Author: By Michael DiSanto

There was a time. Not that long ago. The question of the greatest in the game was up for real debate.

Anderson Silva or Georges St-Pierre.

Both earned UFC gold in late 2006 by defeating an amazingly accomplished incumbent champion. The problem, of course, is that GSP lost the belt in his first defense, suffering a devastating knockout loss to monstrous underdog Matt Serra. And Silva began the greatest championship run in the history of the sport, successfully defending the title 10 times and counting. Not to mention the three non-title wins sprinkled among those defenses.

GSP recovered from his loss, regained his title, and embarked on a pretty incredible run in his own right. His six successful title defenses ranks second all-time. Then adversity struck again. It wasn’t an opponent who got to him this time. Instead, it was the injury bug. A torn anterior cruciate ligament sidelined GSP for more than 18 months.

During that absence from the sport, Silva erased any question as to who was the single greatest fighter in the game. He erased any doubt for everyone, except the champion 15 pounds to the south. GSP isn’t yet ready to concede the spot as the sport’s pound-for-pound king. He doesn’t have Silva’s resume. Not yet, anyway. But he has several years of youth on his side, so there is plenty of time to write his own record-book career.  After all, he is only four defenses behind the G.O.A.T.

On Saturday night, he returns to action for the first time since suffering his career-delaying injury, in an effort to reduce that gap to three. Standing across from him might be his greatest challenge ever.

Carlos Condit is a name that hardcore fans have recognized for years. He is a fighter’s fighter—a well-rounded fighter who can lead, counter and definitely finish. Only two of his 28 professional wins have lasted the distance. The other 26 are split evenly between knockouts and submissions.

Condit is the real deal. There is no doubt about that. The only question is whether he is real enough to derail the comeback of arguably the only man in the sport today who has a shot at challenging Silva’s current championship record. Other than “Jonny Bones” of course.

One word perfectly describes the game plan for each man: takedowns.

GSP desperately wants to utilize them. Condit wants to avoid them at all costs.

GSP entered the sport without a decorated amateur wrestling pedigree. Actually, he entered the sport with no amateur wrestling background whatsoever. Yet, he is the most effective mixed martial arts wrestler that the UFC has seen, as evidenced by his 77.3% takedown accuracy and 68 total successful takedowns. Both of those statistics are UFC records.

GSP’s takedowns are so effective because he is an expert at disguising takedown attempts with strikes, something that guys with exponentially better pure wrestling skills, like Josh Koscheck, fail to do. As a result, Condit won’t be able to successfully defend GSP’s takedowns. Not if the Canadian is fully healed from the knee injury.

Once on the ground, GSP is all about grinding and pounding away at an opponent. It is extremely reminiscent of Randy Couture’s style. Both men know submissions. Neither uses them much. Instead, they prefer to maintain superior positioning and pound away at an opponent without risking the position loss that could easily occur when one really pushes for a submission hold from the top position.

Condit has excellent jits, but those skills won’t be able to offset or effectively defend against GSP’s ground-and-pound attack. Nobody has had any success against GSP when he is fighting from the top position. Condit won’t be any different.

Yet, if the fight remains on the feet, then Condit’s chances of success dramatically improve. That may seem counter to conventional wisdom. After all, GSP has landed more significant strikes during UFC fights than anyone else in history. The guy knows how to land his fists, elbows, knees and shins.

 Keep in mind, however, that GSP is not, by any means, a true knockout striker. Thus, he has many more opportunities to land strikes. That statistic doesn’t mean that he is the better striker than Condit. In fact, I don’t think he wants any part of Condit on the feet. Not after an 18-month layoff. Not with that kind of cage rust.

Condit really lives up to his name in the standup arena. I know that his submission wins are as numerous as his knockout wins. But this guy really does have dynamite in his strikes. He knows how to throw everything with bad intentions, if he wants to. Just watch his bout with Dan Hardy for a vivid example of what happens when someone goes toe-to-toe with Condit.

Of course, Condit also has the skills to pick apart an opponent from the outside. Nick Diaz learned that lesson the hard way when the two clashed earlier this year. Condit used constant movement, great angles, and firing first to completely neutralize Diaz, who is arguably the most effective boxer in the division, on the feet.

He will look to do the same thing against GSP. Movement and angles are a man’s best friend when trying to avoid takedowns. Condit will stick and move. He will shake and bake. He will slam and slide. Whatever you want to call it, I doubt he will plant his feet and slug away because that opens the door for GSP to take the fight to the ground. Again, that is something that Condit doesn’t want any part of.

