The newest player on the Mixed Martial Arts scene had its first successful event in Anaheim California on Saturday night.

Several top names were fighting making this new production, Affliction, an instant success. The UFC also scrambled to put a fight card together in a futile attempt to upstage the Affliction show.

From the Affliction fight card, some fights worth mentioning:

Rogerio Nogueira stopped Edwin Deweees in the first round, as the ref stepped in to end the punishment.

Vitor Belfort dismantled Terry Martin in the second round with a knock-out.

Josh Barnett avenged his loss to Pedro Rizzo by knocking the Brazilian out in the 2nd round.

Andre Arlovski looked as good as he ever has with an aggressive fight against Ben Rothwell ending Rothwell's 13 fight winning streak, decisively, with a 3rd round referee stoppage.

No surprises in the main event for Affliction, except perhaps the speed with which Fedor took apart the giant Tim Sylvia. After 36 seconds, the fight was over. Fedor attacked the larger man from the outset, throwing several connecting punches that downed the Mainiac in seconds. Fedor aggressively attacked Sylvia on the ground, Sylvia offered his back and Fedor sunk in a choke hold that had the giant tapping out less than a minute into the first round.

The sheer speed and power that Fedor implemented against Sylvia again proves why Fedor is listed as the highest ranked heavyweight mixed martial arts fighter in the world. And here Fedor is only 6 feet tall and 230 pounds - among the smallest of heavyweights, yet he has silenced every single opponent he has faced in the past 6 years.

Look for Fedor vs Couture on an upcoming fight card - both men want it.

Only one fight worth mentioning in the UFC fight card from that same evening: Anderson Silva vs James Irvin. Silva moved up from 185 lb middleweight category to have his first fight as a light heavyweight at 205 lbs. Any doubt as to Silva's proficiency at this higher weight class were ended after this fight. Sixty-one seconds into the fight and Silva was being pulled off his opponent and declared victor. Silva is now an automatic contender for the light heavyweight belt in the UFC currently held by Forest Griffin.

Future predictions:

If a fight is put together for Fedor vs Couture I cannot see Fedor losing. Though Couture has surprised the fuck out of me on several occasions and though I'd love to see someone take Fedor out, I doubt that Couture can do it.

If Silva as a light heavyweight is put up against Forest Griffin, I see Silva winning by TKO or KO. Look towards the end of this year to see these matches put together.

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