The Film Room: Anderson Silva
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Arguably the greatest mixed martial artist of all time returns to the Octagon to this weekend to take on rising contender Israel Adesanya in the co-main event of UFC 234. At 43 and with over 20 years of experience, Anderson Silva is still fighting the best the Ultimate Fighting Championship has to offer and a win over Adesanya would put him right back into title contention 13 years after his first championship.
Silva quickly became one of the most feared counter strikers in the sport after his dominant victory over Chris Leben in his UFC debut. His distance management and timing are still second to none today and his ability to force opponents into traps and trick them to come forward is masterful. Many people dogged “The Spider” for his antics inside the cage but what those people don’t realize is that he became so feared on the counter opponents stopped coming forward and he had to drop his hands and dance around to anger opponents into striking first. We know this came back to bite him against Chris Weidman, but for many years this tactic worked beautifully and is responsible for some of the greatest knockouts in UFC history.
Although mostly a counter striker, Silva knows when the finish is near and will aggressively come forward with combos when the time is right. The beauty of his striking on the counter and on the lead is that you never know what is coming next. There’s not one combo he seems to favor over others and he has proven to be adept at all aspects of striking whether it be his boxing, kicking game or muay Thai style clinches attacks.
Silva is also responsible for popularizing the muay Thai plum clinch or double collar tie in the UFC. Before he entered the UFC, the clinch was mostly used for takedowns, trips, and throws and few fighters were proficient with the Thai style of striking in the clinch. “The Spider” showed in his performances against Rich Franklin just how effective knees from the clinch are and ever since we have seen an influx of fighters who choose to strike in the clinch.
Silva doesn't need the clinch to land his knees. The jumping switch knee has always been a staple of his offense and adds to his already unpredictable style.
Silva was also the pioneer for switch-hitting in MMA. Being able to comfortably fight out of both orthodox and southpaw stances is rare enough but being able to fluidly switch stances in motion and during combinations is arguably the highest display of skill in any combat sport. A fighter who can fluidly change stances in motion creates a variety of attacks from which to choose, which in turn overloads the opponent’s reactions due to all the possibilities. When an orthodox fighter faces another orthodox fighter, he knows what is available to him on offense and defense. However, when an opponent transitions to southpaw, a new realm of possibilities opens. Since opportunities are constantly opening and closing, this style is difficult to read. Silva didn’t switch hit as much as current fighters like T.J. Dillashaw, but he was doing it years before it became a common tactic in MMA.
In his prime, Silva was known for having the best counter striking in the sport, but he also had some of the best defense. His head and upper body movement in the pocket was magnificent to watch and was reminiscent of all-time greats Muhammad Ali and Samrat Payakaroon. His ability to see strikes coming and either dodge, roll or take them on the forearms and shoulders is still some of the best in the sport today. He has a staggering 62 percent significant strike defense rate and has multiple wins with his opponents landing three strikes or less.
Silva’s grappling may be his least proficient discipline, but he does have six submission victories under his belt and has shown to always be a threat for submissions off his back. Chael Sonnen was able to take him down with ease in both fights, but the Brazilian was still able to handle his best and eventually take the win. I doubt we see this fight with Adesyana hit the ground but if it does it will be very interesting to see who has the advantage.
For nearly a decade it seemed Silva was unbeatable, but Weidman caught him with his hands down and showed he is indeed mortal. However, it wasn’t the fights with “The All-American” that showcased the way to beat the Brazilian. Michael Bisping is the only fighter to come up with the perfect game plan to exploit his striking woes. Instead of running forward face first into counters like previous opponents, Bisping worked behind a non-committal jab and constantly used feints before coming in with a quick combo and slipping out of the way of returning strikes. Effective feinting can revoke the work of a good counter striker and make him more hesitant. The Brit knew that if he can stay on top of his feet and not overextend on strikes, this feinting would throw “The Spider” off and it worked beautifully. Adesanya is one of the best strikers in the UFC today and his liberal use of feints along with his patient attack could spell trouble for the former champion.
