UFC RIO Musings
/ 0
- Details
- Category: UFC News
- Published on Monday, 29 August 2011 05:00
- Written by By Michael DiSanto
Talk about a homecoming party.
For only the second time in the promotion’s history, the UFC held an event in the homeland of mixed martial arts, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. The televised portion of the event featured seven bouts with Brazilians against “others.” The hometown heroes went an impressive 6-1 in those fights, with Luis Cane being the sole fighter to come up short. And the card’s three biggest names made deafening statements to the MMA world with their performances.
SILVA CONTINUES STAKING HIS CLAIM AS THE BEST IN THE SPORT
No disrespect to Georges St-Pierre, but there is absolutely no question as to who is the greatest fighter in the world, pound for pound. Anderson Silva stands head and shoulders above everyone else. The brutal knockout win over Yushin Okami is further affirmation of that fact.
Sure, Silva has had a few sleepy performances. See Patrick Cote. Demian Maia. Thales Leites. But his last three were among the most impressive of his career, further building his lore of invincibility.
Chael Sonnen, arguably the best wrestler in the middleweight division, controlled an injured Silva into the fifth round. He was less than two minutes from winning the fight, when Silva forced him to accept a loss thanks to a miracle triangle choke.
Vitor Belfort, certainly the best striker in the division, other than Silva, got brutally knocked out with a front kick, of all things. That is a strike that nobody uses with any real effectiveness, other than Silva and Lyoto Machida. Yet, it left Belfort lying in an unconscious heap.
Okami, possibly the biggest and strongest competitor in the division, had all the tools to follow in Sonnen’s footsteps and put Silva on his back for long periods of time. Silva learned from the Sonnen fight. He used more lateral movement and did not wait to counter, like he did against Sonnen. He forced the action, once he got comfortable with what Okami brought to the table and scored a knockout win as a result.
In other words, he continues to adapt and improve. That is a scary thought for future opponents. At this point, it is tough to imagine Silva losing a middleweight bout, unless he lost focus and motivation, both of which are very real possibilities when one considers that that no credible new challenges remain for him at 185 pounds.
Sure, a rematch with Sonnen would be both a dangerous and intriguing matchup, since he is the lone man to come even remotely close to defeating Silva in the UFC. A rematch with Belfort would create tremendous fireworks. A rematch with free agent Dan Henderson might be the most dangerous option of them all, based on Hendo’s last two performances.
But those are all rematches. I can easily imagine Silva struggling to find motivation to face guys he has already stopped in the past. That is why he now talks about wanting nothing but big fights. Big fights present tough challenges and also rich rewards, both financially and in terms of building his already sick legacy in the sport.
What constitutes a big fight? A bout with GSP clearly qualifies. I don't know if that bout will be happening, though, considering the size disadvantage GSP will be facing. And though Silva has shown a susceptibility to takedowns in his bouts with Hendo, Sonnen and Travis Lutter, absent repeated takedowns, GSP would not likely leave the cage without a knockout loss on his record. Yet, if GSP is somehow able to score a victory, it would be crushing to Silva’s legacy—history does not often fondly remember those who lose to smaller men. Boxing teaches us that truism.
A fight with the winner of Jon Jones and Rampage Jackson is certainly a monstrous challenge. Nobody in UFC history has ever simultaneously held championships in two weight classes. Silva seems to be the best positioned to accomplish that goal, if he wants to move north.
Gaining weight for a 205-pound challenge is not without risk. Would doing that make it too difficult for him to get his weight back down to 185 pounds for future middleweight fights, if the plan was to rule both divisions at once?
