UFC Middleweight Champion, Anderson “The Spider” Silva, has set a very high standard for all combat sports athletes—no, make that the highest standard ever.
He’s finished opponents without ever appearing vulnerable to them in any second of a fight.
Sure he was triangle-choked by Daiju Takase, then grimaced in pain when Ryo Chonan submitted him by flying heel hook in two of his four losses, but those are now light-years ago.
Let’s also get out of the way that aberrant mock-dance decision win over Demian Maia, and that close call against Chael Sonnen.
Even during those two title defenses, was Silva ever close to getting “in trouble”?
Against Maia, he claimed that he felt his opponent’s punches, but hardly anyone believes him. When you earn such greatness, confessions of weaknesses are ignored by ardent admirers. We— and I mean we—dismiss such as false modesty.
Against Sonnen he was close to losing a unanimous decision, following Sonnen’s unremitting ground-and-pound.
But was he ever close to getting knocked out?
What was threatened, what did appear vulnerable, was the fight record and not the fighter himself.
He was knocked down, but it was more of a push-punch that got him off balance.
It’s true that his head was dribbled like a basketball by Sonnen-cum-Pete Maravich; but was he dazed, hurt or close to losing consciousness at any point of that fight?
No. And that face ‘neath the bald noggin remained expressionless all throughout like, well, a basketball. (I’d say he was actually voluntarily nodding his head every time he was touched by a paw.)
Not once did that blank mask appear close to peeling off.
And so, if Jon Jones is looking to surpass Silva’s reputation in the near or far future, he’s got to play the perfect game against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson—without getting in trouble even for just a fleeting instant.
If he gets staggered by even just one strike, or comes close to getting submitted by Jackson, then expect his stock to plummet while that of Silva soars unattainably higher.
Same consequence if he doesn’t finish Jackson.
And if he loses…
Finishing an opponent with impeccable invincibility—or even just a semblance of it—is the new MMA benchmark.
No thanks to “The Spider” from Brazil.
(By the way, anybody notice that Silva and Jones both crawl up the Octagon, on all fours, every time?)
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