Consider the heavyweight fights?Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia; Ben Rothwell vs. Andrei Arlovski; Josh Barnett vs. Pedro Rizzo; and Aleksander Emelianenko vs. Paul Buentello. That's pretty sick, no? Now let's get to it.
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia: On one hand, Fedor hasn't fought a legitimate heavyweight contender since taking on Mark Hunt back at PRIDE: Shockwave 2006 on 12/31/06. That sure is a long time. Still, he did easily defeat current UFC Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira twice before that. In fact, he literally manhandled him, powering out of submission attempts and chucking him around the ring. Further, at the height of Mirko Cro Cop's prime, Fedor also defeated him rather handily.
But then came the lack of action. A time period where Fedor fought an excellent, but much lighter fighter in Matt Lindland and a giant striker in Hong Man Choi with little in the line of ground skills. So what do we believe in, the 27-1 overall MMA record or the recent lack of action?
Hard to say. Still, if we see the guy that was fighting in PRIDE not too long ago show up to take on Sylvia this is what to expect.
First, one of the strongest guys pound for pound in the game. Second, one of the most well- rounded fighters in the heavyweight division. Along with this, Fedor possesses excellent takedowns and takedown defense to go along with above average technical striking skills, power on his feet, and submission skills (from the guard and otherwise).
He's also a ground and pound nightmare. And the heart, toughness, cardio, calm demeanor, and ability to put together a fight plan and execute it have always been there as well.
Whereas Fedor has never been a very big heavyweight, Tim Sylvia stands 6-foot-8 inches. So he's very big, and along with that size possesses ridiculous power on his feet. But if that was the entire story on him he never would've amassed a 24-4 record with 16 (T)KO's while fighting some of the best that the heavyweight division has to offer.
In the end, Sylvia has very good technical striking skills to go along with tremendous heart, toughness, and cardio. He also has very strong takedown defense, a skill that will be of use in this fight. In terms of ground skills, he's improved, even if his submission defense would seem to be a relative weakness.
But that only comes to play if you get him to the ground.
Prediction: How do you make a prediction regarding a fighter that you really haven't seen fight in a couple of years? Answer: You make a decision as to whether you're going to analyze him as we saw him in his prime or guess that he's lost skills since then. In this case, let's go with the Fedor Emelianenko we've always been impressed with; the guy that always seems to come up with the right game plan and executes it to perfection.
That Fedor Emelianenko would take some punishment on his feet against Sylvia. But eventually, despite the big man's strong takedown defense and excellent size, would probably get the fight to the ground. There he might wear Sylvia out.
But this one could go Sylvia's way via knockout, even if we do see the best Fedor we've ever seen. Still . . .
Fedor Emelianenko wins via decision in a very close fight.
Andrei Arlovski vs. Ben Rothwell: Rothwell has a 29-5 overall MMA record with 17 (T)KO's and 10 submission victories to his credit for good reason; he's damned good at what he does. Along with this, he's won 13 straight and has defeated fighters such as Roy Nelson (decision), Ricco Rodriguez (decision), and Krzysztof Soszynski (twice by way of TKO) along the way. In sum, Rothwell hits very hard, comes to fight in shape, and possesses some strong takedown defense, takedowns, and even submissions.
This Miletich fighter is really the total package. And he's big, to boot.
Andrei Arlovski's overall MMA record of 12-5 with eight (T)KO's isn't as impressive as he is. The bottom line is that this former UFC Heavyweight Champion hits very fast and like a truck on his feet. His stand up is also good in a technical sense, and he is very hard to bring to the mat.
In terms of ground skills, that's not his strength necessarily. Still, he does possess those fast acting submissions of the Sambo variety?you hit the ground and then you're tapping?to go along with solid wrestling.
Prediction: Expect a slugfest here. Rothwell is very big and has a tremendous heart. If he connects with Arlovski, it could be game time. But here's the thing about the Pitbull:
No one in the heavyweight division has more explosive hands than him, and that was difficult to deal with before legendary boxing trainer Freddie Roach started to work with him.
Andrei Arlovski wins via TKO in round two.
Josh Barnett vs. Pedro Rizzo: Barnett's 22-5 overall MMA record is impressive, as are his 14 submission victories. He's simply one of the best submission fighters in the game today. But what separates him from most submission fighters are his size (250 pounds), strength, and wrestling skills.
The second you hit the ground with Barnett, you could be in trouble.
That said, way back in 2001 he lost by way of knockout to his opponent at Affliction: Banned, Pedro Rizzo. Of course, back then his striking skills were absolutely nowhere near what they are today. Though Barnett doesn't often show one punch knockout power, from a technical standpoint he's gotten pretty good on his feet.
Pedro Rizzo possesses a 16-7 overall MMA record with nine (T)KO's to his credit. In the end, Rizzo has outstanding technical striking skills and a lot of power. Further, his leg kicks are legendary.
He's also won two in a row and has knocked out Andrei Arlovski in the past.
Rizzo's ground skills are solid, though perhaps unspectacularr. On the other hand, his submission defense is excellent?he's never been submitted in a professional MMA match?and he's not easy to takedown.
But he has proven susceptible to being knocked out recently, if you tag him. Of course, who isn't susceptible to that?
Prediction: If this fight stays on the feet, Rizzo will likely win by either decision or stoppage. Still, these days Barnett has a lot more on his feet than he used to and should be able to survive there for a while. Eventually, expect him to get the fight to the canvas where he'll utilize his wrestling skills to achieve a superior position.
From there, it will likely be tough going for Rizzo.
Josh Barnett wins via TKO in round two.
The Rest
Matt Lindland (20-5) vs. Fabio Negao (8-3): Negao is good; but Lindland's wrestling skills and ferocious ground assaults are better. Matt Lindland wins via TKO in round two.
Renato 'Babalu' Sobral (29-7) vs. Mike Whitehead (21-5): Whitehead is solid in all aspects of the game. But Sobral is a killer on the ground with submissions. Babalu wins via submission in round one.
Aleksander Emelianenko (13-3) vs. Paul Buentello (25-10): This could be an awesome fight. Expect both fighters to swing for the fences. Went back and forth with this one, but in the end, go with size. Aleksander Emelianenko wins via TKO in round two.
Vitor Belfort (16-8) vs. Terry Martin (17-4): Both guys like to stand and bang. Nine out of 10 times, that proves to be a bad thing for Belfort's opponents. Vitor Belfort wins via TKO in round one.
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (13-3) vs. Edwin DeWees (35-12): DeWees is a very tough guy and an excellent submission fighter. Unfortunately for him, Nogueira is better at both of those things and striking to boot. Nogueira wins via submission in round two.
Savant Young (9-6) vs. Mark Hominick (15-8): This could be interesting. Take the guy with the better record. Mark Hominick wins via decision.
Justin Levens (9-8) vs. Patrick Speight (6-0): Speight likes to knock people out and has well- rounded skills. Levens can hit and is always game to fight. It's always hard to defeat an undefeated fighter. Patrick Speight wins via TKO in round two.
Mike Pyle (16-5-1) vs. JJ Ambrose (8-1): Ambrose is a very good ground fighter, but Pyle represents a jump up in competition. This should be a good fight. Mike Pyle wins via decision.?
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