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Fedor Rules MMA World Emelianenko beats Sylvia in 36-seconds headlining “Affliction Banned”
July 19, 2008 Honda Center Anaheim, California
ANAHEIM, California – History was made tonight when Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko captured the inaugural WAMMA heavyweight title headlining “Affliction Banned,” the greatest line-up of mixed-martial-arts fights ever presented in one night, before an enthusiastic, capacity crowd of 13,989, including many Hollywood and sports celebrities at Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Emelianenko (28-1) cemented his legacy as the greatest MMA heavyweight fighter ever, arguably the No. 1 pound-for-pound MMA warrior of all-time, by forcing former 2-time UFC® heavyweight title-holder Tim “The Maine-iac” Sylvia (24-5) to tapout only 31-seonds into the first round of the main event.
After the fight Emelianenko, the former undisputed PRIDE® heavyweight champion and Russian M-1 legend, named superstar Randy Couture as his choice to fight next in what would be an All-World showdown of MMA’s two biggest stars.
“Affliction Banned,” presented by Affliction Entertainment in association with Roy Englebrecht Promotions, featured half of the top 10 heavyweights in the world fighting on pay-per-view. “I’m extremely happy,” Affliction vice president Tom Atencio said about the show. “It was an amazing crowd with amazing fights. Look for us again in November.”
The co-feature of the night was a classic MMA war between a pair of punishing strikers. Former UFC® heavyweight title-holder Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski (13-5) exploded with a barrage of punches and kicks from all angles en route to a third-round KO of ex-IFL® titlist “Big” Ben Rothwell (29-6).
The PPV action continued with three more monster battles as heavyweight Josh “The Baby Faced Assassin” Barnett (23-5) fought stateside for the first time in two years and avenged his only loss by knock out (7 years ago) with a vicious one-punch (left hook) stoppage of Pedro “The Rock” Rizzo (16-8); light heavyweight Renato “Babalu” Sobral (30-7) out-dueled three-time All-American wrestler Mike Whitehead (20-6) by third-round decision; 2000 Olympic Wrestling Silver Medalist and Oregon House of Representative candidate, Matt “The Law” Lindland (21-5) took a three-round decision versus middleweight Fabio “Negao” Nascimento (8-4).
Also on the “Affliction Banned” PPV show, heavyweight Antonio Rogerio “Minotoro” Nogueira (14-3) scored a first-round win by technical knockout against Edwin “Babyface” Dewees (35-13); welterweight Mike “Quicksand” Pyle (18-5-1) defeated JJ Ambrose (9-2) by second-round submission; lightweight Mark “The Machine” Hominick (16-8) made Savant Young (8-8) tapout in the second round.
“Affliction Live” on FSN kicked-off the evening with Paul “The Headhunter” Buentello (26-10) winning a three-round decision against Gary “Big Daddy” Goodrich (23-18-1), while Victor “The Phenom” Belfort (17-8) knocked out veteran Terry Martin (16-5) in the second round of their middleweight bout.
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OFFICIAL RESULTS FROM “AFFLICTION BANNED”
HEAVYWEIGHTS: Fedor Emelianenko (28-1, 6 KOs, 15 Submissions), Stary Oskol, Russia WSUB1 (0:36) Tim Sylvia (24-5, 16 KOs 2 Submissions) (Emelianenko wins inaugural WAMMA Heavyweight Title).
Andrei Arlovski (13-5, 8 KOs, 3 Submissions), Chicago, Illinois by way of Belarus WKO3 (1:13) Ben Rothwell (29-6, 17 KOs, 10 Submissions)
Josh Barnett (23-5, 5 KOs, 14 Submissions), Seattle, Washington WKO2 (1:44) Pedro Rizzo (16-8, 9 KOs), Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
Paul Buentello (26-10, 16 KOs, 9 Submissions), Amarillo, Texas WDEC3 (30-27, 30-27, 3-27) Gary Goodrich (23-18-1, 13 KOs, 9 Submissions), Barrie, Canada
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (14-3, 3 KOs, 5 Submissions), Rio de Janeriro, Brazil WTKO1 (4:06) Edwin Dewees (35-13, 3 KOs, 28 Submissions)
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS: Renato Sobral (30-7, 2 KOs, 16 Submissions), Costa Mesa, California by way of Rio De Janeiro, Brazil WDEC3 (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Mike Whitehead (20-6, 5 KOs, 10 Submissions), Salt Lake City, Utah.
