Current Hardships and Future Glory: Anderson Silva Awaits Georges St. Pierre Upon the Middleweight Throne
by Kaleb Kelchner on Feb 6, 2011 11:47 AM EST
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After facing a knock out artist who's stand up skills rival his own, UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva is at the top of the world. Silva has left no doubt that he is truly, the best middleweight in the history of the sport, and has made a very convincing case that he is the best fighter of all time. The champion defeated knock out artist Vitor Belfort with a devastating front kick to the face, and finished the job with two air-to-ground straight punches that found Belfort's jaw with pinpoint accuracy.
Some would say that the champion has aged and his skills have suffered, others, that he's awaiting his moment to retire. After last night, it is safe to say that neither of those statements hold much value. I do not live in a world where old men with dwindling skills come from behind to submit an opponent who was winning four rounds to none. Nor do I live in a world where old men lift their legs face level, extend their foot, and knock out their opponents. Silva has his weaknesses, but I do not feel that he's reached a point where he's losing what he's trained so long to learn and perfect. Also, the man was able to "matrix dodge" an attack from Belfort, who's hands are as fast as greased lightning. No, age isn't getting to the champion yet.
UFC president Dana White has said that Silva's accomplished his end of the superfight with UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre, all that is left is for GSP to defeat Jake Shields at UFC 129. When asked what he thought of a fight with GSP, Silva exclaimed, "I think it will be fun." You could practically see the dollar signs in his eyes when the question was asked. Not only that, but you could tell that Silva knows a victory over Georges St. Pierre at this time in both of their careers would be a great accomplishment, and possibly the crowning achievement of his career. Glory, legacies, history...Anderson Silva vs. Georges St. Pierre could be the greatest fight in the history of mixed martial arts and at the very top in the history of combat sports. Now, Georges St. Pierre is set with the task of staying healthy, training well, and defeating welterweight title challenger Jake Shields.
So much could go wrong, but baby, so much could go right!
Photo via Dave Mandel, for Sherdog
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Jake Shields is going to ruin everything!
When he chokes out GSP!
I’m sort of kidding. I think GSP is going to wreck him, but I wouldn’t put it past Shields to take a crap all over this. He seems to have a thing for ruining promotion’s plans by winning when they don’t want him to.
Forget it Donny, you're out of your element.
Well, I give Dana White tons of credit for not doing Shields like Strikeforce did when he fought Dan Henderson. White is constantly saying “GSP has to get through Shields” and hyping Shields up as a legit threat, even though he looked bad against Kampmann. We know what Dana wants to happen, but he’s definitely respecting Shields, something that I feel Strikeforce certainly didn’t do when they brought Hendo in to smash him.
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by Kaleb Kelchner on Feb 6, 2011 2:17 PM EST up reply actions
Interesting perspective
You could practically see the dollar signs in his eyes when the question was asked.
I saw the desire to add to his legacy light up in his eyes. I know he doesn’t mind the money but I’ve seen GSP talk about making big pay days more than AS does.
Silva already lives like a King in Brazil
Cost of living is generally a lot better there if you bring in American Dollars.
Did you read the sentence after that?
Not only that, but you could tell that Silva knows a victory over Georges St. Pierre at this time in both of their careers would be a great accomplishment, and possibly the crowning achievement of his career.
I saw both, and really, they go hand in hand anyways.
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by Kaleb Kelchner on Feb 6, 2011 4:05 PM EST up reply actions
I think Jon Jones when he beats Shogun Rua will have a longer win streak than AS.
Even if Anderson Silva comes up to light heavyweight to fight him “Bones” would win IMO. He only took one good punch from Bader and he did not even flinch. He dominated a undefeated MMA fighter. He is the next generation AS.
The University of Utah is off to the Pac-12 Conference and will be in the South Division. Hopefully we will get to the first ever Pac-12 Championship Game. Jon " Bones " Jones gets his chance for the UFC Light Heavyweight Title when he faces off against Shogun Rua.
by wolfmanshowlforever on Feb 6, 2011 10:18 PM EST reply actions
Hmm, interesting thought. I suspect Bones will end up moving to heavyweight before he could get streak close to Silva’s if he was capable of doing so. Jones is a scary talent, it’s just so hard to bank on him when we haven’t seen him in various positions. Don’t get me wrong, no points should be taken away from him for being so good that we don’t see how he reacts in the face of adversity, I just want to see if he looks lost on his back.
I was quite pleased that he schooled Bader though. He made him look lost.
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by Kaleb Kelchner on Feb 6, 2011 10:27 PM EST up reply actions
I know you might not agree with this but i can't see even Lesnar being scared of Jone's punches.
I think he would just tackle him and pin him down. I think he is the perfect Light Heavyweight. He should stay there until he cleans out the division.
The University of Utah is off to the Pac-12 Conference and will be in the South Division. Hopefully we will get to the first ever Pac-12 Championship Game. Jon " Bones " Jones gets his chance for the UFC Light Heavyweight Title when he faces off against Shogun Rua.
by wolfmanshowlforever on Feb 6, 2011 10:31 PM EST up reply actions
Well I’m saying he might not have a choice in the matter, the man dwarfs nearly all light heavyweights, and is bigger than some of the smaller heavyweights (Andrei Arlovski). He’s young and has yet to develop “man muscle” I suppose you could call it. I’m sure he’s taking measures to avoid having to move any time soon, but eventually, it might be too difficult a cut to continue making 205.
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by Kaleb Kelchner on Feb 7, 2011 9:36 AM EST up reply actions
I read somewhere about a year ago that Jones walks around in the 240's
off his training cycle, and still looks fantastic. I don’t think the move to HW will be much of a move at all, and like you say, it might end up coming earlier than we’d all like.
I love watching that man fight. He’s like a young, raw uber-Silva with wrestling and ridiculous physical tools. Future of the sport, right there.
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