Anderson Silva's Final Rounds
Jake Rossen Oct 21, 2008
If the shaky Portuguese-to-English-to-Internet translations are to
be believed, Anderson
Silva -- the UFC’s current middleweight champion -- aspires to
participate in only six more fights before “growing a pot belly”
and yelling advice from the sidelines.
Forgetting for a moment that retirement in athletics is usually as permanent as a Hollywood union -- fighters in particular have a chemical addiction to the adrenaline dump of a packed arena -- it’s not difficult to see why Silva might be considering the appeal of central obesity and vicarious participation.
He’s really got no one left to fight.
Dan Henderson and Rich Franklin represented the two most substantial threats to Silva’s title: Both were thoroughly and impressively throttled. Nate Marquardt would probably be discussed as a dark horse for contention, but Silva force-fed him leather, too.
Mostly justifiable fights, but do they really get anyone excited -- Silva included?
The only really worthy challenger at this point is Paulo Filho, and unless the UFC is willing to make an offer neither can refuse -- unlikely, considering the limited box office appeal of the fight -- it doesn’t seem possible the two will put their friendship on the shelf for five rounds.
After Saturday’s bout with Patrick Cote at UFC 90, the options for Silva become less about adding sheen to his title and more about the kind of one-off, special-event fights that would likely add very little to an already storied legacy. (It’s worth noting, though, that a win over Cote would tie the record for consecutive wins in the Octagon -- eight -- and another after that would set the new record. Maybe Silva is a stat guy. You never know.)
If the Brazilian adheres to his commitment and steps in the cage only five more times after next weekend, it’s any fan’s sincere hope that it’s not against an endless parade of uninspired competition. (While Cote’s five-fight win streak is impressive, it’s difficult to forget he went winless in his first four UFC appearances.)
Some options that could prove interesting:
Cung Le would pose an
interesting matchup for Silva.
Cung
Le
There’s probable interest on the UFC’s part in Le, who has only two bouts remaining on his Strikeforce contract. While his MMA career has been more or less a series of live sparring contests against mismatched opposition, there’s an undeniable thrill in watching his unorthodox san shou style at work in a cage. We’ve never seen Le sweat on the feet, and we’ve rarely seen Silva shoot for a takedown. It’s about as close as you can get to a guarantee of stand-up viciousness without a state investigation.
Too bad that, at 35, Le is nearing the end of his competitive years and is preoccupied with film work; if the UFC brought him in, it would be an immediate match with Silva or nothing, and that’s a hard fight to hype for a Le-ignorant UFC audience.
Georges St. Pierre
A pure novelty fight and nothing more: Silva won’t earn much credit for facing -- or beating -- the smaller fighter. The risk/reward ratio favors St. Pierre, who will be lauded for taking on the challenge and has a built-in rationale for a loss.
His true chances are better than most would expect, though: Silva’s biggest weakness is his takedown defense, and St. Pierre has smothered some of his division’s most credible grapplers. He’s also reputed to be a nightmare in the gym, even for larger athletes.
Does the UFC want its peerless champion bested by a smaller competitor? Maybe, if you consider both Silva’s insistence that he’s nearly out the door and the younger St. Pierre’s commitment to the sport.
A Silva vs. Forrest Griffin
fight
could be a blockbuster
event for the UFC.
The Light Heavyweight Champion
Watching Silva run roughshod over James Irvin might have provided some fleeting amusement, but there’s little point in taking the risk of facing bigger athletes without some kind of endgame.
Forrest Griffin -- or whoever the current 205-pound champion is at the time -- provides Silva with a rare opportunity to face divisional titleholders in three different weight classes.
His chances are probably best against the current champ, though Griffin’s ability to drag opponents into his attrition wars is impressive. But the odds of this happening become exponentially less likely if Rashad Evans takes the title from Griffin: There can’t be much public interest in watching Evans tackle the smaller Silva time and again.
Randy Couture
An obnoxious example of box office over logic, sure … but who wouldn’t pay a premium to see it?
After a heavyweight tournament run in the first half of ’09, there are precious few options for Couture’s third (and presumably final) fight in the Octagon. The possibility of a bout with Fedor Emelianenko is about as substantial as a plume of smoke; it’s within reason he could lose to the bigger Brock Lesnar and/or Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, the best heavyweight whose name doesn’t rhyme with “Bedor.”
Couture, who usually shows up for bouts in the 220s, isn’t a large heavyweight and could easily cut to 205; Silva is an imposing middleweight who would still need to lose some size to make that mark. They’re two of the UFC’s most decorated and respected champions, and it’s rare that two all-time greats wind up being contemporaries -- think of the constant fantasy talk over Ali vs. Tyson or Robinson vs. Jones.
And after the fight, perhaps Couture could impart some wisdom on the subject of retirement.
