FACEBOOK TWITTER RSS APP PODCAST Opinion & Analysis : Staff Columnists BENT: UFC 101 Previews and Predictions - Forrest Griffin vs. Anderson Silva

Aug 7, 2009 - 11:17:57 AM
By: Jason Bent, MMATorch Columnist
The co-main event of UFC 101 is a "super fight" of sorts as it pits one of the world's best pound-for-pound fighters and current UFC Middleweight Champion against one of the world's most beloved fighters and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion in a three round bout which will take place not at a catch-weight but rather at light heavyweight. Anderson Silva has been, and may very well still be, the best fighter in the world, but he is not a draw by any stretch of the imagination, cannot speak English very well at all and has most recently come under fire for phoning it in with two of the most lackluster performances ever seen by any champion inside of the Octagon.

Only Kalib Starnes who ran away from Nate Quarry in their miserable bout at UFC 83 has ever turned a crowd and President Dana White against him quicker than Anderson Silva did thanks to his efforts against Patrick Cote and Thales Leites, respectively. Forrest Griffin has been chosen to oppose him with hopes that since Griffin is so beloved that perhaps the notoriously vile Philadelphia crowd will not crap all over this one should Silva not bring much of a fight.

Forrest Griffin will never bring anything less than a fight, and it is a virtual guarantee he will do much the same on Saturday night in Philly, and the live crowd should be behind him from the start as he exemplifies the everyman aesthetic favored by their sports fans. Anderson Silva has been pushed into a corner and shoved into this fight, which is a fight he does not need for any reason whatsoever, and yet there is every single reason for the UFC to have put him into this position.

Griffin does not need championship belts. Period. Thanks to his historic battle against Stephan Bonnar at the very first 'The Ultimate Fighter' finale, and his miraculous victories over "Shogun" Rua and "Rampage" Jackson, it is a lock that Griffin will forever have a job with the promotion. This is a man who graces the cover of the UFC video game in most places and the one fighter who is seemingly without detractors.

Anderson Silva is not in his same class, at least when it comes to marketing muscle and adoration from the fans. Silva is the much better fighter, and at his best is a killing machine, but he seems nonplussed by the whole notion of fighting professionally and has admitted that he is looking forward to retirement has done little to garner a larger following.

Silva needs a championship belt. Badly. In fact, he needs to remain undefeated in the UFC if he wishes to be remembered long after he walks away. He is not a charismatic fighter, has not been the sort of blood and guts warrior like his former Chute Boxe-teammate Wanderlei Silva, and isn't the hardworking everyman in terms of effort or image that Forrest Griffin is. The one selling point about Silva is that he is the very best, and the fact he is undefeated in the UFC and holds the UFC Middleweight Championship lends credence to this argument and bolsters the claim that he should merit being ranked with or above Georges St. Pierre in any argument about pound-for-pound rankings among fans.

Should he lose this bout to Griffin, he will still be able to lay claim to being the middleweight king and remain the very best in that divisions but his armor will be chinked to the point that we will be able to see through it. Anderson Silva cannot lose this fight at alls and it would certainly hurt his ability to headline a PPV in the future against anyone other than Georges St. Pierre in another "super fight".

Which is why this was the right choice by Dana White and company as far as pitting him against Griffin at UFC 101. This fight means nothing in terms of the light heavyweight pecking order as Machida is set to defend against Rua with the winner of Jackson vs. Evans likely to get the next shot. This fight also means nothing in terms of the middleweight division as Maia and Marquardt are fighting for a chance to face Silva while it is Dan Henderson who is likely the next in line to get another crack at the belt. This fight does mean something to the pecking order among the very best in the UFCs and it puts every fighter who begins to take their job lightly on alert.

This isn't boxing and no champion is going to be allowed to nonchalantly jab his way to an uninspired 12-round victory over yet another alphabet soup contender. You are expected to fight each and every time you step inside of the Octagon. For yourself and for the belts which are to mean the most and for the fans who plunk over their hard-earned dollars to watch you ply your trade. It is not a right to fight in the UFC, but rather a distinct privilege, and I am sure I am not alone in declaring that I would rather watch ten Forrest Griffin's give it their all on one PPV card than I would to ever watch one Anderson Silva act as if nothing matters and cautiously circles whichever man assumes the Thales Leites role. I am a fan of Anderson Silva, and will be a fan of any fighter who proves to be better than most of the others who currently make their living as professional fighters.

