Anderson Silva celebrates after his easy win over James Irvin. Photo Courtesy: Zuffa, LLC
Anderson Silva: The Undisputed SECOND best fighter in the World
Silva is the clear-cut second best fighter in the world. Photo Courtesy: Zuffa, LLC
Anderson Silva made his debut at light-heavyweight in the UFC look easier than most of his title defenses at middleweight. Silva knocked out James Irvin at 1:01 of the first round and looked as good as he ever has. In fact, I was ready to anoint Silva as the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world. The only problem with that was Fedor Emelianenko had yet to fight Tim Sylvia. The best Silva can hope for now is to distance himself from BJ Penn and Georges St-Pierre as the second best fighter in the world because no one is catching Emelianenko any time soon.
I mean no disrespect towards Anderson Silva by putting him at the second spot. There is nothing at all wrong coming in second when Fedor is in first. The fact that Silva has proven himself to be so complete and dominant to detach himself from Penn and GSP is an honor in and of itself.
The quickness and power that Silva is able to maintain while floating between two weight classes is simply mind-boggling. Silva was able to catch a kick thrown by James Irvin and then knock him down with one shot to the chin. Several more quick shots followed and Silva had his first win in the UFC as a light-heavyweight.
Silva is without a doubt the best fighter in the UFC. I don’t think anyone in the light-heavyweight division can stop him right now. I think Rampage Jackson would have had the best shot but with his current situation, I now think Silva is destined to hold both the middleweight and light-heavyweight titles. At any other time in MMA history that would make Silva the best fighter in the world, bar none. It’s just sad for Silva that he fights in the same era as the best fighter of all-time, Fedor Emelianenko.
I would expect Silva to bounce back-and-forth between the two divisions as long as his body allows him to do so. With as little damage as he takes in his fights, we could see him in both divisions for several years down the road. Anderson Silva has now placed himself not only as a great fighter for his era, but he has cemented his place in history as one of the best fighters of all-time.
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10 Responses to “Anderson Silva: The Undisputed SECOND best fighter in the World”
July 20th, 2008 at 4:29 am
there would be a lot of good match ups for him in LHW,hope he moves up and yes he is the second best
July 20th, 2008 at 6:56 am
not until fedor beats randy. right now they are tied for first. And dont forget about thiago. Hes on his way to the top.
July 20th, 2008 at 7:05 am
I would even say 3rd best. Damn Fedor really backed up his reputation, giving Sylvia a truly stunning defeat.
July 20th, 2008 at 11:52 am
You guys are crazy. Its the typical tattood wanabe UFC badass response, ” they’re equal.” You have no idea what you are talking about. Yes Silva is an incredible fighter, but you can;t compare SIlva to Fedor. Silva is a good MMA fighter but thats it. Look at Fedors accomplishments on top of UFC or PRIDE or AFFLICTION. Its poeple like you who need to step in the ring and stop comparing fighter like you have known them for years. He is world class and has shown that beating the shit out of Silvia in 30 seconds.
Mixed martial arts
Status Date Championship Weight Location
Champion 2008 - present WAMMA World Heavyweight Championship Heavyweight Anaheim, California, USA
Champion 2003 - present PRIDE World Championship[6] Heavyweight Yokohama, Japan
Winner 2004 PRIDE Grand Prix Tournament Heavyweight Saitama, Japan
Winner 2002 RINGS Kings of Kings Tournament Open Weight Yokohama, Japan
Winner 2001 RINGS World Class Tournament[68] Heavyweight Yokohama, Japan
Judo
Status Date Championship Weight Location
7th April 1, 2000 Dutch Grand Prix[69] 100 kg Rotterdam, Netherlands
3rd February 7, 1999 Sofia Liberation A-Team[69] 100 kg Sofia, Bulgaria
3rd January 24, 1999 Moscow International Tournament[69] 100 kg Moscow, Russia
3rd December 5, 1998 Russian National Championships[69] Open weight Kstovo, Russia
Winner 1997 Russian National Championships[70] 100KG[citation needed] Kursk, Russia
Sambo
Status Date Championship Weight Location
Winner 2008 World Combat Sambo Championships[23] Open weight Prague, Czech Republic
Winner 2007 World Combat Sambo Championships[23] Open weight Prague, Czech Republic
Winner 2007 Russian Combat Sambo Championships[71] ? Buryat Republic, Russia
Winner 2006 Russian Combat Sambo Championships[71] ? Buryat Republic, Russia
Winner 2005 World Combat Sambo Championships Heavyweight Prague, Czech Republic
Winner 2002 World Combat Sambo Championships[6] Open weight Panama City, Panama
Winner 2002 World Combat Sambo Championships Heavyweight Thessaloniki, Greece
Winner 2002 Russian Combat Sambo Championships ? Moscow, Russia
3rd 2000 Russian Combat Sambo Championships[6] ? Orenburg, Russia
Winner 1998 Russian Armed Forces Combat Sambo Championships[6] ? Russia
2nd 1998 Russian Armed Forces Combat Sambo Championships[6] Open weight Russia
3rd 1998 Russian Combat Sambo Championships[6] ? Kaliningrad, Russia
Winner 1997 European Combat Sambo Championships[72] ? Tbilisi, Georgia
Winner 1997 Russian Combat Sambo Championships[70] ? St. Petersburg, Russia
July 20th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
Fedor vs Anderson at 205 will decide. what a cracker that would be
July 20th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
anyone who thinks that fedor would or should cut weight is a moron with no clue about combat sports in general
July 21st, 2008 at 2:58 am
My P4P ratings:
1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Anderson Silva
3. B.J. Penn
4. Fedor Emelianenko
Quite frankly I think Fedor spent way too much time dicking around. There was that awful fallow period where he fought guys like Hong Man Choi and Zulu. Sure, he destroyed Sylvia, but a Sylvia that was coming off a humiliating loss against a past prime Nogueira.
I rate St. Pierre over Silva because he’s beat better competition. Irvin was meant to lose to Silva, while St. Pierre dominated a Serra who only beat him the first time with a lucky punch.
July 21st, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Silva is better than Pierre.
P4P BJ is Better than Pierre, I say this because because Bj’s Chin is better, otherwise P4P they’re really close.
Silva is Better than BJ.
Fedor P4P is better than them all, always has been, always will be.
July 21st, 2008 at 8:12 pm
I disagree. Silva’s hasn’t had a tough fight in the past few years, meaning he made them all look easy and beat opponents with no trouble. Fedor is amazing, but he hasn’t beaten oponents as easily as Silva.
July 23rd, 2008 at 6:35 pm
Fedor Has almost lost 2 times, SIlva has lost once on a DQ. Silva is a better cleaner more dominant fighter than Fedor. Fedor’s ompetition has been week. Give him a challenge and watch him break.
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