For comments, e-mail jrossen@sherdog.com
Forgetting for a moment that retirement in athletics is usually as permanent as a Hollywood union -- fighters in particular have a chemical addiction to the adrenaline dump of a packed arena -- it’s not difficult to see why Silva might be considering the appeal of central obesity and vicarious participation.
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Dan Henderson and Rich Franklin represented the two most substantial threats to Silva’s title: Both were thoroughly and impressively throttled. Nate Marquardt would probably be discussed as a dark horse for contention, but Silva force-fed him leather, too.
Michael
Bisping? A rising contender, but title contention should be
predicated on actually beating a top-10 opponent or three. Demian Maia?
He’s ahead of Bisping in terms of quality opposition, but fans
aren’t warm to him yet. Yushin
Okami? An impressive 6-1 record in the UFC and some unfinished
business with Silva -- he “won” via a disqualification when Silva
illegally struck him on the ground years back -- but a conservative
approach.
Mostly justifiable fights, but do they really get anyone excited -- Silva included?
The only really worthy challenger at this point is Paulo Filho, and unless the UFC is willing to make an offer neither can refuse -- unlikely, considering the limited box office appeal of the fight -- it doesn’t seem possible the two will put their friendship on the shelf for five rounds.
After Saturday’s bout with Patrick Cote at UFC 90, the options for Silva become less about adding sheen to his title and more about the kind of one-off, special-event fights that would likely add very little to an already storied legacy. (It’s worth noting, though, that a win over Cote would tie the record for consecutive wins in the Octagon -- eight -- and another after that would set the new record. Maybe Silva is a stat guy. You never know.)
If the Brazilian adheres to his commitment and steps in the cage only five more times after next weekend, it’s any fan’s sincere hope that it’s not against an endless parade of uninspired competition. (While Cote’s five-fight win streak is impressive, it’s difficult to forget he went winless in his first four UFC appearances.)
Some options that could prove interesting:
Dave
Mandel/Sherdog.com
interesting matchup for Silva.
There’s probable interest on the UFC’s part in Le, who has only two bouts remaining on his Strikeforce contract. While his MMA career has been more or less a series of live sparring contests against mismatched opposition, there’s an undeniable thrill in watching his unorthodox san shou style at work in a cage. We’ve never seen Le sweat on the feet, and we’ve rarely seen Silva shoot for a takedown. It’s about as close as you can get to a guarantee of stand-up viciousness without a state investigation.
Too bad that, at 35, Le is nearing the end of his competitive years and is preoccupied with film work; if the UFC brought him in, it would be an immediate match with Silva or nothing, and that’s a hard fight to hype for a Le-ignorant UFC audience.
Georges St. Pierre
A pure novelty fight and nothing more: Silva won’t earn much credit for facing -- or beating -- the smaller fighter. The risk/reward ratio favors St. Pierre, who will be lauded for taking on the challenge and has a built-in rationale for a loss.
His true chances are better than most would expect, though: Silva’s biggest weakness is his takedown defense, and St. Pierre has smothered some of his division’s most credible grapplers. He’s also reputed to be a nightmare in the gym, even for larger athletes.
Does the UFC want its peerless champion bested by a smaller competitor? Maybe, if you consider both Silva’s insistence that he’s nearly out the door and the younger St. Pierre’s commitment to the sport.
Jeff
Sherwood/Sherdog.com
could be a blockbuster
event for the UFC.
Watching Silva run roughshod over James Irvin might have provided some fleeting amusement, but there’s little point in taking the risk of facing bigger athletes without some kind of endgame.
Forrest Griffin -- or whoever the current 205-pound champion is at the time -- provides Silva with a rare opportunity to face divisional titleholders in three different weight classes.
His chances are probably best against the current champ, though Griffin’s ability to drag opponents into his attrition wars is impressive. But the odds of this happening become exponentially less likely if Rashad Evans takes the title from Griffin: There can’t be much public interest in watching Evans tackle the smaller Silva time and again.
Randy Couture
An obnoxious example of box office over logic, sure … but who wouldn’t pay a premium to see it?
After a heavyweight tournament run in the first half of ’09, there are precious few options for Couture’s third (and presumably final) fight in the Octagon. The possibility of a bout with Fedor Emelianenko is about as substantial as a plume of smoke; it’s within reason he could lose to the bigger Brock Lesnar and/or Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, the best heavyweight whose name doesn’t rhyme with “Bedor.”
Couture, who usually shows up for bouts in the 220s, isn’t a large heavyweight and could easily cut to 205; Silva is an imposing middleweight who would still need to lose some size to make that mark. They’re two of the UFC’s most decorated and respected champions, and it’s rare that two all-time greats wind up being contemporaries -- think of the constant fantasy talk over Ali vs. Tyson or Robinson vs. Jones.
And after the fight, perhaps Couture could impart some wisdom on the subject of retirement.
For comments, e-mail jrossen@sherdog.com
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