Anderson Goes For Broke
"...I never want to see him fight again."
"...I don't know if he deserves the GSP fight..."
UFC President Dana White
Listening to: Cold Blooded by Rick James
The man that many consider to be the best natural middleweight in the history of MMA as a sport has given arguably his most controversial performance to date. But who is judging? To many first time fans Anderson "The Spider" Silva's performance was more than lackluster. UFC supreme leader Dana White was pissed. The judges at UFC 112 handed him the victory, but was the champion really Invincible?
The fight was boring and uneventful. There was not enough blood on the canvas for the casual MMA fan. Politics and disrespect filled the air. It reminded me of one of those backyard scraps back in the day. But the question remains: who was beating up who? "The Spider" clearly had a message to send. But many of us have a question for the champion...what was that message?
In the end, what is really important are actions. This fight was a milestone for the sport of MMA. What we witnessed was the classic "Striker vs. Grappler" match. But even as the pre-fight hype acknowledged-- to every punch there's a counter, to every takedown there's a defense. And this time "the Striker" won.
Abu Dhabi is an amazing place. The United Arab Emirates is without a doubt the place to be in the world.
Ariel Helwani interviewed a local regarding his opinions about the UFC event. The guy, who might have been an expatriate, raised the point that jiujitsu is taught as part of the high school curriculum in their country. However, the first name mentioned by the crowd during the Silva/Maia fight was, "Silva, Silva, Silva" followed by chants of, "GSP, GSP" and by the later rounds-- "Maia, Maia, Maia!"
One thing is for sure. GSP did not win this fight.
What Maia didn't understand during his training camp-- what 20,000 or so fanatics on Yas Island realized during the event-- is that to be a grappler in MMA you need takedowns. Where was the Judo, Demian? The Greco-Roman, the Wrestling?
Anderson's first strike came more than a minute into the fight. And the switch-step, front low heel kick connected. Joe Rogan, his usual intrepid self, soon after claimed that Anderson, "is like a real, live Bruce Lee." His accuracy is definitely stunning, but that's a hell of a title.
Soon after that "The Spider" lands a low Thai kick that nearly takes down Maia, with no response from his fellow Brazilian. It is no more than two minutes into the fight and Maia has not landed a strike, or attempted a takedown.
One thing is for sure-- both fighters manipulated the rules during the fight. There needs to be a penalty for stalling. Anderson has been flagged for stalling before, back in the Pride days. A fine would be appropriate.
It was Demian's choice to turtle up and expect Anderson to fall into his guard. Anderson slips and falls at the 1:10 mark of Round 1. He follows up with a big flying knee. And still nothing from the ground wizard.
What was going on in Anderson's mind between the rounds? As usual he doesn't rest, merely stands there, looking more pissed than ever. As Joe Rogan called it, the fight was a "showcase of Anderson's talent."
All the real heads noticed the lead leg attacks, the inability of the Challenger to take Silva to the ground, the insane precision, the Caporiera, all the styling. But is mixed martial arts supposed to be a clash of styles? Or a war?
Somewhere in the beautiful outdoor arena, Ed Soares was picking the Championship belt off the floor. Maia's managers were struggling to find their fighters career down there also.
Everyone knows what happened next. Anderson continued the bullshit. Maia was fearful and mindful of closing the distance. At a certain point we all got tired of the ego. Although I have to say, the girls at my table seemed entertained.