Who will win this fight? I’m sure the betting windows will continue to dramatically favor GSP. He is the much bigger name—a household name in some regions.  But there is no way to predict how he will perform in his first bout back from such a major injury.

Will his cardio be up to snuff? Will he have an adrenalin dump early, thus struggling with his foe in the championship rounds, assuming the fight lasts that long? Will he be as explosive as he was before the injury? If not, will his takedowns be as effective? Will his timing be off due to such a long layoff from competition? Sparring is great, but nothing truly replicates a fight. And GSP hasn’t had a fight in quite some time.

All those questions and more will be on display on Saturday night. This is GSP’s opportunity to reinsert himself into the discussion for pound-for-pound supremacy. It is an opportunity, not to catch Silva, but to possibly secure a fight with the middleweight champion in what would likely be the biggest bout in the history of the sport.

Each of those scenarios requires a GSP win on Saturday night. That is much easier said than done. Condit is nobody’s sacrificial lamb. He is coming to win. And he might just be doing it at the perfect time in order to maximize his chances at scoring an upset victory.

I honestly have no idea what will happen on Saturday night. Erase the knee injury and I like GSP every day of the week. Add the knee injury and possible cage rust to the mix and Condit is looking like a very live underdog.

That makes this must-see TV. I will be watching. Will you?

Tell me who you think will win and why in the comments below. I’ll be reading, as always.

QUICK FACTS

Georges St-Pierre
•    22-2
•    5’11, 170 lbs
•    76-inch reach
•    31 years old
•    Riding a 9-fight winning streak
•    Last loss on April 7, 2007 (TKO1 to Matt Serra)
•    36.4% of wins by KO/TKO
•    22.7% of wins by submission
•    40.9% of wins by decision
•    4 consecutive wins by decision
•    Has been finished in both professional losses
•    6 consecutive successful defenses of 170-lb championship
•    7-2 against current or former UFC/Strikeforce champions
•    3 post-fight awards (2 Fight of the Night; 1 Submission of the Night)
•    Current layoff of 567 days longest of career

Carlos Condit
•    28-5
•    6’2, 170 lbs
•    76-inch reach
•    28 years old
•    Riding a 5-fight winning streak
•    9-1 in his last 10
•    46.4% of wins by KO/TKO
•    46.4% of wins by submission
•    7.2% of wins by decision
•    Has never been knocked out
•    3 post-fight awards (Fight of the Night; Knockout of the Night 2x)
•    Current layoff of 287 is the longest of his career

LE FINALLY LIVES UP TO THE HYPE

Cung Le has a cult following in the world of combat sports. That is particularly true in his adopted hometown of San Jose, California. All that existed long before he ever stepped into the Octagon to ply his trade against the best mixed martial artists in the world.

Through his first 10 fights, however, Le didn’t own a single win against a true marquee name. Sure, Frank Shamrock appears on his list of victims. If we are being honest with ourselves, Shamrock passed his fistic prime long before stepping into a Strikeforce cage to face Le. That win was the passing of the torch from one local hero to another. Nothing more.

His first opportunity against a big name, Wanderlei Silva, was a disaster. Don’t get me wrong. That was one of the best fights of the year—an unbelievably entertaining scrap. But Le got brutalized after having some success in the opening round. The knockout loss was as savage as it was beautiful. There is no shame to losing to Silva, but many believe that he is on the downside of his illustrious career. So if Le was truly a contender, he should have won the fight. That was the conventional wisdom heading into the matchup and the result didn’t change anything.

Le changed all that on Saturday night with one perfectly thrown counter right hook. The punch resulted in one of the most spectacular knockouts in recent memory. Former champion Rich Franklin (a guy who deserves to be in the Hall of Fame when it is all said and done) was completely unconscious before he hit the canvas face-first.

Le’s reaction showed just how important the win was for him. He was, by most accounts, viewed as a sacrificial lamb for Franklin, who was gearing up for one final run at the middleweight title. Somebody obviously forgot to send Le the memo

FRANKLIN FACED WITH SOME TOUGH QUESTIONS

Let me start by stating the obvious. Rich Franklin is one of the best to ever step into the cage. He also happens to be one of the nicest, most down-to-earth guys you would ever hope to meet, particularly for an athletic superstar. I have nothing but the highest respect for the guy, and I can’t help but find myself pulling for him. Maybe that is because we both live in Cincinnati, Ohio. The hometown connection, particularly for Midwesterners, is hard to overcome.

