Critics of the pedestrian-looking Fedor Emelianenko have been trying to poke holes in his aura for years.
Since the industry leader, the UFC, wouldn't meet Emelianenko's asking price, the Russian star has spent most of his time overseas, destroying inferior competition.
In fact, Emelianenko (28-1) hadn't even faced a ranked heavyweight since downing Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic in August of 2005. Since then, he's faced a middleweight in Matt Lindland, an aging veteran in Mark Coleman and freak show attractions like Mark Hunt and Hong Man Choi.
The lack of competition gave Emelianenko's doubters, most notably UFC president Dana White, carte blanche to hurl "overrated" charges against the Russian.
You can forget that now.
Emelianenko's performance against former two-time UFC champion Tim Sylvia erased any of those doubts. It took Fedor all of 36 seconds to submit the overmatched Sylvia at Affliction's "Banned" event Saturday.
From the opening bell, Emelianenko put on a clinic, showcasing his fast and accurate hands along with his unparalleled submission skills.
Emelianenko pounced on his 6-foot-8 opponent, stunning Sylvia with a sharp, right uppercut. The sambo specialist kept pouring on punches from there, chopping Sylvia down to the canvas.
Once on the ground, Emelianenko outclassed Sylvia with his extraordinary quickness, and quickly locked on a rear naked choke to end things.
"I was very pleased with my performance. Everything I wanted to do I was able to do," Emelianenko said. "You never know how short or long the fight will be, but I just wanted to end it as quickly as possible."
Even the experts who were convinced of Emelianenko's vaunted skills were stunned by his startling efficiency.
After all, Sylvia (24-5) was coming off a tough loss to interim UFC heavyweight champ Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira during his last match with the company in February. After winning the first two rounds on most scorecards, Sylvia got caught in a guillotine choke by Nogueira.
In other words, the big man was still at the top of the UFC's heavyweight division, and Emelianenko made him look like an amateur.
"He got off first and then I had so much going through my mind. He got off first, landed the big punch, jumped on me, and got the submission," Sylvia said after the fight.
"I was amazed at how good he is," Sylvia added. "The guy's a stud. I don't think he's human. He's incredible. I don't think anybodys going to beat him for a while."
Most agree with Sylvia's assessment, but Emelianenko would like veteran Randy Couture - the reigning UFC heavyweight champ in name only - to try.
White has continued to call Couture his champion for legal reasons after the veteran "retired" with the belt over money issues. He still has two more fights left on a four-fight deal set to expire in October of 2008.
"I would be very honored to fight Randy Couture," Emelianenko said.
The courts will have to decide if that dream matchup can take place and Couture certainly wants it...
Until he steps into the ring.
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