Fedor Emelianenko lives up to the hype, again. After a relatively standard night of fights (with the exception of the Andre Arlovski Fight, more on that later), Fedor ‘The Last Emperor’ Emelianenko decided he was sick of people suggesting he wasn’t, in fact, the baddest MMA fighter on the planet, and crushed Tim Sylvia, an extremely game opponent, in 36 seconds. The fight started out looking a lot like Sylvia v. Couture. Both men approached the center of the ring, Sylvia looking to keep the distance and jab, using footwork to stay out of the Russian’s deadly grip. Fedor had none of it, and threw a left hook that landed flush on Tim Sylvia’s ridiculously groomed face. Tim panicked and made probably the worst decision he’s ever made in a fight by clinching with Fedor. This is Emelianenko’s bread and butter zone, he landed several more punches, left, rights and uppercuts, wobbling the giant and sending him to the canvas. Fedor, a combat Sambo national champion (Sambo is a Russian grappling art, similar to Judo or Brazilian JJ) quickly sunk in the hooks from back mount and finished with a brutally old school forearm choke.

Randy Couture then hopped in the ring for some fight buildup. Here’s to hoping Randy cleans up his legal issues with the UFC.

Regardless of whether or not you liked the television production (I did not) that Affliction put on, this fight, like all Fedor fights, was simply amazing to watch. His speed and ring generalship are second to none.

COED Fight of the Night :

Andre Arlovski v. Ben Rothwell.

Fedor was amazing, but 36 seconds is such a short amount of time! This, on the other hand, was a technical kick-boxing CLINIC from the Belarus native. Big Ben is a bad dude who steamrolled over everyone he fought in the IFL. Before this he was on a 13 fight win streak, and I embarrassingly picked him to win via ground and pound. I love Andre and his giant beard, but honestly after the jabathon v.s. Sylvia, the sad win over Werdum, and then weird undercard fight that was his last on his UFC contract, I thought he may have given up on wanting to be the best that he could be. I was wrong. For three rounds, a ripped Arlovski put his hands all over Rothwell, throwing crisp punches and kicks and using some great trips and throws to get Ben to the ground throughout. From there we saw the classic Pitbull leg lock attempts that had the big man in trouble twice. My favorite fights are ones that almost go the distance. Like all fight fans, I want to see knockouts and submissions, but I also want to see absolute wars, and with this fight, I got cake, and then I got to eat it. Andre finally put Big Ben down in the third with an amazing overhand right. 11 Minutes of fighting and a devastating knockout. If you can find this fight online, watch it.

As far as the quality of the card itself…eh. I was not impressed. We had an article up earlier stating it appeared as though it was videotaped and produced by a High School A/V squad, and I’d have to agree. The entire thing felt overproduced where it didn’t matter (don’t show fight clips of fights that already happened TONIGHT, it’s boring, and also, please NO MORE LIVE MUSIC AT THESE IT’S SO EMBARRASING), and under-produced where it did (can someone please explain to me why the extra two feet of ring were hardwood and not padded? You are lucky someone didn’t split their f*cking head). Props to Affliction Clothing for gathering together some of the world’s best, and since it’s their first show, I won’t judge them too harshly, but still, Megadeth? Four hour fight card? Let your producer’s ego go, guys, and let the fights stand on their own.

For the record, COED predicted 2 out of 3 headliner’s correctly (the outcomes, not the finishers). Sorry for doubting you Andre!

(Image via Pride FC)