This is Fedor Emelianenko's first post-Pride megafight. Since he left Pride, he has been picking on guys either smaller ( Matt Lindland) or not on the same playing field (Hong-Man Choi) as him, and it's refreshing to see Fedor finally pick on a guy his own size in Tim Sylvia.
Fedor Emelianenko is as complete a heavyweight as they come. He is a superb striker and grappler. He is extremely fluid from range to range, as he goes from outpunching his adversary on his feet to throwing or taking him down, pounding him on the floor, and if needed, finishing with a slick submission move. Fedor is not a perfect fighter, however, and he could standing to kick and fight in the clinch better.
Fedor's imperfections and the draining effect of being on top has been noticeable in his last two fights against Lindland and Choi. Choi is a Shaq-sized 7-footer and an exponent of ssirum (Korean wrestling) and kickboxing. Choi used his ssirum background and size advantage to smother Fedor, until Fedor managed to put on a slick armbar to submit him. Fedor especially had no excuse for what happened against Lindland. Despite being smaller and not as well-rounded, Lindland bloodied Fedor and gave him fits until Fedor submitted him with an armbar. The bottomline is that Fedor the heavyweight king has been struggling against inferior opponents.
I dare say that the Fedor you will see against Tim Sylvia is not the same Fedor that schooled Cro Cop and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in Pride. This is a Fedor who is still elite, but on a gradual decline, and Tim Sylvia will give him a tough time.
Tim Sylvia will be the the third giant (height-wise) Fedor will be facing. The first two, Zuluzinho and Hong-Man Choi, are the MMA equivalents of Oliver Miller and Ha Seung-Jin, two former NBA big men who specialized in getting schooled and dunked on. Tim Sylvia will be like Kevin Love we will see in the future : Athletically unimposing, but stocky and intelligent athletes who know how to fight within their limits. In fact, Sylvia and Love even look alike.
That said, Tim Sylvia's limits are on the ground. He is especially prone to being submitted, as he has shown against Frank Mir, Andrei Arlovski and Minotauro Nogueira. If Fedor-Sylvia goes to the ground, chances are Sylvia will lose. However, with Fedor not being as explosive as before, and having a considerable reach disadvantage against a guy who is decent with his hands, I don't see Fedor taking down Sylvia with ease - not to the point where he can just pound Sylvia away or submit him. If Sylvia was more confident with his jab and knew how to just let fly with his hands, I can even see Fedor getting knocked out.
Also, as opposed to the loose confines of a ring which promotes more moving around, the cage promotes more trading, especially if the fight goes to the fences. Fedor is not a good clinch fighter, and Tim Sylvia is a good with his takedown defenses, even in the open floor. A funny, but cool fact is that although Fedor's punches are like loose pistons, he doesn't have that one-punch knockout power. If they trade and dirty box, Sylvia will have the advantage.
I think this will be Fedor's last lucky fight. Tim Sylvia is much better than Hong-Man Choi, but he is not well-rounded enough to beat Fedor. The two will box in the middle of the ring, they will dirty box along the fences, Fedor will try to take Sylvia down, but he won't get a clear position advantage, even if he does succeed. The fight will be a war of attrition, there will be cuts and their will be blood, and Fedor will squeak by.
Fedor Emelianenko over Tim Sylvia via split decision.
Fedor Emelianenko is as complete a heavyweight as they come. He is a superb striker and grappler. He is extremely fluid from range to range, as he goes from outpunching his adversary on his feet to throwing or taking him down, pounding him on the floor, and if needed, finishing with a slick submission move. Fedor is not a perfect fighter, however, and he could standing to kick and fight in the clinch better.
Fedor's imperfections and the draining effect of being on top has been noticeable in his last two fights against Lindland and Choi. Choi is a Shaq-sized 7-footer and an exponent of ssirum (Korean wrestling) and kickboxing. Choi used his ssirum background and size advantage to smother Fedor, until Fedor managed to put on a slick armbar to submit him. Fedor especially had no excuse for what happened against Lindland. Despite being smaller and not as well-rounded, Lindland bloodied Fedor and gave him fits until Fedor submitted him with an armbar. The bottomline is that Fedor the heavyweight king has been struggling against inferior opponents.
I dare say that the Fedor you will see against Tim Sylvia is not the same Fedor that schooled Cro Cop and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in Pride. This is a Fedor who is still elite, but on a gradual decline, and Tim Sylvia will give him a tough time.
Tim Sylvia will be the the third giant (height-wise) Fedor will be facing. The first two, Zuluzinho and Hong-Man Choi, are the MMA equivalents of Oliver Miller and Ha Seung-Jin, two former NBA big men who specialized in getting schooled and dunked on. Tim Sylvia will be like Kevin Love we will see in the future : Athletically unimposing, but stocky and intelligent athletes who know how to fight within their limits. In fact, Sylvia and Love even look alike.
That said, Tim Sylvia's limits are on the ground. He is especially prone to being submitted, as he has shown against Frank Mir, Andrei Arlovski and Minotauro Nogueira. If Fedor-Sylvia goes to the ground, chances are Sylvia will lose. However, with Fedor not being as explosive as before, and having a considerable reach disadvantage against a guy who is decent with his hands, I don't see Fedor taking down Sylvia with ease - not to the point where he can just pound Sylvia away or submit him. If Sylvia was more confident with his jab and knew how to just let fly with his hands, I can even see Fedor getting knocked out.
Also, as opposed to the loose confines of a ring which promotes more moving around, the cage promotes more trading, especially if the fight goes to the fences. Fedor is not a good clinch fighter, and Tim Sylvia is a good with his takedown defenses, even in the open floor. A funny, but cool fact is that although Fedor's punches are like loose pistons, he doesn't have that one-punch knockout power. If they trade and dirty box, Sylvia will have the advantage.
I think this will be Fedor's last lucky fight. Tim Sylvia is much better than Hong-Man Choi, but he is not well-rounded enough to beat Fedor. The two will box in the middle of the ring, they will dirty box along the fences, Fedor will try to take Sylvia down, but he won't get a clear position advantage, even if he does succeed. The fight will be a war of attrition, there will be cuts and their will be blood, and Fedor will squeak by.
Fedor Emelianenko over Tim Sylvia via split decision.
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