Arguably the greatest mixed martial artist of all time returns to the Octagon to this weekend to take on rising contender Israel Adesanya in the co-main event of UFC 234. At 43 and with over 20 years of experience, Anderson Silva is still fighting the best the Ultimate Fighting Championship has to offer and a win over Adesanya would put him right back into title contention 13 years after his first championship.
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Silva quickly became one of the most feared counter strikers in the sport after his dominant victory over Chris Leben in his UFC debut. His distance management and timing are still second to none today and his ability to force opponents into traps and trick them to come forward is masterful. Many people dogged “The Spider” for his antics inside the cage but what those people don’t realize is that he became so feared on the counter opponents stopped coming forward and he had to drop his hands and dance around to anger opponents into striking first. We know this came back to bite him against Chris Weidman, but for many years this tactic worked beautifully and is responsible for some of the greatest knockouts in UFC history.
Although mostly a counter striker, Silva knows when the finish is near and will aggressively come forward with combos when the time is right. The beauty of his striking on the counter and on the lead is that you never know what is coming next. There’s not one combo he seems to favor over others and he has proven to be adept at all aspects of striking whether it be his boxing, kicking game or muay Thai style clinches attacks.
Silva is also responsible for popularizing the muay Thai plum clinch or double collar tie in the UFC. Before he entered the UFC, the clinch was mostly used for takedowns, trips, and throws and few fighters were proficient with the Thai style of striking in the clinch. “The Spider” showed in his performances against Rich Franklin just how effective knees from the clinch are and ever since we have seen an influx of fighters who choose to strike in the clinch.
Silva doesn't need the clinch to land his knees. The jumping switch knee has always been a staple of his offense and adds to his already unpredictable style.
Silva was also the pioneer for switch-hitting in MMA. Being able to comfortably fight out of both orthodox and southpaw stances is rare enough but being able to fluidly switch stances in motion and during combinations is arguably the highest display of skill in any combat sport. A fighter who can fluidly change stances in motion creates a variety of attacks from which to choose, which in turn overloads the opponent’s reactions due to all the possibilities. When an orthodox fighter faces another orthodox fighter, he knows what is available to him on offense and defense. However, when an opponent transitions to southpaw, a new realm of possibilities opens. Since opportunities are constantly opening and closing, this style is difficult to read. Silva didn’t switch hit as much as current fighters like T.J. Dillashaw, but he was doing it years before it became a common tactic in MMA.
In his prime, Silva was known for having the best counter striking in the sport, but he also had some of the best defense. His head and upper body movement in the pocket was magnificent to watch and was reminiscent of all-time greats Muhammad Ali and Samrat Payakaroon. His ability to see strikes coming and either dodge, roll or take them on the forearms and shoulders is still some of the best in the sport today. He has a staggering 62 percent significant strike defense rate and has multiple wins with his opponents landing three strikes or less.
Silva’s grappling may be his least proficient discipline, but he does have six submission victories under his belt and has shown to always be a threat for submissions off his back. Chael Sonnen was able to take him down with ease in both fights, but the Brazilian was still able to handle his best and eventually take the win. I doubt we see this fight with Adesyana hit the ground but if it does it will be very interesting to see who has the advantage.
For nearly a decade it seemed Silva was unbeatable, but Weidman caught him with his hands down and showed he is indeed mortal. However, it wasn’t the fights with “The All-American” that showcased the way to beat the Brazilian. Michael Bisping is the only fighter to come up with the perfect game plan to exploit his striking woes. Instead of running forward face first into counters like previous opponents, Bisping worked behind a non-committal jab and constantly used feints before coming in with a quick combo and slipping out of the way of returning strikes. Effective feinting can revoke the work of a good counter striker and make him more hesitant. The Brit knew that if he can stay on top of his feet and not overextend on strikes, this feinting would throw “The Spider” off and it worked beautifully. Adesanya is one of the best strikers in the UFC today and his liberal use of feints along with his patient attack could spell trouble for the former champion.
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