Mike Chiappetta • E-mail

Just who is No. 1 in the world? Is it Anderson Silva or is it Fedor Emelianenko?

Less than an hour after Silva moved up a weight class and steamrolled James Irvin in just 61 seconds, Emelianenko put on a similarly stunning performance, defeating Tim Sylvia with a rear naked choke in just 36 second at Affliction: Banned.

The two began to trade just seconds after the opening bell, with Emelianenko getting the best of the exchange and dropping Sylvia to the mat. He immediately pounced on the fallen former UFC champ, taking his back and sinking in the choke that would end the fight.

The victory moved Emelianenko, considered by some to be the greatest mixed martial artist ever, to 28-1, with his one loss coming from a cut.

"Honestly, I don't think about rankings and where people consider me," Emelianenko said shortly after finishing the fight.

The Russian has taken criticism for some of his recent choices in opponents, not fighting a consensus top 10 fighter since 2005, but in Sylvia, he powered through a former two-time UFC champ in spectacular and decisive fashion.

In theory, the win may set up the long-awaited match with multi-time UFC champ Randy Couture, who is still embroiled in legal issues with his former employer. Couture has voiced his hope to fight Emelianenko in the future, and the Russian superstar also would like to make the match happen, but until a resolution to the court case, a match is impossible.

In the meantime, Affliction will need to find another challenger for Emelianenko. Andrei Arlovski may be the man next in line. Arlovski earned an impressive win by knocking out Ben Rothwell in the third round.

Arlovski won both of the first two rounds controlling the action with the stronger standup game, and ended matters with a one-punch knockout on the button to the delight of the Honda Center crowd.

In a middleweight fight, Vitor Belfort earned a highlight TKO over Terry Martin. Belfort caught Martin in the second-round with a flying knee, and Martin tried to clinch and give himself recovery time, but Belfort followed up with a straight left that put Martin out cold.

In another heavyweight fight, Josh Barnett earned revenge for a previous loss against Pedro Rizzo when returned the favor with a second-round TKO.

Full results
Paul Buentello def. Gary Goodridge via unanimous decision
Vitor Belfort def. Terry Martin via TKO, Rd. 2
Mike Pyle def. J.J. Ambrose via rear naked choke, Rd. 1
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira def. Edwin DeWees via TKO, Rd. 1
Matt Lindland def. Fabio Nascimento via unanimous decision
Renato "Babalu" Sobral def. Mike Whitehead via unanimous decision
Mark Hominick def. Savant Young via arm bar submission, Rd. 2
Josh Barnett def. Pedro Rizzo via TKO, Rd. 2
Andrei Arlovski def. Ben Rothwell via TKO, Rd. 3
Fedor Emelianenko def. Tim Sylvia via rear naked choke, Rd. 1

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