…lose his next fight against a lesser opponent
Timmy not all that good and fedor his fights are boring and his bro won’t fight cuz his criminal record sucks
The greatest fighter ever doesn’t lose to Ryo Chonan via flying leg scissors to an ankle lock!!!
dude that was a fluke. It was an incredible submission that would catch anyone by surprise. Anderson was dominating up until then.
it was a heal hook, not an ankle lock
There is no doubt that Anderson is a great fighter. The thing with Anderson is he has this halo around him right now because hes on top which deep down intimidates all his opponents, which in turn works out for his favor. All it will take is one loss, and you will see his fights will get much much tougher and he won’t be as dominant anymore because his opponents will gain a lot of confidence.
Everyone that fought chuck before he lost to rampage were scared of getting knocked out, after the loss, everyone is trying to knock chuck out. I believe the same will happen will Anderson one day.
Fedor is a good fighter, but he is not the best. If Tim can keep it on the feet I expect him to take the fight.
Fedor’s a chump.
well lets see fedor drop to 205 and silva can stay at 205 for a dream match up, but dana hasnt the balls to put his money where his mouth is!!! the fight could be down easy if they wanted it
Fedor is all talk and no action at this point. Tonight we’ll see if there is anything to back up the hype. I have never been that impressed with Tim. His great skill is that he is 6′ 8″ and there is no skill in that
All Talk? THe guy doesnt say 2 words! U obviosly dont know much about him!
So, you blame an athlete for using their physical attributes? That makes a lot of sense. Once again (in my exasperated, said this before voice), my opinion on that: that’s like blaming Peyton Manning for being able to read a D and throw a football. Blame Tracy Ogden for being huge and incredibly fast. Lucky Jesse Owens could run or that Phelps doesn’t sink like a stone when he hits the water. In sports, you use everything you can to your advantage. If someone is built like Shaq, he shouldn’t be a jockey even if the commercials are funny. I used to laugh when drivers would complain that Danica Patrick weighed 100pounds less. Like that was her fault. You use every advantage you have and emphasize your strengths. Tim’s tall. Yes. Get over it.
If Fedor cut to 205 Silva would destroy him on the feet, bloody him up and KO him in the second, IMO.
yeah that’s what they thought cro cop would do to him. they thought nog would school him on the ground. they thought semmy schilt would use his length and kickboxing to make quick work of him. how’d that all turn out for him. fedor is so much physically stronger than other men in this sport that he just imposes his strengh and will and there’s nothing his opponent can do about it. kevin randleman and mark coleman aren’t skilled mma fighters, but no one would question their physical strength, and he took their huge, muscular arms, and showed them what strength really was, and submitted them. just because he doesn’t look like much doesn’t mean he isn’t. if he was ripped and cut like couture would ur opinions differ?
Fedor would crush silva easily. Silva TAPPED in pride to a lil japanese guy, Fedor has NEVER and will NEVER TAP, (or lose for that matter)
Silva tapped in Pride against Ryo Chonan (now with the UFC and lost to Karo in his debut). I gotta say though, Silva was dominating the fight, and that awesome flying heel hook came out of nowhere. Anyway, a loss is a loss.
I think most everyone, including myself, would agree that Silva is not the same fighter he was several years ago in Pride. He has obviously taken his game up several notches and is in his prime. I don’t see anyone beating him anytime soon.
what does pound for pound mean anderson silva has beat people at his own weight so how can u be the best pound for pound fighter when all the people u beat weigh the same as you ???? Hes now moved up 20 lbs WOW
Fedor fights people that out weight him by a stupid amount more than him thats my idea of pound for pound look at mayweather champ in 5 diff weight classes so until Sliva fights an beats fedor all stick with fedor. Silva is a beast tho I hope he takes the lhw divison to
War fedor
War spider
Another example of Dana just hating. Man, I can’t stand haters. Dana, don’t lie and say you didn’t want Fedor bro. This was the same Fedor who hasn’t fought anyone solid since Cro Cop (although Hunt was a challenge) in 2005. The only thing that has changed is that you weren’t able to cop him and now he is with a competitor. This plain and simple shows Dana as a hater. Dude, just give the guy the respect he deserves. I can’t believe he’s dawgin Fedor after all he has done for MMA.
Haters are worse than cockroaches man.
Both are great - kind of silly to argue who is better. I love watching both and both are easily the best in their respective weight classes. There really is no reason to pit the two against each other over some hypothetical question. I personally wish that Dana would admit how great Fedor is, nobody at Affliction is talking trash about A silva.
The real question is weather or not Fedor can do what he was doing to top level compitition back in 2005. If Fedor cuts through big Tim, then he is the best pound for pound fighter. If he eeks out a decision or wins in less then impressive fascion then he may not be the rediculously dominant fighter we saw in PRIDE. A lot is riding on this fight and it will be interesting to see if Fedor has lost a step.
Sometimes i think dana shouldn’t make comments like that until he is ready to cross promote.
but i would take the spider
DANA IS A MORON….FEDOR WOULD DESTROY ANYONE…LIKE TIM SYLVIA SAID YOU GOTTA GIVE THE GUY CREDIT ANYONE YOU PUT INFRON TOF HIM HE BEAT…FEDOR IS THE BEST everrrr HE BEAT THE UFC CHAMP THREE TIMES.. AND NOW HES GONA GIVE TIMMY A BEATING…IF FEDOR EVER WAS TO JOIN THE UFC DANA WOULD BE KISSING HIS ASS LIKE HE ALWAYS DOESA WITH HIS FIGHTERS WHO WIN…ANDERSON IS GREAT BUT YOU CANT COMPARE HIM TO FEDOR ..FOR THOSE WHO KNEW ANDERSON SILVA IN PRIDE HE WAS BEAT DOWN WITH THAT HEEL HOOK…
BEat down, c’mon have you seen the fight silva was winning until that he wasnt beat down he just got caught.
fedor has only fought 2 a level fighters and 3 b level fighters!
a level = cro cop + nogueira(2) b level= herring + semmy schilt + coleman(2)
and a few c level fighters namely ….. mark hunt, koshaka, ricardo arona, all others are d level or worse
namely randleman, fujita, goodridge, ogawa, nagata, lindland, babalu and many more.
dont get me wrong arona and babalu are a-b level fighters at 205 but at HW they are not!
