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2008-07-20 05:12:27
What Now for Fedor and the "Spider"?
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If there was any doubt that Fedor Emelianenko and Anderson "Spider" Silva were two of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, then Saturday night surely eliminated that doubt.
Fedor and Anderson Silva didn't just win - they DESTROYED their competition. Emelianenko battered Tim Sylvia, knocking him to the ground with a flurry of punches and choking him out just 36 seconds into the first round of their fight. After watching the fight against Tim Sylvia tonight, you would have a hard time making the case that Fedor wasn't the best heavyweight in the world.
So what now for Fedor? He has apparently already committed to another fight with Affliction in the fall. Josh Barnett and Andrei Arlovski both had strong performances as well on the Affliction card, and both could make strong cases that they should take on Fedor next. I definitely think that either Arlovski or Barnett will be the next in line to fight Fedor in the fall.
After that? If you watched the Affliction PPV tonight, then you likely saw Randy Couture in the crowd for the fight. Obviously everyone wants to see a Couture / Fedor fight happen. Even though Dana White and Fedor have exchanged words in the press, I really feel that Fedor will eventually end up signing with the UFC in 2009. You can bet that White and the rest of the UFC brass were keeping an eye on how Fedor looked tonight, and after his impressive performance, I wouldn't be surprised if they made another attempt to sign Fedor in the New Year. Whether or not this would lure Couture back to the UFC would be another question. I just don't see Couture getting out of his UFC contract anytime soon, and I can't see Couture retiring without taking on Fedor Emelianenko. I think that the UFC will lure Couture back to the UFC with the promise of one last big-money match against Fedor, likely in mid-2009. That's my prediction - I might be completely off-base.
Also, you likely saw Anderson "Spider" Silva completely destroy James Irvin in the first round of their fight tonight. After sizing up his opponent for a few seconds, Silva struck, catching a kick from Irvin and hammering his outmatched opponent with right hands. Irvin was cut (badly) and the fight was called just over a minute into the first round. Silva had proved emphatically that he belonged in the 205 pound weight-class.
So what now for Silva?
He is going to move back down to Middleweight to defend his title, likely against Yushin Okami. Expect this fight to be announced shortly, especially considering that Silva didn't receive even a scratch in his fight against Irvin. I would expect that this fight will take place possibly as early as UFC 88. After that, expect Silva to keep moving up and down. He will need to defend his middleweight title against Cote sometime in the future - in terms of the light heavyweight division, Anderson has stated that he wants "big" fights from now on. Interesting possible match-ups for Silva at light heavyweight could include Chuck Liddell (the UFC would make a bundle from this match-up), Wanderlei Silva, Quinton Jackson and Forrest Griffin. There is no shortage of "big" matches waiting for Silva at light heavyweight, and you can bet that the UFC will do their best to accommodate. Silva at light heavyweight = bundles of cash for the UFC.
MMA fans were given a treat tonight, as they were able to watch two of the best fighters in the world headline cards on the same night. Both fighters are obviously for real, and they will likely dominate their sports for years to come.
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