I respect the dedication to the craft, their drive to be the best and the balls it takes to step inside of a cage and battle another man who wishes to rip their heads off. I am not however, a fan of watching fighters who fail to deliver the goods, and especially so when it is apparent that they could do so much more than I have seen them do. I get incensed when I watch a lazy B.J. Penn turn in a half-assed effort, but will give any fighter who is perhaps less than great all of my respect, if he gives it everything he has got. On Saturday, at UFC 101, I am counting on Anderson Silva to step it up as he steps up in weight and I am banking on Forrest Griffin making him earn every penny he shall make along with every ounce of respect as he pushes him and tries to at least goad him into a fight. I want to see a fight. We need to see a fight. Anderson Silva needs to show he has some fight in him and Forrest Griffin is just the man to pull this out of him.

Forrest Griffin's career record stands at 16 wins against 5 losses with 7 of his wins coming by way of submission and 3 by KO. Notable wins have come against Stephan Bonnar in the aforementioned UFC classic, "Shogun" Rua, "Rampage" Jackson and his crowning achievement so far as been to have held the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. His losses have come against Dan Severn, Jeremy Horn, Tito Ortiz, Keith Jardine and Rashad Evans. Griffin is not one of the world's pound-for-pound best in terms of technique but few fighters out there can match his will and even fewer share his childlike love for this game.

Anderson Silva's career record stands at 24 wins against 4 losses with 14 of those wins coming by way of KO and 4 by submission. Silva is the reigning UFC Middleweight Champion and has racked up a sterling record of 9-0 inside of the famed Octagon. Notable career wins for Silva have come against the likes of Carlos Newton, Jeremy Horn, Rich Franklin (twice), Dan Henderson and his most recent title defense over Thales Leites which even though it was a miserable fight was still a successful title defense. Silva's career losses have come at the hands of Luiz Azeredo, Daiju Takase, Ryo Chonan and Yushin Okami who holds the distinction of being the last man to have bested him albeit by way of disqualification. Silva is the middleweight king and is certainly one of the very best in the entire world and few fighters can match him in terms of sheer talent and what used to be a prominent killer instinct but it just doesn't seem as if he loves what he does anymore or has at least become bored by it.

Bent's Prediction: Forrest Griffin by Unanimous Decision


I have gone back and forth over my prediction for days. The realist in me believes Silva will blast Griffin out in the very first round after Forrest charges in like Don Quixote and gets beheaded by Anderson's windmills. However, history suggests that it would not be wise to pick against Griffin, and I think I have got to go with that feeling and stand firm with it as my prediction.

I am not just going with my heart and giving the nod to Griffin because he is likeable and tough, however. I do have reasons for this, and the first one is that Griffin is a man who wears his heart on his sleeve but isn't so much of a bulldozing dullard who pulls fight plans from out of his ass. No man will ever win a stand-up battle with Silva, be they a middleweight or light heavyweight fighter. Silva is too technically sound, packs too much power and is deceptively quick with a very rangy build.

Silva is sinewy, methodical and highly cerebral with boxing skills that deserve commendation and Muay Thai clinch which is so deadly that relatives would be advised to not hug an elderly Anderson Silva lest he forget where he is and begin unloading with knees and elbows. That said, he can be beaten. He is not invincible, but it all comes down to hitting him where it hurts and knowing when to strike.

Forrest Griffin is a very big man. He trains with world-beaters at Xtreme Couture and he has drastically improved his grappling skills. If he uses his weight to lay on Silva and looks for takedowns from the onset of the bout, it gives him an actual advantage in a fight he should have no reason to win. Silva has poor takedown defense but he can fight from his back; however, Griffin should be able to remain on top and grind him down while using his strength to wear down his opponent and top control to summarily frustrate him.

This will not be Team U.S.A. vs. the Russians in Olympic hockey, and it certainly will not be Matt Serra knocking off Georges St. Pierre. See, the first was a miracle and the second was a complete fluke. Griffin belongs in this game and he fights like he doesn't.

Which is why he will take this win and with it will prove to cement his legacy while standing proud, as Anderson Silva finds himself in yet another fight as he will then be forced to try to win back every single fan he has lost over the course of his last two fights.

Neither man really needs this fight, and this is really one of those quirky "super fight" bouts which make no sense immediately yet every bit of sense once you take the time to fully digest them. The quirky man who once entered into this sport as a hobby but who fights as if his very life depends on it will not let himself or the fans who dole out dollars to the cable companies down.

He will however prove capable when it comes to pulling off what should be impossible; but when you think about it, what is impossible for Forrest Griffin?

Standing and trading with Anderson Silva is impossible, but that is something Forrest Griffin should not do and something I cannot imagine he will do on Saturday.

Winning this bout after three hard fought rounds as the crowd stands on their feet and is hoarse from having screamed their throats raw after watching him succeed once again is the kind of impossible thing he will do.

Smart money says to bet on Anderson Silva, but this fight isn't about using your head and is more about heart; and when it comes to heart, it comes to Forrest Griffin and that is exactly where I am putting my money at UFC 101.

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