With that said, Saturday’s knockout loss raises the dreaded “is it time” question. Professional fighters face the unenviable task of trying to earn enough money during their short athletic prime so that they can walk away from the sport before it forces you out—violently and unforgivingly. Former champion Forrest Griffin said it best. It went something like this: “I’m going to fight until I can’t fight any more, and then I’ll fight a couple more times for the money.”

I don’t think Franklin is anywhere near the end, in terms of being able to continue competing at a high level. Can he become a champion again? I’m not so certain, unless the stars align perfectly. Does he need to further solidify his place in UFC lore? I don’t think so. Absent winning the title for a second time, I don’t think there is anything else he can do to cement what I believe already to be a Hall of Fame worthy resume.

So the question is whether he needs to continue fighting in order to make sure he accumulates enough money to live comfortably for the rest of his days? I have no clue about his personal finances, but I’m guessing that “Ace” already has that taken care of. Even if he doesn’t, this guy can earn money in his post-fighting career in numerous ways, whether as a business owner in Cincinnati, where he is a true star, or by joining the UFC’s broadcast or executive crew.

The only reason I raise the question is that Franklin has suffered two really bad knockout losses in his last five fights. He also got badly rocked in his rematch with Wanderlei Silva back in June. Chuck Liddell appeared to hurt him pretty badly with a head kick two fights earlier. I’m not suggesting that he is getting a bit chinny. Others are certainly saying that. I’m not among them. But damage does accumulate over time, and at the ripe old age of 38, Franklin is closer to the end of his career than he is the beginning.

I’m sure Franklin will do precisely what he said he would do after the fight, which is put some time between the loss and any decision about what is next. If I had to guess, I’m betting that Franklin isn’t done. Not yet. I think he has a couple more mega bouts left in him. There is no doubt that the competitive side of him will want to compete in those bouts. The bigger question is whether the intellectual side of him wants it anymore.

NOT THE SILVA OF OLD YET, BUT A GOOD FIRST STEP

August 29, 2009. That is the last time that Thiago Silva scored an impressive, clear-cut victory. He dominated Brandon Vera during that period, but the unanimous decision win was changed to a no-contest after Silva failed a post-fight drug test. It suffices to say that the Brazilian’s career was on life support when he stepped into the Octagon on Saturday night.

The one-time top contender used the opportunity to right the ship with a spectacular, well rounded effort against previously undefeated Stanislav Nedkov. Silva looked remarkably light on his feet, something we haven’t seen since the early days of his UFC career. That suggests to me that his back has fully healed.

Of course, the effort wasn’t without some moments of trepidation, but he reacted extremely well when faced with adversity. Silva looked winded far too early in the fight, and he was definitely hurt in the second round by a big right hand. He fought with more control and restraint than usual to combat his rapidly depleting gas tank (which was likely due to an adrenaline dump after having been absent from competition for seven months). He countered getting rocked by remaining calm and relying on his excellent striking technique, rather than putting his head down and swinging wildly. Well, he did plant and play rock’em, sock’em robots at one point, but his back was against the cage at that moment and he hadn’t yet been rocked, so the choice made sense.

Silva still has a ways to go before he returns to the prominence that he once enjoyed. But Saturday night was a strong first step in that direction.

 
 

A former champion with 36 professional fights facing an opponent with just 10 bouts under his belt would ordinarily indicate that there was a sacrificial lamb at the altar. Either the former champ is so faded that he is being served up to try and build the name of his young, upstart opponent. Or the inexperienced fighter is being gifted as a keep-busy or confidence-building affair.

But Saturday’s main event in Macao isn’t an ordinary matchup, despite the mega experience gap between the combatants. Rich Franklin is indeed a former champion, but he is neither over the hill nor in need of a schedule-filler. And Cung Le is nobody’s light lunch, despite having less than one-third of the professional experience of his opponent.

Franklin is coming off one of the better efforts of the last few years of his career as he looks to make one final run at the middleweight championship. His thorough thrashing of Wanderlei Silva back in June was a masterful display of tactics. He hopes to repeat that feat against an opponent who is even more dangerous on the feet than Silva.

