Self ProTech - Mixed Martial Arts & Self Defense Technology: October 2008

Monday, October 27, 2008

Did Anderson Silva Really Win His Last Fight?

Although UFC 90 had its share of entertaining fights, the main event was anticlimactic. Perhaps it was an indirect curse from the recent UFC: All Access show.

Fans expected to see Anderson Silva do his thing. It was like back in the 90s when fans would flock to see Michael Jordan play against their local team. Fans knew their team didn't stand a chance, but they bought tickets anyway, just to see Jordan play.

And even though Anderson Silva won his bout against Patrick Cote last Saturday, Silva left fans scratching their heads.

The following day this was a common theme in MMA forums:

"I was a big fan of Silva, but after his last fight I lost respect for him."

I question whether they were ever really fans, but it looks like Silva has finally given the haters something to gnaw at.

Silva, it seemed, was not his usual self. He appeared to be playing a game of cat and mouse with his opponent, Patrick "The Predator" Cote. Some of Silva's antics were questionable. There was excessive bowing, dancing, and at one point(during the fight!), Silva extended his hand to help Cote up. Good sportsmanship is fine, but this looked like it was done in a mocking sort of manner.

To add injury to insult, Cote dislocates his right knee. End of fight. Your winner, Anderson Silva. Now Cote boasts that he's made UFC history by taking Silva to a third round.

But what's done is done.

Let's fast forward into the near future, perhaps as early as December at UFC 92. There's a rumor that Silva will move back to light heavyweight and fight Chuck Liddell. Both fighters have something to prove, not to mention it'll be a huge pay-per-view draw.

But the window of opportunity is closing. There's talks of Silva retiring after his UFC contract is up and Liddell has lost three of his last four fights.

One question remains. How can Silva redeem himself after what happened last Saturday? One way would be to redirect the negative chatter by having fans look forward to his next fight, perhaps against fighters such as Chuck Liddell, Lyoto Machida or Thiago Silva.