Without further ado, we’re talking about Brazilian Anderson “The Spider” Silva.
Silva is UFC’s Middleweight Champion of the world with 10 consecutive wins and many say he has made his weight division so boring through his seemingly invincible fighting style that the calls are getting louder for him to either lose weight to fight against GSP or gain weight to fight against Lyoto “Dragon” Machida.
Silva’s MMA record is pretty amazing: 25 wins vs. 4 losses!
His last loss was over 4 years ago via disqualification by illegal side-up kick against Japanese Yushin Okami.
Silva’s fighting arsenal is more than just impressive in my book. It’s overwhelming and at times overbearing for any opponent.
Besides being a long-time Black Belt in Taekwondo, Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, “The Spider” is a highly trained Muay Thai fighter and Western boxer.
He turns 35 in April and has expressed plans to retire fairly soon, whatever soon means. His UFC contract still calls for at least 3 more fights. We will have to wait and see.
In the meantime, check out some of Anderson “The Spider” Silva’s career highlights and be impressed:
I leave up to you to decide who it’s going to be more fun for:
Ocho Cinco or Anderson “Spider” Silva?
UFC President Dana White has accepted Ocho Cinco’s challenge on behalf of UFC World Middleweight Champion, Anderson “Spider” Silva, to a charity fight.
Silva has been rated among the top four pound-for-pound mixed martial artists for some time now. The other three are Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko, Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida and George St. Pierre aka GSP.
Does Ocho Cinco know what he is getting himself into?
Is the challenge for real or will he back out (right before fight night)?
Will his employers, the Cincinnati Bengals or the NFL even allow him to step off the Gridiron and enter the Octagon?
Even though Ocho Cinco has been reportedly lacing up the boxing gloves to enter both the boxing and Muay Thai ring, I have more questions than answers.
It gets even more questionable considering a possible match-up of Chad Ocho Cinco Johnson vs. Anderson “Spider” Silva after closely looking at the following video clips.
Two of the most successful UFC veterans are putting on their 5 oz. gloves again.
And I gotta be honest when I tell you that I am actually excited to hear that Matt Hughes
and Tito Ortiz both came to an agreement with UFC President, Dana White, to fight in
The Octagon.
Of course, you know they won’t fight against each other in the same division.
Matt “Country Boy” Hughes will again fight as a Welterweight.
Just like he did as the UFC World Champion several years ago with a most impressive
body-slamming professional record of 43-7.
Matt will end up again in the same division as George St. Pierre (GSP who is now
considered by many one of the Top 4 PFP fighters in the world) as well as Thiago
Alves and Jon Fitch.
Tito Ortiz aka The Bad Boy from Huntington Beach on the other hand used
to be, together with Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell, long reigning World Champ,
who could get the crowds really psyched about Ultimate Fighting Championships.
Basically, when it comes to Tito Ortiz: You either love him or you hate him.
He’s colorful, outspoken and controversial to say the least.
Tito is expected to compete in the Rock Star Division also known as Light
Heavyweight, loaded with extremely skillful modern day gladiators such as
Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (Is he really retiring?),
Forrest Griffin, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, and Mark Coleman (Tito’s first opponent in 2009)
just to name a few.
Let there be no doubt:
Both, Matt Hughes and Tito Ortiz are still two very formidable mixed martial artists
with name recognition.
The question is:
Can they still compete at the level it takes to put on the belt of a current
UFC World Champion when the dust settles in The Octagon?
What Dana White totally gets:
These two extraordinary fighters still want to and are capable to effectively
trade kicks and punches and grapple with the best in the world.
They will draw crowds and increase ratings for Dana White’s UFC organization.
So, instead of watching them fight for UFC’s competitors, why not just get
them into The Octagon instead, right?
Tell me what you think about Veteran UFC Superstars Matt Hughes & Tito Ortiz
returning to the Octagon for the UFC.
Are we in the Year Era of the Dragon aka Lyoto Machida?
Lyoto “Dragon” Machida has very quietly become one of THE Rock Stars
of MMA and the UFC in particular.
Just the other day I was talking to a friend about how and why Machida
got to where he is today.
Here are my Top 7 Reasons:
1. The Light-Heavyweight Division is undisputedly considered the UFC’s
Rock Star Division and the 31 year old Lyoto Machida is currently
their World Champion with a clean 15-0 record.
2. Machida is ranked as the #4 Pound for Pound Fighter in the world
(he only trails George St. Pierre, Anderson “Spider” Silva and Fedor
“The Last Emperor” Emelianenko)
3. Machida’s fighting style in considered semi-orthodox (whatever that
means), by some even boring. He is an extremely efficient counter-
striker with a hit rate of a whopping 65 percent, compared to the
“industry average” of around 35%.
4. His patience in the ring/Octagon drives his opponent nuts, causing
them to take the initiative and make costly mistakes.
5. Machida has not taken the blows (= punishment) many other UFC
titleholders experience to stay at the top.
6. Machida’s arsenal of tools is rather impressive. He has mastered
Shotokan Karate, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai and even Sumo.
And somehow Machida is able to make all this work together to get
the job done.
7. With his English language skills quickly improving, Machida is becoming
extremely marketable in English-speaking countries, especially the U.S.,
where his fan base is growing by the day.
UFC President Dana White knows a winner when he sees one.
He is saying that Machida’s upcoming fight against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
has the potential to be one of best UFC Light-Heavyweight matches in the Octagon.