Le might be the scariest 10-fight opponent in the middleweight division. Prior to entering mixed martial arts, he enjoyed amazing success in two other combat sports, racking up a perfect 17-0 professional record in kickboxing and 16-0 in sanshou. Fans who spent late nights at sports bars a decade or so ago probably remember Le from those late night fights on ESPN thanks to his trademark scissor-takedown in sanshou bouts.

For both, their future is the present. Franklin is 38 years old, and Le turned 40 earlier this year. Each knows that his time in the sport is short, particularly if they want to walk away when they still present a formidable test for any opponent. Thus, a loss would be absolutely devastating for either man. An impressive win, by contrast, will serve as a heavy shot of adrenalin in the victor’s career.

For Franklin, the two biggest keys to victory are distance and unpredictability. The former champ is an extremely talented striker, one who borders on technical brilliance at times. But he is facing someone who has excelled for two decades in standup-only combat sports. Le is more explosive and more technical, particularly with his kicks, which might be the best in the sport.

That means Franklin must be mindful of the distance when he strikes. As the taller, longer fighter, Franklin can land effective shots from just outside Le’s optimal range. Good lateral movement, changing up his angles and combinations, and staying crisp with his shots are all ways to maintain the proper distance when he is striking from the outside.

If Le gets that half step in when Franklin attacks, then the former champ should counter by stepping in all the way. Despite Le’s savant-like standup, he is not the most effective guy from the clinch. Franklin, by contrast, is excellent in that position. As the taller, stronger and more technical clinch fighter, Franklin should be able to score with excellent knee strikes in the center of the cage or push his foe to the fence and give him a lesson in dirty boxing, throwing fists and slicing elbows.

But Franklin shouldn’t always look for a Thai plumb when he steps inside. He should also mix in takedowns from the clinch. In other words, he needs to stay unpredictable.

Le was an excellent amateur wrestler, and Franklin has no pre-MMA wrestling experience of note, but Franklin should still be able to get him to the ground by using throws or relying on the fence as an aid to drag him down.

There is no doubt whatsoever that Franklin has a major edge once the fight hits the ground. Le is not a jiu-jitsu guy. Franklin has one of the more underrated submission games in the division. If the two spend any significant time on the ground, I think Franklin will win by submission.

Le knows that Franklin will be looking to strike from a distance or on the inside. To counter that, he should be prepared to lead, not counter. Le is an extremely explosive athlete. He can close the distance with quick bursts, much like Vitor Belfort. That is a big key for him against a guy as well rounded and technically proficient as Franklin.

If Le can play the role of the aggressor, he will be able to stay inside of Franklin’s outside range, but still be far enough away to avoid unnecessary clinches. Bomb and bounce should be the phrase in his head. Le throws just about every strike with bad intentions. And his kicks resemble a baseball bat being wielded by a prime Barry Bonds. Thus, he should attack with ferocity, but make sure to bounce out of the pocket before Franklin can step all the way inside.

The other option is to counter Franklin by stepping into his strikes. That is dangerous because Franklin isn’t a cream puff in the power department by any stretch of the imagination. He also happens to have an incredibly sneaky left high kick, a strike he rarely relies on, but one that can change the course of a fight in an instant.

Le knows that, too.  It would be shocking to see him walk into a high kick, but stranger things have happened inside the cage. He needs to be aggressive, but still respectful of Franklin’s striking.

At the end of the day, however, Le knows that he probably needs to score a knockout if he wants to win the fight. It is tough to imagine him outpointing Franklin. “Ace” is the better all-around fighter. Plus, Le is a killer in the standup world. Seven of his eight professional wins have come by knockout. He is always in search of a knockout, and Franklin has been susceptible to bombers in the past, suffering more than half of his career losses by knockout and having to survive many more moments of being severely hurt by a punch in bouts that he ultimately won.

If Le can land one of his big kicks to the liver or head, Franklin could be in a world of trouble. Similarly, if he is able to get into his comfort range and fire off a couple of big punches, Le could find himself on his way to a knockout victory.

But Franklin can stick and move with him all day, every day. I truly believe that. If this bout lasts the distance, he holds a big edge.

Who is going to win? Franklin is the rightful favorite. He has more ways to win because he has more skills to rely upon, whether in good times or bad. But Le is an extremely game opponent, one who can turn out the lights in the blink of an eye. That makes for great TV.

