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By: Rich Hansen, MMATorch Columnist
"Let's also understand, if Anderson Silva wins this fight, the debate ends - he is the best fighter of all time." – Chael Sonnen"
Chael Sonnen, who has fallen twice to Anderson Silva, believes that Anderson Silva needs to beat Chris Weidman in order to be considered the best of all time. So, twisting that quote around a little bit, if Silva needs to do more in order to be the best of all time, then right now, in Sonnen's estimation, Silva's just part of a large pack of fighters who are NOT the best of all time. After all, nothing Silva's done so far is really that impressive, right? 16-0 in the UFC? Blah. 11-0 in title fights? Who cares. 81 consecutive months as champion? Who hasn't done that? 12 'Of The Night' bonuses? Yeah, but his fight with Thales Leites was dull.
But in Sonnen's world, that's not enough. Anderson Silva needs to defeat Chris Weidman in order to get over the hump. Two wins over Rich Franklin, two wins over Chael Sonnen, single wins over Forrest Griffin, Nate Marquardt, Dan Henderson, Vitor Belfort, Yushin Okami, Demian Maia, and several more, that's just a solid foundation. But add to that list the guy who beat Mark Munoz and Uriah Hall, and that my friend is what legends are made of.
Anderson Silva has defeated strikers (Chris Leben, Rich Franklin x2, James Irvin, Patrick Cote, Forrest Griffin, Vitor Belfort), he's beaten BJJ stylists (Travis Lutter, Thales Leites, Demian Maia), wrestlers (Dan Henderson, Chael Sonnen x2), all-around fighters (Nathan Marquardt), and slow guys (Stephan Bonnar). He's won three times above his normal weight class, and all three of those opponents (Irvin, Griffin, Bonnar) tested positive for illegal substances in the post fight drug tests (Irvin and Bonnar roided up, Griffin was riding Xanax).
Let's take a look at the guys Silva's beaten who share similarities to Chris Weidman to see what Weidman brings to the table that Silva hasn't ever encountered. After all, it must be more than Sonnen's charlatan nature that makes him believe that there's something unique and special about Weidman when compared to everyone else Silva's beaten to make this fight the one that separates Silva from GOAT status.
Travis Lutter
Travis Lutter shares some similarities with Chris Weidman. Lutter's half the fighter Weidman is, but their styles have some commonalities. Lutter is a Carlos Machado black belt with seven submissions among his 16 career victories. Lutter was able to get Silva down in the first round off of a Silva flying knee, and he stayed on top for about a minute. As soon as Silva got out, Lutter hit a low single leg and got back on top. Lutter had a difficult time getting out of Silva's full guard, but did manage to get to side control with about a minute left in the round, and then passed to mount 20 seconds later. After fifteen seconds of ground and pound that looked like a blow by blow replay of the Ralphie Parker–Scut Farkus fight, Lutter went for an armbar and let Silva escape. I think it's safe to say that if Weidman gets the mount with 45 seconds left in the round, his ground and pound will certainly be more damaging than Lutter's. I would also think that if Weidman's thinking about going for an armbar from mount, he'll remember the Lutter fight and be far less lazy with it. Lutter managed to get Silva down with a hard double leg takedown a mere 10 seconds into round two, but he got himself caught in a triangle choke a minute later.
Weidman made weight, and there were no reports of him struggling to make the weight, so he'll have far more energy and power than Lutter had. The takedown Lutter hit in the second round won't be there today, as Silva will literally decapitate anyone who tries that move today. Weidman can take from this fight that there can be no wasted effort, no sloppy attacks, and everything must be done at full force.
Dan Henderson
13 months after the Lutter submission, Silva squared off against two-time Olympian Greco Roman wrestler Dan Henderson. Weidman was never a Greco Roman guy, but like Henderson, he's very capable of controlling his opponents in the clinch. Silva didn't fear Henderson's takedowns, evidenced by him throwing half a dozen high kicks in the first half of the first round. If he does that against Weidman, dollars to donuts that he's on his back before he can throw three of them. Henderson got a takedown about halfway through the first round, but it was a Greco takedown from the clinch, a move which Weidman hasn't exhibited so far in his UFC tenure. While on top, Henderson was unable to do any damage from the top. Not only was Silva able to control Henderson's posture, there isn't a referee currently in the sport who wouldn't have stood them up after the first minute of top control.
