Anderson Silva Goes For Broke

  1. MilitantWorker
    MilitantWorker
    Anderson Goes For Broke



    "...I never want to see him fight again."

    "...I don't know if he deserves the GSP fight..."

    UFC President Dana White

    Listening to: Cold Blooded by Rick James


    The man that many consider to be the best natural middleweight in the history of MMA as a sport has given arguably his most controversial performance to date. But who is judging? To many first time fans Anderson "The Spider" Silva's performance was more than lackluster. UFC supreme leader Dana White was pissed. The judges at UFC 112 handed him the victory, but was the champion really Invincible?

    The fight was boring and uneventful. There was not enough blood on the canvas for the casual MMA fan. Politics and disrespect filled the air. It reminded me of one of those backyard scraps back in the day. But the question remains: who was beating up who? "The Spider" clearly had a message to send. But many of us have a question for the champion...what was that message?

    In the end, what is really important are actions. This fight was a milestone for the sport of MMA. What we witnessed was the classic "Striker vs. Grappler" match. But even as the pre-fight hype acknowledged-- to every punch there's a counter, to every takedown there's a defense. And this time "the Striker" won.

    Abu Dhabi is an amazing place. The United Arab Emirates is without a doubt the place to be in the world.

    Ariel Helwani interviewed a local regarding his opinions about the UFC event. The guy, who might have been an expatriate, raised the point that jiujitsu is taught as part of the high school curriculum in their country. However, the first name mentioned by the crowd during the Silva/Maia fight was, "Silva, Silva, Silva" followed by chants of, "GSP, GSP" and by the later rounds-- "Maia, Maia, Maia!"

    One thing is for sure. GSP did not win this fight.

    What Maia didn't understand during his training camp-- what 20,000 or so fanatics on Yas Island realized during the event-- is that to be a grappler in MMA you need takedowns. Where was the Judo, Demian? The Greco-Roman, the Wrestling?

    Anderson's first strike came more than a minute into the fight. And the switch-step, front low heel kick connected. Joe Rogan, his usual intrepid self, soon after claimed that Anderson, "is like a real, live Bruce Lee." His accuracy is definitely stunning, but that's a hell of a title.

    Soon after that "The Spider" lands a low Thai kick that nearly takes down Maia, with no response from his fellow Brazilian. It is no more than two minutes into the fight and Maia has not landed a strike, or attempted a takedown.

    One thing is for sure-- both fighters manipulated the rules during the fight. There needs to be a penalty for stalling. Anderson has been flagged for stalling before, back in the Pride days. A fine would be appropriate.

    It was Demian's choice to turtle up and expect Anderson to fall into his guard. Anderson slips and falls at the 1:10 mark of Round 1. He follows up with a big flying knee. And still nothing from the ground wizard.

    What was going on in Anderson's mind between the rounds? As usual he doesn't rest, merely stands there, looking more pissed than ever. As Joe Rogan called it, the fight was a "showcase of Anderson's talent."

    All the real heads noticed the lead leg attacks, the inability of the Challenger to take Silva to the ground, the insane precision, the Caporiera, all the styling. But is mixed martial arts supposed to be a clash of styles? Or a war?

    Somewhere in the beautiful outdoor arena, Ed Soares was picking the Championship belt off the floor. Maia's managers were struggling to find their fighters career down there also.

    Everyone knows what happened next. Anderson continued the bullshit. Maia was fearful and mindful of closing the distance. At a certain point we all got tired of the ego. Although I have to say, the girls at my table seemed entertained.
  2. MilitantWorker
    MilitantWorker
    comments and criticism welcome
  3. FreeFocus
    FreeFocus
    There's no excuse for Silva's antics, he was extremely disrespectful of Maia, who always gives his opponents respect and comes to compete. Maia didn't guard flop like Leites. Silva could have finished the fight, but instead, he wasted our time and disrespected his opponent and the sport with his taunts and arrogance. Dana was right when he called it a disgrace.
  4. MilitantWorker
    MilitantWorker
    I agree comrade. There isn't an excuse for Anderson Silva's arrogance.

    Do you feel like he was humble enough in the post-fight interview? How did you feel his conduct varied between this last performance and the Leites fight?

    Do you really think he could have finished the fight? What about Maia's performance?

    Why do you feel he disrespected his opponent? Would a violent first round KO have been better?

    How do you see this fight matching up to Demian Maia's fight with Marquardt?

    Why do you agree with Dana White about the fight being a disgrace? Most importantly, what do you want and expect to see out of a 5 rounder? What's your favorite title defense in the history of the sport?

    thanks for the help!
  5. FreeFocus
    FreeFocus
    I agree comrade. There isn't an excuse for Anderson Silva's arrogance.

    Do you feel like he was humble enough in the post-fight interview? How did you feel his conduct varied between this last performance and the Leites fight?

    Do you really think he could have finished the fight? What about Maia's performance?

    Why do you feel he disrespected his opponent? Would a violent first round KO have been better?

    How do you see this fight matching up to Demian Maia's fight with Marquardt?

    Why do you agree with Dana White about the fight being a disgrace? Most importantly, what do you want and expect to see out of a 5 rounder? What's your favorite title defense in the history of the sport?

    thanks for the help!
    Well, what he said in the post-fight interview is pretty irrelevant, because this isn't his first time doing this (its his first time being over-the-top ridiculous, but consider the Cote and Leites fights). Not to mention, his attitude in the post-event press conference was piss poor, saying that fans "can have their opinion" and that Maia disrespected him by saying Silva's a spider, and he'll take one of his legs. Guess what, if Maia took him down, he probably would've been submitted, Maia BJJ is that good. Maia's comments were just to hype the fight up, he never attacked Silva as a person, nor his record or accomplishments.

    Maia tried to take the fight to the ground and was striking with Silva, especially in the 4th and 5th rounds. Meanwhile, Silva wasn't attacking, he was just taunting him, slamming his hand against the mat like a jackass.

    The Portuguese language MMA forums are still abuzz about what Silva was saying to Maia during the fight, stuff like "Get up and get hit some more" when Maia was down, and "Where's your jiu jitsu?" He also called him a "playboy," which is a major insult in Brazil apparently, and was cursing at him. Maia also came out and said Silva cursed at him during the fight.

    Marquardt was respectful of Maia, he never insulted his skills - he certainly could have, considering how fast Maia was KTFO, but he didn't.

    Silva made a mockery of the sport with his taunting and disengagement, that's why it was a disgrace. This fight shouldn't have been a 5 rounder, Silva could have finished the fight against a vastly inferior striker.

    My favorite title defense? That's a hard one, but it'd probably have to be one of the Fedor/Nog fights for the PRIDE title.
  6. MilitantWorker
    MilitantWorker
    My favorite title defense? That's a hard one, but it'd probably have to be one of the Fedor/Nog fights for the PRIDE title.
    Mine too! Nice pick.

    What Portuguese sources/forums do you browse Free?
  7. FreeFocus
    FreeFocus
    LOL no, I don't visit the Portuguese forums, I can't speak or understand it. I mean, maybe I could understand a little bit because of my Spanish, but I've read a ton of articles on Bloodyelbow and Sherdog that referenced Brazilian MMA fans talking about how their forums were just exploding with anger about Silva's behavior and his comments to Maia.

    I actually just watched Maia's post-fight interview, that guy is a class act, even after Silva's antics. I guess I'll add Maia to my list of "Always Supporting"