Anderson Silva: Too Good for MMA
Posted by Dave Walsh on October 26th, 2008
I am in disbelief right now. I am in absolute disbelief at the discrepancy between what I saw last night and what I am reading and hearing today. I was hearing the rumblings of it last night, but I decided to sleep on it before writing on it; maybe people would have a more clear mind in the morning. Maybe. I want to start this off saying that martial arts was something that intensely interested me as a child. Watching Bruce Lee movies, Jackie Chan movies, those goofy Shanghai guys-on-wires films excited me enough to get into Kenpo. The ideals of martial arts, the idea of not wanting to brutally assault and harm somebody, and being subtle, has always enamored me.
When the concept of UFC first started up, the idea was enthralling to me. Here was chance for this to become a reality; martial artists from all walks of life descending upon a closed atmosphere, with no rules except for some basic gentleman’s rules, and go at it. It was great to see the street fighters get picked apart, the brawlers meet the calmness and serenity of Royce Gracie’s jiu-jitsu. The sport has changed, drastically. I am not saying in a bad direction, but simply in a different direction. It is no longer about martial arts as much as it is about fighting, as it is winning and getting paid your backstage, unreported bonus. Anderson Silva has transcended all of this. Last night, Anderson Silva was not in any way a MMA fighter, he was a martial artist completely on top of his game.
Big difference.
Last night, what we saw from Anderson Silva was not a blood-thirsty MMA fighter, out fighting for his paycheck, his reputation, his boss or respect. No. No, what we saw was a martial artist who was fighting because he loves the art of fighting, he loves the idea of competition. Anderson Silva did not enter the octagon last night with the intention of hurting Patrick Cote, as he displayed. I think what Silva showed was basic martial arts practice; to fight without malice in your heart, and instead fight with honor and respect to your opponent. Cote hurt his knee, would people be happy today if as soon as Cote dropped, Silva hopped on him and pounded him out?
When Andrei Arlovski did that to an over matched Justin Eilers at UFC 53 it was not only accepted, it was expected. This is Mixed Martial Arts, anything within the Unified Rules goes. Arlovski got his highlight reel knockout, he got his aggression out, and through that, the fans got their aggression fix. I do not see Anderson Silva with that same aggression residing in him anymore. This is not saying that he does not have his killer instinct, because when he had clear openings last night, he made Patrick Cote pay. A high kick that busted open his forehead, a knee that nearly knocked him loopy, a straight punch that rearranged his face. Silva was not looking to pepper Cote with shots just to throw him off balance before he could finally connect and hurt him further, he was looking to end this fight with razor-sharp precision, he was looking to make this fight incredibly clean.
Silva was also showing incredible respect for Cote, which a lot of fans have misconstrued as disrespect. Maybe on an expected MMA level, somehow, it was disrespectful for Anderson Silva to not rush in, get a clinch, knee Cote’s face until it looks like Rich Franklin’s, let him stagger back and kick his head into the fourth row… But by the look on Cote’s face at the beginning of Round 3 when he held his up three fingers with the biggest smile on his face, I’m not exactly sure of that. When Silva offered his hand to Patrick Cote to help him up, fans booed or were upset, claiming it was an obscene gesture. From what we know of Silva, everybody should know that he is not doing this out of disrespect, but respect. He wanted to help Cote up so that they could continue fighting.
The Silva we saw last night was a self-realized martial artist. The whole time, I kept saying, “this is some next level shit right here, this is unreal.” I stand firm by that. I think it is increasingly clear that in Silva’s heart, he has lost the blood lust, the desire to “fight” in a MMA sense. He is going to honor his UFC contract and then leave the sport behind him. What we, as fans, saw last night, was Anderson Silva showing us exactly what Bruce Lee would have done if he was alive to see and compete in a Mixed Martial Arts bout.
Dana White doesn’t get it, most of the MMA media does not get it, the fans don’t get it. I don’t see what was so difficult to grasp about last night, Anderson Silva does not feel like hurting people anymore, he loves the art of fighting and wants to show that, as well as respect for his opponents, himself and the fans. The only problem is, the fans want blood. Dana White wants blood. Dana White wants guys like Sean Sherk and Tyson Griffin to feel that if they stand and trade for three rounds, they will be paid an undisclosed bonus. No, it wasn’t given to them before the fight, or promised, it was just implied. It is way different from EliteXC.
