#1

Watching the Affliction and UFC cards last night reminded me why Fedor Emelianenko and Anderson Silva are, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the best in the world at what they do. Fedor’s 36 second tapout victory over Tim Sylva proved that he’s the best, not just by winning, but by completely and utterly destroying a fighter who has never been beaten so furiously. And you know, when a fighter makes a former UFC champion look like Zuluzinho, the man Butterbean submitted with a kimura, that he’s a force.

It’s not about winning, when you’re the top fighter in the world, it’s about how you win.

Champions destroy their opponents in 36 seconds. Champions knock out bigger, stronger opponents with sick counter right hands.

I’ll be honest, I think that Anderson Silva is frightening. What the man can do as a fighter astounds me, because I try to do it too, and I know how unbelievably difficult it is. The fact that he decimates opponents with such veracity and consistency is great, but to prove that he can do it outside of his weightclass, dismantling a larger stand-up fighter standing up, making him look like an amateur, is all the proof I need that Anderson is the best fighter in the world, pound-for-pound.

There are going to be those who are dismissive of both of these wins. There are going to be those who say that Sylvia is a washout and that Irvin is not a technical striker. Those people are absolutely nuts.

Sylvia dominated Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for more than 10 minutes before the UFC champ caught that guillotine. Fedor put him out standing up, proving obviously that Fedor’s standup, not just his visceral groundnpound and his solid submission game, is better than Nogueira’s boxing reputation that gets touted by alot of the pundits.

Anyone who’s dissmissive of James Irvin doesn’t understand that it’s not simply Anderson Silva winning. It’s not as though Anderson and Irvin had a war, and Anderson happened to come out on top. What’s important isn’t just that Anderson won, it’s that Anderson destroyed James Irvin, proving that his game translates perfectly between the two divisions.

What it means for Anderson is simply that he has to continue to come up, periodically, to prove that he can beat substantial 205 pound fighters. While he’s set on defending his 185 pound title later this year, presumably against Yushin Okami, it’s more important that Anderson can kill at any weight class where he competes.

Last night was easy for me, exciting to watch. The fighters that I expected to win, the fighters that I was cheering for, won big, and so it gave me time to think about how powerful these guys are, and I got more than a little awestruck at the power and efficiency of these fighters. While I haven’t really wasted time disputing either’s #1 ranking, it’s clear to anyone and everyone now, that these guys are the best for a reason.