Competing MMA shows on Saturday night state debate over true pound-for-pound king? BY GEORGE WILLIS
Mixed martial arts has a full fledged controversy on its hands. Well, controversy might not be the right word. It’s more like a debate, a healthy debate over just who is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport: UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva or Russian heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko?
I’m not ashamed to say, I’ve got no clue. Both fighters were impressive Saturday night, headlining competing MMA cards by winning in less than one minute. Silva, fighting as a light heavyweight, scored a devastating one-punch knockout over James Irvin 61 seconds into their UFC bout on Spike TV. Fedor, meanwhile, needed just 36 seconds to knockdown and then submit Tim Sylvia, on the Affliction pay-per-view event from Anaheim.
Most fights, boxing or MMA, that end in less than a minute can be disappointing. But Silva and Fedor struck with such precision, speed and power, the two shows wound up providing MMA with its best night ever.
Here’s my breakdown of the two cards:
AFFLICTION BANNED: The clothing company best known for its skull and wings T-shirt had a successful promotional debut. I could have done without the Megadeth performances, especially the one that preceded the main event. It was already 11:58 ET at that point and there was no need to delay getting Fedor and Sylvia in the ring. Former UFC heavyweight champions Andrei Arlovski and Josh Barnett scored impressive wins that should make them solid attractions for the next Affliction event. But it was Fedor’s destruction of Sylvia, a two-time UFC heavyweight champion, that gave everyone their money’s worth.
Some called the former Pride heavyweight champ over-rated and questioned the quality of his recent competition. But he charged Sylvia landing a barrage of punches that dropped the former UFC champion. Fedor then pounced into a brief ground and pound before submitting Sylvia with a choke hold. All in 36 seconds. I was like an old Mike Tyson beat down.
UFC: If UFC president Dana White wanted to steal some of Affliction’s thunder, he did so thanks to Silva. The Spider caught a kick from Irvin and while holding his leg with his left hand, landed a straight right hand that knocked Irvin out cold. It was also good to see Frankie Edgar bounce back from his first UFC loss by earning a solid decision over Hermes Franca.
All in all, one megadeth night of MMA was okay. But let’s hope UFC and Affliction don’t make a habit of counter-programming each other the way boxing often does.