Fedor's aura-building victory over Sylvia gives cred to WAMMA crown

Fedor (28-1 overall) has stood atop the media's MMA rankings for five years, virtually unchallenged during that time. Darryl Dennis/Icon SMI

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- As introductions go, Fedor Emelianenko's encounter with Tim Sylvia was terse.

Thirty-six seconds after meeting Sylvia, Emelianenko, the 31-year-old Russian widely regarded as mixed martial arts' best heavyweight, pummeled the 6-foot-8 two-time UFC champion into submission.

Visually, it was Sylvia who struck an imposing figure. Yet Emelianenko has never ceded ground to giants, and giving up eight inches and 33 pounds Saturday night hardly proved to be a disadvantage.

Meeting for the inaugural World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts heavyweight title belt, a championship billed as the sport's first unified non-organizational title, Emelianenko wasted little time in attacking.

"You never know how short or long it is going to be," Emelianenko said moments after finishing Sylvia via rear-naked choke. "But I just wanted to end it as quickly as possible. I just wanted to show the fans my skills."

If it's possible to showcase the breadth of skills needed to be a great mixed martial artist in under a minute, Emelianenko did just that. Having sat atop the heavyweight division of MMA media rankings since capturing the Pride Fighting Championships' belt in 2003 versus Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, much of Emelianenko's greatness resided in seamlessly weaving techniques together.

Flowing from punches on the feet to position on the floor, Emelianenko took hold of Sylvia from behind and unloaded powerful shots that helped him transition to back-control. The Russian moved beautifully and rolled Sylvia to a position where the only recourse was defending his neck.

It didn't help.

"I was hoping I would end the fight then," said the new champion. "I was prepared to fight standing up, but I knew I had a better chance to end it on the ground."

Emelianenko, now 28-1, locked on the submission and Sylvia was compelled to tap.

"I had so many things going through my mind," said the 32-year-old Sylvia, whose record fell to 26-6. "He got off, landed the big punch, jumped on me and got the submission.

"By far, he's the No. 1 fighter in the world."

Showered as much by the adulation of 13,988 fans packed into the Honda Center as he was by red-and-black confetti that poured into the lower bowl after the WAMMA belt was strapped to his waist, the night could not have gone better for Emelianenko or the team that promoted him: Affliction Entertainment and M-1.

While Sylvia presented more than a worthy test, the bout MMA fans have clamored to see would match the Russian against Randy Couture -- the UFC champion until resigning from his post in October 2007 so he could attempt to fight Emelianenko after he turned down an offer to compete under the UFC banner.

In the ring, each man expressed their desire to fight one another. Legal decisions will determine whether that bout will happen, but just seeing the two heavyweight icons in the ring together was enough for fans in the arena to cheer wildly.

"I just wanted to end it as quickly as possible," Emelianenko added. "I just wanted to show the fans my skills."