I admire Anderson Silva and some of the wins he's had in the UFC, but when looking further into the Brazilian's career, I don't believe he is the greatest of all time as he is usually described as.

Silva has had a UFC career full of ups and downs. His first three title defences and LHW win against James Irvin were unquestionably impressive. Following these wins, his defence against Patrick Cote was finished by an unfortunate injury, and the Spider then participated in a 5-round bore fest against Thales Leites.

His title defence against Leites at UFC 97 left Silva needing to prove himself again - something the "greatest of all time" shouldn't need to do - and he was later matched up in a Light Heavyweight scrap against Forrest Griffin. The Spider made Griffin look silly with his rapid movement and strikes, knocking Forrest out in the first round.

Anderson Silva moved back down to middleweight and faced Demian Maia, in a bout Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fans were left dribbling at the thought of, at UFC 112. Silva mocked Maia throughout with a series of physical and verbal taunts throughout the first few rounds, then making fans question his conditioning in the later rounds of the fight. This performance left Dana White fuming and considering the prospect of even cutting the champion. Once again, Silva needed to prove himself...

The Spider then faced Chael Sonnen, a trash-talking wrestler, at UFC 117. Sonnen made many claims of how he would destroy Silva and win the belt, and was 2 and a half minutes away from doing so. Sonnen controlled the action on the feet and on the ground for four and a half rounds, until Anderson caught the American in a triangle choke and shocked the world. Did Anderson Silva prove himself? Perhaps - but Sonnen most certainly impressed everyone with his performance, most definitely Anderson himself, and made fans realise how dominant wrestlers can be against Silva. The heavily awaited rematch never occurred due to on-going money laundering issues and drug test failures from Chael. This match-up was the first that saw the champion face a strong wrestler and the outcome was almost deadly for the challenger; could this be the key to defeating Silva? The champion later went on to defending the belt against Belfort, with a deadly front kick, and Okami, by brutal TKO.

The Brazilian is undeniably a great fighter, a character, an icon to the sport, but he is also a very questionable man. You never know which Anderson Silva will show up - albeit a mocking, boring embarrassment; or a lethal, exciting idyllic figure.

I believe that Georges St-Pierre would be more than a tough test for Anderson Silva, and with his consistency, great submission defence and well-rounded skill assets, Rush would most probably continue where Chael Sonnen left off and grind out a decision. The Spider may indeed be left venomless.

cooperjacob - Crypt Writer at :
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