QUICK FACTS

Rich Franklin
• 29-6, 1NC
• 38 years old
• 6’1, 185 lbs
• 3-2 in his last 5
• 6-4 in his last 10
• 51.7% of wins by KO/TKO
• 34.5% of wins by submission
• 13.8% of wins by decision
• 66.7% of losses by KO/TKO
• Has never been submitted
• Three post-fight awards (Knockout of the Night; Fight of the Night 2x)
• Current layoff is 140 days
• Longest layoff of career is 504 days

Cung Le
• 8-2 MMA (17-0 kickboxing; 16-0 sanshou)
• 40 years old
• 5’10, 185 lbs
• 3-2 in his last 5
• 87.5% of wins by KO/TKO
• 12.5% of wins by decision
• Has never submitted an opponent
• Both losses by KO/TKO
• One post-fight award (Fight of the Night)
• Current layoff is 126 days
• Longest layoff of career is 511 days

THANK YOU, ANDERSON

Pound-for-pound kingpin Anderson Silva proved yet again why he is viewed as the very best fighter on the planet by easily dispatching with an overmatched Stephan Bonnar on Saturday night. It was absolutely a no-win situation for the champ. A loss to Bonnar would have been disastrous to his legacy. Even allowing Bonnar to survive into the second round, something that neither of Silva’s previous two 205-pound opponents did, would be fodder for his critics.

Yet, Silva volunteered for the short-notice fight anyway. Why? To prevent the cancellation of UFC 153 after the two other marquee matchups were cancelled due to injuries. He said this was his way of giving back to the fans and the UFC.

My response: THANK YOU, CHAMP!

UFC 153 turned out to be one of the most entertaining cards of the year. For my money, it was actually the most entertaining to watch. But that is like preferring strawberry to chocolate ice cream. It is a matter of personal taste.

Yet, as mentioned, the card may not have happened without Silva stepping up. The fact that his performance was as dominant as his staunchest critics would have demanded is just icing on the cake. Silva was a winner the moment he accepted the fight. It displayed the bushido mentality that UFC President Dana White loves so much.

Now, we just need the champ to step up one more time. Nothing against Chris Weidman or Michael Bisping, probably the two top contenders at 185 pounds. It’s time for Silva to concentrate on nothing but super fights, which means two names—Georges St-Pierre and Jon Jones.

For my money, Silva should fight GSP first and Jones second. If he takes the fights in the reverse, then the GSP fight will be largely immaterial. Would anyone give the Canadian a chance at scoring an improbable upset, if Silva already has a win over Jones? By contrast, facing GSP first may be the biggest fight in the sport’s history, trumped only by an immediate next matchup against Jones.

Come’on, champ. Give us a reason to say ‘thank you’ one more (actually, two more) times.

AFTER YEARS SPENT MIRED IN ANONYMITY, TEIXEIRA CONTINUES MAKING UP FOR LOST TIME

Fabio Maldonado is a pretty darn good fighter.

Saturday night was Teixeira’s 17th consecutive win. His last loss occurred 90 months ago when Ed Herman scored a unanimous decision victory over the still green Brazilian. Now, Teixeira is undoubtedly the best “no name” light heavy in the game. I say “no name” because few in the US, outside of the truly dedicated hardcore fans, recognize his name. Visa problems forced this guy to hone his craft in his native Brazil over the last several years.

Two fights (and two one-sided wins) into his UFC career, there is no doubt that the time in Brazil served him well. I recall famed trainer John Hackleman touting this guy’s potential way back in 2004. Hackleman, who is best known for training iconic champion Chuck Liddell throughout his career, is an exceptional judge of talent. It looks like the “Pit Master” was right yet again. Teixeira is looking every bit like the 205-pound monster that Hackleman predicted he would become.

HERMAN GETS A LESSON IN HUMILITY

Dave Herman is a guy who appears to have the tools to be a tough fighter. He absolutely crushed at smaller promotions before getting the call to compete in the UFC. 20 wins. 19 of them inside the distance. Only two losses. Not bad, huh?

Herman, like many before him, has found the UFC to be a bit more difficult than anticipated. After winning his first bout with a Fight of the Night performance, he suffered back-to-back knockout losses, which likely left him a bit uncertain about his short-term UFC future.

Then, he received the opportunity of a lifetime. A fight against living legend Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in the former champion’s home country of Brazil. A win over “Minotauro” would instantly catapult Herman into the mix in the heavyweight division. The two knockout losses would long be forgotten.

It was a matchup that seemed ripe for an upset, too. Minotauro is getting long in the tooth, has lots and lots of hard wear-and-tear on his body, and had only won two of his last five bouts. Had Minotauro’s arm fully healed from his submission loss to Frank Mir? Would he get caught up in the hype of fighting in Brazil for only the second time in his career? Would he take Herman lightly?

