(“Yaaaaaaaaay!”)

Sherdog breaks it:

Top ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko will fight Tim Sylvia on July 19. The Russian mixed martial arts champion confirmed the bout to Sherdog.com on Tuesday.

“[Sylvia] is a good fighter, a strong fighter, the former UFC heavyweight champion, which is important,” Emelianenko said via telephone from Stary Oskol, Russia. “I am looking forward to fighting him and training hard for this fight.”

While Emelianenko was short on details, Sherdog.com has learned through sources close to the negotiations that Fedor-Sylvia would headline a card tentatively scheduled for the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, the home base of HDNet Fights.

HDNet Fights CEO Andrew Simon declined to comment on the report, however sources indicate the bout will air on the Mark Cuban-owned network and is rumored to be promoted by Affliction, a clothing brand closely tied to MMA.

Emelianenko hasn’t faced an elite-level heavyweight since Mirko Filipovic at PRIDE Final Conflict in August 2005; we can’t wait to see where his skills currently stand, and if he really deserves to top our HW rankings. An interesting side-note to this booking is Monte Cox, who recently parted ways with Fedor when M-1 Global became Adrenaline MMA. Even though the fight won’t be held under the Adrenaline banner, Cox is still Tim Sylvia’s manager, which means he’ll still be getting paid at least 10% of a shit-ton of money. That, my friends, is how a smart gambler plays.

More on this story as it develops…