MIDDLEWEIGHTS: Matt Lindland (21-5, 6 KOs, 8 Submissions), Eagle Creek, Oregon WDEC3 (30-27, 30-27, 30-26) Fabio Nascimento (8-4, 4 KOs, 2 Submissions), San Paulo, Brazil
Vitor Belfort (16-8, 10 KOs, 2 Submissions), Las Vegas, Nevada by Curitiba, Brazil WKO2 (3:12) Terry Martin (16-5, 10 KOs, 5 Submissions), Chicago, Illinois.
WELTERWEIGHTS: Mike Pyle (18-5-1, 2 KOs, 15 Submissions), Las Vegas, Nevada WSUB1 (2:51) JJ Ambrose (9-2, 2 KOs, 4 Submissions), Lakewood, California.
LIGHTWEIGHTS: Mark Hominick (16-8, 7 KOs, 6 Submissions) WSUB2 (2:25) Savant Young (9-8, 2 KOs, 4 Submissions), Pasadena, California.
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POST FIGHT QUOTES
- Fedor Emelianenko: “I was very pleased with my performance. Everything I wanted to do I was able to do.”
“Yeah I was hoping I would end the fight then (first time he took Sylvia to the mat). I was prepared to fight standing up, but I knew I had a better chance to end it on the ground.”
“You never know how short or long the fight will be, but I just wanted to end it as quickly as possible. I just wanted to show the fans my skills.”
“I was very pleasantly impressed by how many people came out and I hope to come back soon.”
“I would be very honored to fight Randy Couture.”
- Tim Sylvia: “He got off first and then I had so much going through my mind. He got off first, landed the big punch, jumped on me, and got the submission.”
“I was amazed at how good he is. The guy’s a stud. I don’t think he’s human. He’s incredible. I don’t think anybody’s going to beat him for a while.”
- Andrei Arlovski: “I think they got their money’s worth tonight. I did a lot of work on my boxing.”
“The game plan was to take him down. I didn’t think I’d get him down but I did come back. I didn’t show my jiu-jitsu but I showed my boxing. I won the fight.”
“I want to dedicate the fight to my grandmother who passed away a few months ago.”
“Tomorrow I’ll see what I did wrong, but tonight I’m going to celebrate this victory. I’m very excited. I’ve fought many great fighters and tonight I wanted to show my best performance.”
“I want to fight Fedor, Josh or anybody Affliction chooses.”
- Freddie Roach (Arlovski’s boxing trainer): “I think boxing is what won the fight. The other guy was good on the ground and controlled it a little bit. Andrei’s boxing helped. His hands are really good and we’ve been talking about being a professional boxer.”
- Ben Rothwell: “I hit him with some shots. Obviously it wasn’t enough.”
“I was wearing him down but it didn’t do much, considering the combination he pulled off.”
“My shots slowed him down a little bit but it didn’t do much.”
- Josh Barnett: “He’s as stellar fighter and it could have been me laying on the canvas."
“I wanted to take him down; you can’t chase a guy like that. He holds back because he waits to gauge you. When I’m in the ring with him I know what he’s doing.”
“I heard the crowd boo but I made up for it.”
“Floyd Mayweather is No.1 for a reason. His defense is unbelievable. When I made him miss two or three punches, I was loving it.”
“The win is great. Even though he beat me I hate that I had to beat him. Pedro Rizzo has a heart of gold.”
“I was changing levels a lot. My footwork wasn’t what I wanted. I clipped him at the top of the head and when he put his foot back, he wobbled. When I saw he was unstable, I came forward. I knew he wouldn’t be able to get out of the way.”
- Renato Sobral: “I have been working a lot on my boxing with my coach. He was very strong. People forget that I can strike. I’ll make people remember.”
“I tried to finish the fight but I couldn’t. Two times I had the choke, but the ropes gave me some problems.”
“Whitehead is a good fighter; good striker.”
“I keep working on my jiu-jitsu and always like to finish my fights with a submission. But he was very smart.”
- Matt Lindland: “I hit him with some huge shots. I had that thing (choke) so tight I was squeezing him hard enough to choke him out, but not enough to tire my arms out.”
“He was tough. It was no joke. I hit him with some good shots. I love choking out Black Belts, so he’s a tough guy.”
“After I had him on the ground, I was thinking it was going to be an easy night. He fell into the choke slam. He really is strong.”
“I have to get my ass in the gym and get into better shape. I’m running for the people of District 52 and I want to represent the people of Oregon.”
“He was so damn tough; he was the real deal.”
- From Full Court Press with a little editing from us (color, etc...)
(7/19/08) |
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