All those upset thoughts got tossed out the window when Herman began motivating the former champion by saying things like “jiu-jitsu doesn’t work on me.” For a true martial artist, like Minotauro, those are pretty offensive words. It wasn’t surprising, therefore, that he showed up sharp and ready to go on Saturday night. Herman got outfoxed by a wide margin in the first round. I’ll never understand why he thought it was a good idea to fight with his arm extended and his chin up. And then he got submitted with an armbar in the second.

It was a fitting end to a fight that seemed ripe for an upset. Instead, Herman got taught a pretty good lesson from one of the sport’s greats.

FITCH-SILVA PROVES THAT IT TAKES TWO TO TANGO

Jon Fitch has long been criticized as being a “boring fighter.” It’s a label that he understandably despises, though it has now been five years and 11 fights since the elite welterweight has won by stoppage. His style, while wildly effective, is more of a grind-it-out approach to the game, rather than a high-risk, high-reward approach. That’s OK. Fitch is 8-2-1 during that 11 fight stretch. Lack of stoppages notwithstanding, this guy is one of the best in the business.

Yet, something changed when he competed with Erick Silva. Fitch won only the second post-fight bonus of his career, earning Fight of the Night honors for his thrilling war. So what gives? Where has that Fitch been over the last five years?

The answer is a simple one. Styles make fights, and it takes two to tango. How about that? Two trite phrases in the same sentence. Good stuff, I know.

You can lock the most entertaining fighter in the world inside the cage with another man, and there is no guarantee that the fight will be exciting, unless both men want it to be exciting. Then, both men have to have the ability to make the bout exciting, which has as much to do about how their skills match up as anything else.

Fitch has been in several yawners. There is no doubt about that. But the yawners are often due to the fact that the AKA-trained fighter is just that much better than his opponents. Thus, they are unable to offer up any real resistance to his ground-and-grind style.

Silva proved to be the perfect dance partner on Saturday night. Not only did he want to engage in an all-out war, but he had the skills to force that kind of a fight, because Fitch could neither hold him against the cage nor keep him on his back. As a result, we got to see the best in Jon Fitch. Silva forced him to fight a dog fight, and the elite welterweight was more than happy to oblige. That was one of the better fights of the year, one that should earn Fitch some breathing room from having to continue to bear the “boring fighter” cross.

MAIA STARTING TO LOOK LIKE A CONTENDER AT WELTERWEIGHT

Demian Maia took the UFC by storm when he debuted back on October 20, 2007. The jiu-jitsu savant stopped each of his first five opponents by submission. Then, the realities of competing in the middleweight division hit home, as he lost two of his next three fights and four of his next eight.

The biggest problem for Maia initially seemed to be his severe lack of standup. He made tremendous improvements in that part of his game over the last couple of years, but that ultimately wasn’t what was holding him back. It was his size – or, more accurately put, his lack thereof.

Maia was a tiny middleweight. His lack of size mixed with his lack of a dominant wrestling base made for tough living among much larger men, particularly since he needed to get the fight to the ground in order to give himself the best chance at success.

The natural decision was to drop to welterweight, which is exactly what Maia did earlier this summer. The results were spectacular, as he dominated a tough Dong Hyun Kim – a fighter who had only lost once in 18 previous professional bouts heading into his fight with Maia. That fight made Maia an interesting topic of discussion when surveying the welterweight landscape.
 
Still, it was only one fight. And anything can happen during any individual fight.

That brings us to the present and Maia’s submission win over another tough welterweight, Rick Story. Maia looked every bit the contender that his camp hoped he would become after dropping to welterweight. No longer is he the smaller man in the cage.  In fact, he has a large frame for the division. He no longer faces major strength and weight disadvantages. Thus, he can now rely on technique (and being a big fighter for the division) when trying to drag guys down to the ground, where he is at his very best.

Now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet. Maia is 2-0 in the division. He stands well back of Fitch, Johny Hendricks, Josh Koscheck, Carlos Condit, Rory MacDonald, Nick Diaz and other top contenders for Georges St-Pierre’s 170-pound belt. But he is absolutely ready to begin mixing it up with those guys in an effort to see where he truly belongs in the contender hierarchy.

