Comments on: Anderson Silva: They Don’t Love You.

By: shufflejog

shufflejog — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 03:19:33 +0000

Yah, the Silva - Leites fight was a weird one. And it was somewhat embarrassing to watch; pathetic, actually. But you know, I give Anderson a lot of credit for not pounding the snots out of a helpless opponent. I think that Anderson Silva displayed a tremendous amount of human worth and a good deal of class by not giving in to the audience taunts.

During the 1st couple of rounds Anderson was very cautious — not wanting to get clipped or taken down. Then he realized (as did everyone else) that Leites was absolutely no threat and Anderson couldn’t bring himself to beating Leites up. Like Anderson says, “sometimes things don’t work out the way that you like.” That does not diminish Anderson in my eyes; it elevated him! What purpose would it have served to utterly destroy Leites when it became obvious? True martial artists are not just brutish mercenaries. It is so rare to see that kind of conscience in an MMA match — even though it was very boring.

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:18:48 +0000

Fedor is number one. GSp second and Anderson down to number three.

By: Newman

Newman — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 22:50:03 +0000

Fun fact: GSP’s opponents’ combined record (not counting Hughes, Serra or Penn twice that is…): 315-105. And most of the losses there are from Denny and Spratt who he fought very early in his career. He’s fought 16 different guys.

Fedor’s opponent’s combined record, again done in the same fashion: 417-229. He’s fought 28 different guys.

Silva’s opponent’s combined record: 439-209. He’s fought 27 different guys. It should be noted that he’s fought Jeremy Horn who has 80 wins, though. Remove Horn and the record is 359-190.

Another fun fact: GSP is the only one of the three who has never fought an opponent with a losing record.

Obviously the numbers don’t mean everything, but it’s interesting to look at the debate from that angle.

By: Dave Walsh

Dave Walsh — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 22:15:57 +0000

Dude, he faced BJ Penn twice, the first time it was close, the second time BJ stood no chance. There was all the hype around the fight and BJ is unstoppable in his weight class that nobody really noticed just how far GSP had come since their last fight. The first Serra fight, c’mon, let’s face it, total fluke. Regardless of Serra’s record Serra was a huge underdog for the second fight and offered nothing to opposed GSP.

We are in a weird time where each guy in their respective weight class is so high up that the drop off from them to the next best challenger is quite steep. I really want to see what kind of challenge that Alves poses for GSP, as he is the only real threat in that division right now.

By: Newman

Newman — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 20:50:56 +0000

GSP has never *ever* faced a shoddy opponent in pretty much his whole career. Even Serra had at least a solid record coming into that fight. For me he’s above both Silva and Fedor in the P4P stakes.

By: Dan

Dan — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 20:31:01 +0000

Yeah Fedor definitely is up there with them, but Dana nor anyone affiliated with the UFC will mention anything about him because they insist that the UFC’s heavyweights are better, which we know isn’t the case. That would be awesome to see Fedor square off with GSP or Anderson. Although those two have more refined skill, Fedor would be Fedor and somehow find a way to end the fight out of nowhere.

By: Fred

Fred — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 19:28:31 +0000

Certain fans are going to complain, no matter what. It’s because they’re ignorant. Great article, as usual, Dave–you are right in your points. I’m sure Silva can live with not being “loved” by a few beer-drinking rejects.

Anderson just needs better opponents who will challenge him. He’ll be back to his usual self when that happens.

By: Dave Walsh

Dave Walsh — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 19:08:27 +0000

I think because Dana White sez so. At the moment I can see him saying GSP instead, though, just because he is vengeful and spiteful.

Honestly, if you aren’t Dana White you should probably be saying that Fedor is. He just is.. I mean, it is close between the 3 of them, but you know. Fedor hasn’t lost, and if you are gonna criticize his lack of worthy opponents, you could also bring up what UFC has tossed at their champions of late. When you are in another league from your opponents of course nobody will be worthy.

By: Dan

Dan — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:49:25 +0000

Why does everyone say that Anderson Silva is the best pound-for-pound fighter so definitively? I’m not saying he isn’t great, but it’s not fair to claim that he is the best when you have someone like GSP who is as good, or better than Anderson. I think that if the two of them do end up fighting at a catchweight, GSP will use his wrestling and ground and pound to completely neutralize Andersons striking. But even if he doesn’t use wrestling, its not as if he’s a slouch on the feet; he beats the hell out of everyone standing up (except for in the Serra fight when he got caught). The point i’m trying to make is that credit should be given where it is due. GSP and Anderson have both proven to be among the best, pound-for-pound, so don’t refer to Anderson as the best everytime his name comes up. Mention him as one of the best.

By: Alan Conceicao

Alan Conceicao — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 03:36:48 +0000

MMA is a sport, ergo the number one thing is winning. However, the idea that he’s some fantastic artist playing to people who don’t understand him is nonsense. He’s a guy pounding shitty midlevel contenders because that’s what the UFC provides him, and he does so without taking unnecessary risk. The hilarious nature of him wanting to face Roy Jones Jr., a guy who’s historical standing has taken a monumental beating for having countless examples of that very sort of behavior, is downright ironic.

Everyone expects Anderson to make the big step up any day now and fight a top light heavyweight because Dana gave him a mighty fine contract. Instead, it looks increasingly like Anderson will ride it out, content with making very good money that is almost guaranteed rather than taking the really big money that comes with risk. Only when Dana either deems GSP worthy of sacrifice (which would be incredibly stupid) or when he decides to pay Anderson even more outrageous sums of money will you see him in with a legitimate test outside the limited ranks of the UFC’s middleweight division. Until then….