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posted June 25, 2008 at 17:02 in UFC / MMA Articles

BetUS Sportsbook customers who bet on mixed martial arts may be witnessing the greatest fighter in the world in action on July 19 when they see the return to these shores of Fedor Emilianenko, set to take on former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia in the main event of the first-ever Affliction MMA betting card (co-promoted, in effect, by Donald Trump) which will be held at the Honda Center in Anaheim.

BetUS MMA Betting Odds

Affliction MMA -- Heavyweights (3 rds.)

July 19 -- Anaheim

FEDOR EMILIANENKO -400

TIM SYLVIA +300

For sports betting purposes, let's look at the contestants:

EMILIANENKO (28-1), the -400 MMA gambling favorite in the BetUS MMA betting odds, has a roster of victims comparable to anybody, including champions like Mark Coleman, Mirko Cro Cop, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and Kevin Randleman, along with Gary Goodridge, Heath Herring (the next scheduled opponent for Brock Lesnar) and plenty of others. He has managed to score 20 of his 27 wins inside the distance. Fedor beat Coleman, a living MMA legend, in a little more than two minutes to win the PRIDE Grand Prix tournament in 2004. The fight with Randleman, which was legendary, began with Fedor being suplexed onto his head. It appeared Randleman himself was shocked that Emilianenko not only was NOT taken out by such a powerful move, but instead recovered quickly and established an advantage, taking Randleman out by submission in a minute and a half. In April of 2007 he scored a first-round submission of Matt Lindland, a former UFC middleweight title contender, and in his last bout, on New Year's Eve, he once again scored a spectacular win in the first round against giant kick-boxer Hong-Man Choi. He has lost once, in questionable fashion, to Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, and later avenged it.

SYLVIA (24-4), the +300 sports betting underdog at BetUS sportsbook, won his first 16 pro fights, basically waltzing through most of them and then knocking out Ricco Rodriguez in the first round to win the UFC heavyweight title in February 2003 (UFC 41). After making a defense, Sylvia was suspended then stripped, for testing positive for a banned substance, then had his arm broken when he tried to regain the crown against Frank Mir. Sylvia finally regained the UFC title with a first-round win over Andrei Arlovski in April of '06, and then lost it eleven months later when Randy Couture beat him on a decision. In his last bout, Sylvia was choked out by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in the third round on February 2. Sylvia, who left the UFC and signed with Adrenaline MMA in March (which gives him the flexibility to fight on shows like this), is a protege of Pat Miletich and trains in Bettendorf, Iowa.

Sylvia brings power in his blows, a grappling background, and quite a bit of championship experience into this fight (nine fights' worth, in fact). He is one of the best heavyweights the UFC has produced, and at 6'8", he brings an eight-inch edge in height against Fedor, as well as upwards of a 25-pound advantage in weight.

But Fedor has a way of turning an advantage that is perceived for the opponent into an advantage for HIM. It probably wasn't a bad thing that he faced the 7'2" Korean kick-boxer, Hong-Man Choi in his last fight. Even though Choi is not the all-around mixed martial arts performer Sylvia is, he is at least someone with some skill in the stand-up mode, and we got to see Fedor's left hook on display in that one, as well as his ability to strike at an opponent on the ground while remaining upright himself. That is unique among MMA fighters. And of course, when the fight got to the canvas, size didn't matter as much as Fedor's penchant for transitioning from one hold to another; in that case, it was a leglock, executed quickly and perfectly, that forced the submission.

Sylvia is formidable, no doubt, but in the fight with Nogueira, in which he was the victim of a guillotine choke, I wasn't overly impressed with his stand-up boxing ability, relative to his edge in height. He may have that kind of edge against Fedor, but there would be a difference in this case between boxing and striking. Fedor will strike and strike effectively.

People bring up the notion that Fedor might be "rusty" or "getting old." Nonsense. He’s a spring chicken for this division (not yet 32) and in fact, is younger than his opponent. I guess I'm partial, but despite the propaganda you hear from UFC circles about Anderson Silva being the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world, that's only because they don't have Fedor under contract. For my money, there is no one in his class right now. He beats Couture easily in that "dream" matchup many people had been talking about. He beats Sylvia in this one too, with the fight perhaps getting into the second round. Perhaps.

Fedor is not just the most skilled fighter out there; he is the most versatile and one of the most resilient. You'll see that on display on July 19, and hopefully the first of many fights to come as he continues to make his mark in the U.S. We go with Fedor Emilianenko, the -400 favorite in the BetUS mixed martial arts betting odds.

JAY'S PLAY: EMILIANENKO TO WIN (-400) **

(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

(Charles Jay of www.ebookies.com is a former manager, matchmaker and color commentator in professional boxing. He currently pulls no punches in the BetUS Locker Room)