Best pound for pound UFC fighter Anderson Silva is beatable here is how
There’s little doubt that Anderson Silva is one of the elite mixed martial arts fighters in the world. At age 35, he has risen to the top of the sport, reigning as the UFC middleweight champion since he stopped Rich Franklin with a knee in the first round of their title fight at UFC 64 in October 2006. He has won all 11 of his bouts in the UFC, setting a record for the longest winning streak ever within the organization. In short, he is an all-time great fighter at the top of his game.
However, he hasn’t been without his critics. Some people feel that Silva doesn’t exert himself in all of his fights, possibly having grown bored with being so good. These feelings intensified in his last bout, when he clowned and mocked Demian Maia throughout most of their fight at UFC 112 this April. Silva seemed more interested in dancing and making Maia look silly than engaging in a fight, leading to a cascade of boos to come from the crowd in Abu Dhabi who paid top dollar for ringside seats to the championship fight.
If Silva gets too bored, perhaps he should remember that no fighter is invincible - including him. While he’s hands down on of the elite fighters in the world, his record of 26-4 proves that even he can be beaten on any given evening. While it’s been more than four years since his last loss, clearly it is possible for him to lose.
The next fighter to take a crack at breaking Silva’s perfect UFC record is Chael Sonnen, who will challenge the Brazilian for the middleweight title at UFC 117 in August. Sonnen should take heart in knowing that these four fighters were able to pierce the armor of the seemingly unstoppable Silva:
Luis Azeredo: It might be pretty easy to give Silva a free pass for losing this fight by unanimous decision in May 2000 as part of the MECCA organization in Brazil. It was only the fourth fight in Azeredo’s career, as both fighters clearly had a long way to go before they reached the peak of their career.
And while Silva’s peak certainly has been much higher, Azeredo proved over time that he was no flash in the pan or historical footnote. He went on to fight in both PRIDE and Cage Rage, and also owns a decision victory in 2006 over former UFC fighter Paul Daley. In 2008, Azeredo turned his focus to shoot boxing, entering the Shoot Boxing World Tournament 2008 in Saitama, Japan. He made it to the semifinals before being knocked out by defending champion Kenichi Ogata.
Daiju Takase: Perhaps no loss in Silva’s history was more shocking when he fell to Takase at PRIDE 26 in June 2003. Takase was only 4-7-1 coming into the fight, while Silva had been on a nine-fight winning streak. It looked like Silva was well on his way to adding a tenth straight win to his resume after dominating most of the first round. However, Takase was able to surprise Silva with a triangle choke to pick up the huge upset win late in the round.
Ryo Chonan: Silva’s comeback from his loss to Takese was temporarily derailed after he was submitted by Chonan at PRIDE Shockwave 2004 on New Year’s Eve. Chonan was able to withstand a first round assault from Silva employing a series of counters before surprising Silva with a heel hook in order to earn the win in the third round.
Yushin Okami: This “loss” might very well have an asterisk placed next to it. Fighting in the Cage Rage “Rumble in the Rock” tournament in January 2006 in Hawaii, he was leading comfortably when he was disqualified for an illegal kick to the Japanese fighter while he was on the ground. Silva would later say that the organization’s rules on when and how a downed fighter could be struck had not been properly explained to him.
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