Brick City Boxing

By: Tim Crowley

The Affliction Banned show coming up this Saturday night is aiming to be the biggest MMA card in the sport’s short history — and it just might do it. The 11-fight card is stacked with some of the most established and credentialed fighters in the sport. The diversity of the athletes is bringing international attention, over 250 media passes have been given out, and the event is being put on by the collaborative efforts of big organizations like Affliction clothing and M-1 Global (a European MMA organization). Donald Trump has even partnered with Affliction and is helping promote the event.

[More:]

So will the fights live up to hype?

The main event pits the consensus number one heavyweight in the world, Fedor Emelianenko (27-1-0), vs. the former two-time UFC heavyweight champion, Tim Sylvia (24-4-0). Fedor has never really lost an MMA fight. He has one loss on his record from a stoppage due to a cut administered in the first punch of the fight, and he also has a no-contest because of a cut caused by an accidental head-butt. But he later beat both of these fighters in convincing fashion.

Fedor stands 6’ and weighs in at about 235, so he is not a big-sized MMA fighter, but he has agility and a tenacity that is able to overcome the most formidable of opponents. He is well schooled in the various submission holds, like arm bars and chokes, and also has good striking skills and can knock you out with his hands or feet.

He has proved himself against some of the toughest, and largest fighters in the world. He has beaten Gary Goodridge, Mark Coleman, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Matt Lidland, and most recently, the 7’ Choi Hong-Man of South Korea. In all of these fights, Emelianenko stays the aggressor and uses his quickness and agility to pummel his opponents or contort his body to produce an arm bar when his opponent least expects it. This is why he is widely regarded as the most dominant fighter the sport has seen.

Tim Sylvia won his first UFC heavyweight title in 2003. He was then stripped of his title seven months later after testing positive for a steroid. Tim later said the drug was used to help shed weight, and he remained active until finally regaining the title in 2006. He successfully defended it twice before losing to MMA legend Randy Couture.

Tim stands 6’8” and weighs a solid 260, and he comes to fight. He is more of a striker, emphasizing solid punching, and he uses his size to overwhelm his opponents and take them out of their game.

He is a veteran now of MMA, making his professional debut in 2001, and has fought the best the UFC had to offer since his first UFC fight in 2002. He has a solid chin, a large reach, and he likes to fight tall, and this will be where he has his best chance against Fedor. Fedor will have the advantage on the ground, and he is a formidable striker in his own right, but if Tim can fully exploit his reach and height while they are standing toe-to-toe, he’ll be able to land against Fedor, and if he can put his punches together, he could pull off the upset.

It will be interesting to see.

But the card will have plenty of other action-packed fights to build up the excitement for this main event.

UFC staples such as Pedro Rizzo and Josh Barnett are clashing again, seven years after Rizzo knocked out Barnett. Both heavyweights’ records are a whose who of the big players in MMA today.

And fomer undisputed UFC heavyweight champ Andrei “The Pibull” Arlovski is fighting the IFL’s new star, “Big” Ben Rothwell. Arlovski has recently been training with Freddie Roach, and Freddie is scheduled to work his corner during the fight. Arlovski fights at 6’4” 240, and Rothwell 6’5” 250.

The Banned Affliction card is split between a Pay Per View show and a Fox Sports Net viewing. The night will kick off at 5 pm pacific on Fox Sports Net, and will air the fights: Alexander Emelianenko (Fedor’s younger brother) vs. Paul Buentello, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Edwin Dewees, and possibly another depending on time.

The card will then switch over to the Pay Per View coverage to show Mike Pyle vs. JJ Ambrose, Renato Sobral vs. Mike Whitehead, Matt Linland vs. Fabio Negao, Josh Barnett vs. Pedro Rizzo, Andrei Arlovski vs. Ben Rothwell, and Fedor vs. Sylvia.

Banned Affliction is hoping to create a new venue to take MMA to the next level of popularity. They hope that following the success of these fights, a ranking system will be established to bring clarity and organization, which will then help keep the best fighting the best.

The effort is commendable, and Affliction Banned seems to have stacked the cards in their favor. There will certainly be dramatic and exciting fights to come from this Saturday, and they will surely enliven the longtime fans while winning over some new ones.