Anderson Silva has proven time and time again that he can beat the best even on a bad day.
Whether he is buried in the mat or pinned against the cage like on Saturday night at UFC 153 against Stephan Bonnar, Silva is always just one strike away from victory, as we witnessed on Saturday night in Rio de Janeiro.
It’s safe to say the Spider has no equal.
Silva won his 16th straight UFC fight at UFC 153, extending his record for most consecutive wins and moving to 33-4 for his professional career. His most recent win was slightly more impressive than previous victories, however.
Silva put himself in a vulnerable position up against the fence vs. Bonnar, but he ultimately embarrassed the 35-year-old light heavyweight challenger, connecting on a brutal knee to the chest and winning at the 4:40 mark of the first round via TKO.
In case you missed the performance there’s this from ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto:
At one point, with his corner yelling at him to change strategy, the Brazilian calmly put up his hands in a gesture to show he was in control.
That just about sums up Silva’s dominance in the sport. Whenever he seems out of it, he’s in complete control.
There are simply no limits to the Spider’s game. He wins at middleweight, and he wins at light heavyweight. The only relevant question is whether he’s going to embarrass his opponent in the process of extending his record.
Silva has won 16 UFC fights since June 2006, and only two required a judges’ decision. Saturday night’s win was the seventh time in less than seven years that Silva has finished off his opponent in the first round. No one else can touch Silva’s reign of dominance in mixed martial arts.
Until the 37-year-old suffers his first UFC loss, we can only come to one conclusion: Anderson Silva has no equal. Everyone who has come before him has either been left disappointed, knocked out or embarrassed.
Perhaps the next Spider is out there. But for now, all we can do is wait.
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