In the second round, Silva came out much more aggressively, no longer fearing Henderson's ground game. Silva got a takedown when Henderson pulled guard. Henderson was able to power up to his feet and put Silva against the fence immediately upon getting back to his feet. The problem for Henderson was during the next clinch after they got off the fence, as Silva landed two big knees, which was the beginning of the end. Henderson was unable to defend the Silva onslaught from off of his back, and Silva sunk in the choke for the victory.
The lessons for Weidman to take from this fight are pretty simple; avoid the damn clinch, and if he gets top position half way through a round, he damn well better do something with it. If a fighter is fortunate enough to get one opportunity against Silva, he's unlikely to get a second.
Thales Leites
Skip right to the lessons: 1.) Don't butt scoot.
Demian Maia
Silva played with Maia in the manner a cat would play with a dead mouse for the entirety of this fight. Of course, a dead mouse would have had much more to offer Silva from a competitive standpoint than Maia offered up. I really don't think there's anything for Weidman to take from this fight other than, you know, to fight.
Chael Sonnen
To this day, I have no idea how Chael did it. I don't know how he out-struck Silva on the feet. I don't know how he controlled the range against the guy who controls ranges better than anyone in the history of this sport. I don't know how he kept top control (seemingly) so effortlessly.
Obviously vast amounts of talent come into play here. I'm trying to compliment Sonnen for his performance, not denigrate him. I mean, ok, the takedown in round two was similar to the first Lutter takedown. Silva threw a half-ass flying knee, Sonnen planted his ass like a redwood. The takedown to begin the third round though; Silva backed straight up to avoid a Sonnen punch, and Sonnen followed him straight to the fence and got the takedown. Too easy. Silva never does that, yet he did in that spot.
Sonnen, with his rudimentary kickboxing skills, was able to throw Silva completely off of his game. But how much of it was Sonnen's skills? How much of it was an injured champion? How much of it was a cocky champion? Or how much of it was a champion looking to defend the pride of his revered Nogueira's, willing to do anything to get a submission? We'll never know. And what exactly can Weidman take from this fight? Well, one thing's for certain: Sonnen wouldn't have been nearly so competitive had be been passive like Leites or Maia.
Yushin Okami
Yushin Okami is a big and powerful middleweight, but doesn't have the best straight takedowns that you'd expect a middleweight of his size and skill to possess. Weidman's big and powerful, and has much better takedowns and head control, but isn't as talented a boxer as Okami. That said, the similarities outweigh the differences, and Yushin Okami might just be the most similar past opponent to Chris Weidman that Anderson Silva has ever fought. We all know how the Silva–Okami fight played out. After one round, Silva decided Okami had zero to offer him, so Silva came out and damn near murdered him in the second.
So, looking back at some of Silva's past opponents who share some traits with Chris Weidman, what can Weidman take from those failed attempts? Simply put, Weidman needs to realize that he must show Silva everything he's got in the first round, because if it goes into a second round with Silva not fearing Weidman, it's going to be over before the end of the second. If Weidman shoots off every bullet in the chamber, there's a chance he shocks the world in the first stanza. And there's also a chance he can get Silva's attention and respect if he unloads both barrels, in which case we might just have ourselves a war.
If Weidman comes out passive like Leites and Maia, if he comes out unable to threaten Silva like Okami and Henderson, and if he gets an opportunity like Lutter and Sonnen, Weidman is going to spend the rest of his career wondering about the one that got away. But if he can be aggressive, if he can hurt Silva, if he can avoid the killshot when they clinch, and if he can keep Silva from figuring out where the range is, Weidman has a chance to make a fight out of it.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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