 

Anderson Silva is the sport’s undisputed, unquestioned king. There is no intelligent argument to the contrary. His numbers speak for themselves. I’ve been through them before. No need to dedicate too much space to them, other than to point out a few of his current UFC records. 15 wins to start his UFC career. 15 consecutive wins. 11 championship wins. 10 consecutive successful title defenses.

Is that enough? It should be, but let’s toss in three more. 12 post-fight bonus awards. 13 fights ended inside the distance (tied with Matt Hughes). Longest title reign.

The “Spider” is the greatest mixed martial artist of all time, period. Exclamation point, actually.  Royce Gracie and Fedor Emelianenko were great at their respective peaks. Georges St-Pierre is great right now. But all three stand several steps behind Silva.

The G.O.A.T. returns to action on Saturday night. He isn’t facing GSP in a clash of pound-for-pound greats. He isn’t facing the number one middleweight contender, who is probably either Michael Bisping or Chris Weidman.

He is, instead, facing “The American Psycho,” in a special non-title affair that will be contested in Stephan Bonnar’s weight class, which is a full 20 pounds north of where Silva reigns supreme. And he is doing it on approximately four weeks notice.

Why would the G.O.A.T. agree to risk his legacy by taking a short-notice, non-title bout against a well rounded fighter in a weight class that Silva has repeatedly stated he wants nothing to do with?

The answer will probably surprise most of you. Silva is doing this to prevent the cancellation of the card, both for the benefit of the UFC, which suffered its first event cancellation last month and also to preserve the experience for his fellow countrymen, which only gets a couple of UFC events each year.

Let me elaborate.

UFC 153 was supposed to be headlined by the bout between featherweight kingpin Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar, with supporting bouts between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Glover Teixeira, and Brazilian megastar Vitor Belfort versus Alan Belcher. Jackson got injured, leaving the UFC without a marquee opponent for Teixeira. Aldo also had to withdraw due to injury, dropping the 145-pound title fight from the card. And Belfort got moved to UFC 152 to take a short-notice bout against 205-pound champ Jon Jones.

It suffices to say that UFC 153 was on life support until Silva called and offered his services. Of course, there was no time for the champion to get his weight comfortably down to meet the limits of his weight class. No problem. Silva offered to fight at 205 pounds. White just needed to find someone to face him with only four weeks to prepare.

Enter Stephan Bonnar.

The finalist from the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter has been a quintessential company man since the day the UFC first offered him a contract. He will fight anyone, anywhere, at any time. He doesn’t pick and choose opponents. He puts on his vale tudo gloves and fights whenever he is needed.

That company-first attitude opened the door for the single most significant opportunity of Bonnar’s already impressive career. If he is able to do what no man in the UFC has ever done before – find a way to defeat Anderson Silva – his legacy will forever change. He will earn a permanent place in the history books as the first man in the UFC to defeat the living legend.

Oh yeah, lucrative future matchups will also follow, forever altering his financial situation.

Make no mistake about it, however. Bonnar has a serious uphill battle in front of him. Silva might be the naturally smaller man. But that didn’t stop the champ from taking two previous light heavyweight bouts during his UFC tenure. Both ended in savage first-round knockout wins for Silva. The first was against world-class slugger James Irvin. The other was against former 205-pound champion Forrest Griffin.

Can Bonnar succeed where Irvin and Griffin failed?

I’ve written it before, and I will write it again. Anything can happen when two highly skilled men, particularly two guys with the stopping power of Silva and Bonnar, step into the Octagon. One counter right that Silva doesn’t see can easily turn out the lights. One lapse of attention can lead to a shin to the jaw. One mistake on the ground can lead to a submission loss.  And one glancing or slicing strike can open a cut that forces an instant stoppage in favor of the guy throwing the strike, regardless of who was winning the fight up to that point.

Each of those outcomes are possible. One might even say they are eminently possible.

Bonnar is a monstrous underdog, but he is a very live monstrous underdog, if such a thing exists. The Chicago native is a former Golden Gloves champion. Anyone who knows anything about boxing knows that winning the Golden Gloves out of Chicago is a serious accomplishment. He is also a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under the legendary Carlson Gracie, one of the top BJJ gurus to ever walk the face of the earth.

But Bonnar’s biggest strength is neither his boxing nor ground skills. It’s his heart.

Bonnar has what I like to refer to as “that dog” in him. You know what I’m talking about. A few athletes have “that dog” in them. They are the guys who never quit, despite the perceived certain peril in front of them. They instead keep pressing forward in search of victory – risks to their health and well-being not even an afterthought.