Nogueira may not be as good as fedor but at least he has fought the best consistantly
namely. herring(3) coleman, cro cop, fedor himself(2), sylvia, josh barnett(2) fabricio werdum, sergei kharitonov, ricco rodrigeuz(when he wasnt a fat slob) semmy schilt,sanae kikuta,
and a whole host of c + d level fighter like dan henderson(2), valentijn overeem(2), nate schroeder, tk koshaka, pawel nastula, garry goodridge, hirotaka yokoi and many more
the important thing look at nogueiras last 5 fights!!! and look at fedor??? dana has a point!
fedor must be ring rusty so dont bet against big tim
fedor is a living legend. cmon thats undisputable. big nog is right up there too. unfucwitable status.
anderson silva is the top dog right now
the fight is possible, Fedor just need to drop down to 205, he’s only 225-235 pounds not too much weight to drop down. Fedor would be more leaner, quicker, and bigger at 205 than HW division.
As much as I admire Anderson, he has yet to grow to even stand close to Fedor. I’m sure Fedor will disprove all the nay-sayers tonight by demolishing Tim Sylvia and once and for all put away all those doubts whether he is *the* best pound for pound fighter on the planet.
maybe your right but dont count tim out just yet
I guess we can count Tim out now after lasting a whole 36 seconds. Anyway, I think the pound for pound debate is kind of ridiculous as long as the UFC refuses to cross promote with other organizations. I can’t say I blame them though, they wouldn’t have much to gain from a Fedor/Silva fight, but they would certainly have a lot to lose.
Did you see the Burns/Johnson fight? CROOKED, CROOKED, CROOKED!! No fighter should win a fight by an ILLEGAL move! Disqualify Burns, especially after he was warned. Johnson did not loose that fight, even by the score card.
If this is allowed to stand - the UFC is no better than the crooked practices of boxing. DANA fix this or no one will believe this sport has any integrity!
I will say it again…Fedor is a poser and would get murdered by Silva
If you think Fedor is a poser then you are a complete tool.
you are just silly. Fedor would destroy him but he is way to thick and would not be healthy at 205 so it does not matter. Silly!
Fedor and the Spider should just fight. Silva looked great at 205 and Fedor looks like he could make 205 easy. Fedor fights larger men everytime he fights and he has really never been beaten. The one loss on Fedor’s record was due to a cut caused be what was actually an illegal strike. Fedor is without a doubt the best fighter on the planet.
Fedor would destroy anyone you put in front of him, including Anderson Silva. Silva and Fedor could easily meet at 205 and the Spider would not stand a chance. Fedor would be the larger of the two but most of Fedors opponents are more than 20 lbs. larger than him. This tells me that there is no question that the best pound for pound fighter in the game is Fedor! For anyone who says GSP is the best pound for pound fighter, just wait, and watch him lose to John Fitch in his own division two weeks from now.
Fedor now is undoubtibly the best. He made Tim Silvya look like a school girl. 36 seconds is all he needed to make him look stupid. All you people that said Fedor couldnt beat him eat your words. They stood toe to toe and Fedor drilled him to the ground…Fedor would kill Anderson Silva. One blow from Fedor would know his block off his shoulders…
Fedor is the best mma fighter right now. I really don’t think he is beatable but then again, anything is possible in this sport.
If Fedor drops down to 205LB and fights Anderson, it will be a great match. I think Fedor will still win because he is a very intense and strong willed fighter. However, you can’t count Silva too easily. He is a very smart and technical fighter. Fedor won’t be able to beat him like in first 30 or 60 seconds of the fight. It will go some distance before Fedor will be able to impose his relenteless will on Silva. I love Anderson Silva, he is a great fighter. But Fedor is at some other level man. That guy is a monster. He just keeps coming at you no matter what you throw at him. The Suplex by Randelman that almost would knock anyone out, the almost knock out punch by Fujita, etc. Fedor is just out of this world.
I would love to see Fedor and Silva fight at 205. I would give Fedor an 80 to 20 chance to win but Silva does have the tools to pull of an upset. It will be Fedor’s relentless will and intensity vs. Silva’s precision strikes, technique, and agility.
If they were to fight at 205, I see Fedor taking the initiative with a feint then a hook. Anderson would use those laser sharp punches and cause several cuts to Fedor’s face, but a barrage of hooks and attempted uppercuts by Fedor would cause Spider to defend his head and back up. Fedor would move inside, grapple and toss him to the floor. If a submission armbar doesn’t end first round, then it will be ground and pound to end first round. The other rounds would continue in same manner until a UD for Feodr, if no submission happens(I don’t think A Silva would be KO’d).
BTW The speed of Fedor’s punches vs Timmy seemed faster than any punch I’ve ever seen Silva Throw. I rewatched several videos like the A Silva vs Lebben fight and Franklin, but the speed of Fedor’s hooks seemed unreal in comparison. Even in the Slow Mo they seemed fast.