I don’t want to see Anderson Silva fight in UFC anymore, I want to see him making Martial Arts movies and spreading love wherever he goes. Simply stated, Anderson Silva’s heart feels no malice anymore, he is at peace. Why aren’t we?
Bravo, Anderson Silva. I fully support you.
October 26th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Great read you summed up my thoughts on the fight better than I ever could have.
After reading the Dan Wetzel’s and Kevin Iole’s of the world its refreshing to see work like this.
October 26th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
God, for real, fuck Iole. I read that and it pretty much sparked this, as well as seeing the Dana White interview with Cofield where he is all “Anderson Silva had a bad night, he is human.”
How is completely tooling the number one contender in that weight class, most likely in the world (people are too hard on Cote, it isn’t the best division in the world right now) and not taking an ounce of damage having a bad night? He could have finished it at any point, and instead he put on a display of technique, restraint and chivalry. Fuck that.
October 26th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
[...] Total MMAAnderson Silva: Too Good for MMA [...]
October 27th, 2008 at 1:04 am
Dave, having seen the fight live, seen Silva at the press conference, and talked to his teammates, I disagree with this assessment. No one is sure what was up with Silva, but I don’t think it had anything to do with his “goodness of heart and spirit.”
Technique restraint and chivalry? Are you serious? The technique of falling off balance when you can’t get clean shots off and get tagged? Is refusing to engage chivalry? Or is it part and parcel for a prima-donna fighter who wants his own way all the time?
October 27th, 2008 at 1:06 am
Well written, Dave. That pretty much sums up my thoughts, as well. To watch Anderson Silva is to watch a master at work; never more so than Saturday night.
October 27th, 2008 at 1:07 am
yeah, I’m sure you’d be all tough and hardcore if you were the one credentialed for UFC. I’m sure you’d get right in Dana’s face and tell him everything you think is wrong about him. Sure.
October 27th, 2008 at 1:14 am
Jon — Yeah, he did have that slip, which was.. Well, unfortunate. I don’t know if I’d call him a prima-donna as much as a guy who didn’t want to get hit, knew his opponent wasn’t afraid of him, and decided to hang back and wait for an opening. He did that. I think that he was showing off in a way, obviously, but that he made it absolutely engaging, at least for me and select others.
This bloggeeks guy, btw, is a real keeper. I’m pretty sure I’d call Dana White a moron to his face, I mean, I’ve mouthed off to people higher up the food chain than him before. To rich people I am not notable, so who cares? My favorite was my class took a trip to Washington, DC when I was in Jr. High, and Ted Turner was visiting. My teacher set up a Q&A session with him, and I stood up and asked him why he was a giant douche. This.. well.. ended the session.
October 27th, 2008 at 1:42 am
Also, Jon–
The general premise I think holds water. Silva looked incredibly relaxed throughout the fight. Even when he realized Cote wasn’t going to rush him and simply become a victim, he kept extremely cool and just kept looking for openings. There is no way that he went into that ring last night looking to hurt Cote, I don’t think anybody can argue that.
I mean, there is no way. Just his demeanor, the way he fought. No doubt, he was looking to end the fight, but he wasn’t looking to punish him in any way. Clearly, Anderson Silva does not “want to be a fucking fighter” anymore.
October 27th, 2008 at 2:30 am
Thank god you guys agree that he is a modern day Bruce Lee. Has extremely practical grappling from his masters of proven effective no-gi in Nogueira and is clearly a technician with his Muay Thai game.
I totally agree that he and Fedor are the best examples of Bruce Lee in footwork, immobilization, efficiency, and fluidity (moving like water).
Thank you SO much for this read.
