Anderson Silva’s time as the UFC’s middleweight king is coming to an end.
At first glance, that statement might seem a little odd, especially considering his huge second-round finish of nemesis Chael Sonnen at last night’s UFC 148.
But with that momentous victory, the longest reigning UFC champ has basically cleared out the middleweight division. Silva has dispatched each and every challenger put in his way and will likely retire with the belt still strapped around his waist.
Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of worthy 185ers who could contend with the champ. Rising contenders Mark Munoz and Chris Weidman are two young guns who could give Silva trouble.
And let’s not forget the newly signed former Bellator champ Hector Lombard, whose set of skills is an interesting combination that would be an intriguing test for “The Spider.”
But Silva has already shown his continued dominance over the division, so while these middleweights would make for solid opponents, they just don’t add much to the pound-for-pound MMA king’s legacy.
At this stage in his career, Silva should be looking to prove that he is the all-time greatest by defeating other well-established champions.
For years, fans have been calling for a superfight with welterweight king Georges St-Pierre, but at this stage of the game, it just doesn’t make sense any more.
St-Pierre has a ton of challengers left at 170 and has expressed his disinterest in moving up in weight.
That only leaves one other option—light heavyweight champ Jon Jones.
Silva has made the move to 205 before, and would finally have an opponent who can match his talent and skills. Jones is basically a win away from clearing out his own division, so this fantasy matchup is more than feasible.
Realistically, however, this fight may happen later rather than sooner—if it happens at all—so “The Spider” may be forced to take on more middleweight challengers.
Regardless of who his next opponent is, Silva has proven that he owns the 185-pound division.
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