If you saw UFC 97 this past weekend, I want to know what your thoughts are on the Anderson Silva fight, because I’m not too sure what to think of it either. I’m kind of torn.
On one hand, as a fan, I see a guy who is giving 30% of what he is truly capable of. Really, he could’ve destroyed Leites if he wanted to, I think there’s no doubt about that. His movement and the speed and power of his strikes are no match for it seems any fighter in his division. But the great thing about MMA is that anything can happen and he’s set the bar super high, so sooner or later, someone will surpass him.
On the other hand, it just seems like he’s placing more emphasis on not getting hit than knocking his opponent out. I’d like to know exactly how many strikes (kicks, knees, punches, and elbows) have landed on Anderson Silva in his UFC fights. I know there aren’t that many.
Now as a fighter, if he’s interested in having a long career and staying healthy not only for fighting and for everyday life, not getting hit is a really good plan. It doesn’t take too many heavy shots to the head with 4 oz gloves to cause lingering, sometime permanent effects.
In a post-fight interview, he was talking about fighting the ‘perfect fight’. In a perfect fight, you would land all of your strikes on your opponent, and not get any points scored against you. If this was his goal, I think he did pretty good.
The last thought that I heard about the fight was from my friend Rich, who was in Montreal with me. He made a good point and said, “Anderson is the champ, and maybe he’s just thinking that you’ve got to come and take the belt away from me, so you’ve got to be the aggressor.”
I think this is a very good point. I don’t think it’s smart for a champ to put himself at risk if he doesn’t want to. Sure, it’s not the most exciting strategy from a fan’s point of view, but it is smart to do and it seems like it works.
What do you think?