Sherdog.com is reporting that Fedor Emelianenko, the Russian who is generally regarded as the world's best heavyweight mixed martial arts fighter, will take on former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia on July 19.Emelianenko and Sylvia are both free agents, and they have apparently signed with Mark Cuban's organization for what could be the biggest MMA fight outside the UFC organization in American history. The fight is slated to take place at the American Airlines Center, which is also home to Cuban's Dallas Mavericks. Emelianenko tells Sherdog:
"[Sylvia] is a good fighter, a strong fighter, the former UFC heavyweight champion, which is important. I am looking forward to fighting him and training hard for this fight."Sherdog reports that the fight is likely to be televised by Cuban's HDNet, although it's certainly a big enough fight that it could generate pay-per-view buys.
Sylvia, who is coming off a loss to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, will be one of the toughest opponents for Emelianenko, who has been criticized in the past for padding his record against inferior opposition. If Emelianenko wins he would likely take on Randy Couture, assuming Couture is eventually freed of his UFC contract, in a huge fight that would go a long way toward establishing Cuban's organization as a legitimate competitor for UFC.
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