October 27th, 2008 at 3:07 am
I didn’t see the fight like you did originally but after reading your blog and re-watching the fight I can say you’ve changed my mind
October 27th, 2008 at 4:09 am
Sitting ringside, the fiction that he wasn’t looking to hurt Cote seems laughable. When he did decide to engage, it sounded like small arms fire. The knee he threw in the first and the attack in the second were not for Cote’s health. The guy hits hard. He was hitting Cote hard. When he could be bothered.
Really great to see this noble savage stuff in a case of an angry prima donna athlete who just wants to be a boxer doncha know?
October 27th, 2008 at 4:35 am
Noble savage? I just don’t think he was looking to come in, clinch his face into mush until he falls over, then pound his face further with fists until the ref decides to step in. There is a difference between having bad intentions and just looking to win a fight.
October 27th, 2008 at 4:54 am
For Christ’s sake, do you honestly believe that he wasn’t “just looking to win?”
October 27th, 2008 at 10:51 am
I don’t think he respected Cote at all. Silva treated Cote like a little brother, not a competitor to his title. I was waiting for Anderson to hold Patrick back by his forehead and laugh.
October 27th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Anderson Silva was not on his “A” game last Saturday night. Anderson spent the majority of the fight running around the ring; doing the Ali shuffle; and exhibiting various forms of Wing Chun moves which have no effectiveness in an MMA fight. It was part show, part hubris, and part discomfort with Cote’s obvious mobility. Anderson is always classy and a gentleman, so that’s not the issue. However, helping an opponent up in the middle of a fight (instead of “defending yourself at all times”, which is part of the referee’s instructions at the beginning of every fight) is inappropriate. It’s not a sign of sportmanship, respect, or even disrespect. It’s simply outside the bounds of Anderson’s job as an MMA fighter.
No one wants to think that Anderson’s supreme status as fighter is getting into his head; but it’s something we have to look at. The displays at the beginning of his fights are getting more elaborate—-look at the showy bows and prayers at the beginning of the Cote fight, and then go back and look at the Leben fight and the first Franklin fight. There were no displays at all in those first fights—Anderson just came out and stood without all the antics.
This fight could just be an anomaly. We all hope so. But, there is no question that Anderson was much less effective from start to finish against Cote.
October 27th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
Wow. A very intersting read, but I think you might be too caught up in the aura of Anderson Silva. I don’t disagree with you about him not wanting to hurt Cote, but he clearly was not showing respect to Cote. He was mocking him and clowning around the whole fight. Sure he knew he could knock him out…..but he chose instead to goof off for 15 minutes. The offering of a hand was not an act of good will. If the round had ended with them in that position and Silva offered his hand…then yes, that would have been good will. But in the middle of the round, that equals disrepect. You don’t need to be a body language expert (or even student) to see that Silva was toying with Cote in an unsportsmanlike way. In the fight game, you show respect to your opponent by fighting your opponent. Silva didn’t fight Cote. I went to that fight to see the greatest in the world fight…I wasted $60.
October 27th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Well, I’m still not positive on the hand being disrespectful, or even the fight in general. Dana White was fuming mad, but still admitted that Silva is not the kind of guy who would disrespect a fellow fighter.
As for getting caught up in the aura, yes. That is part of the fun, is it not? He has an aura, he has incredible technique, he is a very nice guy (from what we’ve all been shown), and seems to be unbeatable. What other heroes are there in MMA right now? Randy Couture had a pissy fit over not getting enough mystery checks cut to him, Chuck Liddell is a drunken loon, Rampage is mentally unfit and was involved in the death of an unborn baby… The more popular MMA gets, the less the tall tales or the heroes exist. Cro Cop the icon is dead, Fedor and Anderson Silva is all that we got.
October 27th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
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October 28th, 2008 at 2:35 am
I thought Silva’s performance reminded me of Lyoto Machida which is too bad that it was so poorly recieved as clean technical counter strikers are a rare thing in this sport.
Also the whole wing chun hand thing I looked at that as more of a baiting technique albeit a little silly looking.
October 28th, 2008 at 9:19 am
Lyoto vs. Silva would be an incredible fight, not like they would ever book that. I will agree that it was a very Lyoto-like performance.
July 17th, 2009 at 5:12 am
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