It’s the pit bull mentality. And it makes anyone who truly possesses it dangerous at all times.

Bonnar has proven that he has “that dog” in him in a big way. Remember his all-century fight againt Griffin? I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed two men give more of themselves in a mixed martial arts fight. Neither would quit coming forward, despite individual exhaustion and crimson masks that blurred their vision. They each wanted to taste victory so badly that they were willing to risk everything just for one bite.

Bonnar fights that way each and every time he steps into the Octagon. Saturday night won’t be any different.

I’m not going to sit here and pretend to know the blueprint for a Bonnar victory. Nor am I going to sit here and pretend that Silva’s blueprint is to do anything special, other than just being himself, which is special without any modifications.

But you know what? This fight is scary for Silva, probably more than any fight he has taken to date in the UFC. It’s a short-notice fight in a weight class that is 20 pounds north of where he reigns supreme.  At 37-years-old, it is tougher to get into great shape with less than a full training camp. And there is no doubt that Bonnar will look to make this a gut check, bloody affair – just the kind of fight he loves and the kind of fight that we’ve never seen Silva engage in.

Will it be another spectacular stoppage win for the G.O.A.T.? Or, will Saturday night end with the greatest upset in the history of the UFC?

What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments section below. I’ll be reading, as always.

QUICK FACTS:

Anderson Silva
•    32-4 overall (15-0 UFC)
•    37 years old
•    6’2, 205 lbs
•    15 consecutive UFC wins is most in history
•    12 UFC wins inside the distance (10 by KO/TKO and 2 by submission)
•    50% of those wins were in the first round
•    Hasn’t lost since January 20, 2006 (DQ loss to Yushin Okami outside of UFC)
•    11-0 in championship fights (most championship wins in history)
•    10 successful consecutive defenses is the most in UFC history
•    12 post-fight awards (Knockout of the Night 7x, Fight of the Night 3x, Submission of the Night 2x)
•    Current layoff is 98 days
•    Longest layoff of career is 315 days

Stephan Bonnar
•    17-7 overall (8-6 UFC)
•    35 years old
•    6’4, 205 lbs
•    Currently in the midst of a three-fight winning streak
•    One post-fight award (Fight of the Night)
•    Current layoff is 329 days
•    Longest layoff of career is 464 days

BIGFOOT BLUDGEONS HIS WAY BACK INTO CONTENTION

There is no hiding from the fact that it is difficult to right the ship after back-to-back knockout losses. Some fighters are never the same again. Confidence is gone. The whiskers are a bit more brittle.  And hesitation often dominates the day.

Not for Antonio Silva. The man known as “Bigfoot” rebounded from back-to-back knockout losses with arguably the best performance of his career. Yes, I know he dominated Fedor Emelianenko four short fights ago. But the Russian, who was once one of the best in the world, looked like a chubby middleweight next to the gargantuan Brazilian.

Travis Browne looks like anything but a chubby middleweight. He is a physical freak in his own right. Silva didn’t care. He wasn’t intimidated. He never hesitated. And his confidence definitely was not shot. He instead took the fight to Browne from the first second until the fight was finally waved off at the 3:27 mark, with Browne left lying in a heap and likely not fully aware that he had just suffered his first career loss.

The only question Silva didn’t answer was the state of his once sturdy beard. Browne never really landed anything of consequence, so Silva didn’t have to answer whether the back-to-back knockout losses left any lingering effect on his durability.

The win instantly changed Silva from a heavyweight question mark to an instant contender. After all, Browne was surely on the short list of potential title challengers for the winner of December’s bout between champion Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez.

Maybe the previously aborted bout between Silva and Alistair Overeem is the perfect next step to determining who should stand first in line behind Velasquez in the challenger queue? Maybe a bout with Stefan Struve to determine who stands behind Overeem is the better answer? Whoever is next, there is little denying that Silva’s lunchbox-sized fists reasserted his relevance in an ever deepening heavyweight division.

What do you think?

DID NERVES GET THE BETTER OF BROWNE?

Was it just me or did Browne seem overly committed to the Kool-Aid smile he wore on his face during his entrance and the pre-fight announcements? “Hapa” is generally a happy guy, but there was something uncomfortable about his smile. Was he especially nervous competing in the first UFC main event of his career? Did he enter the fight with a pre-existing injury to his left knee, which would have likely left him less than confident about the outcome? Or, was he just genuinely that excited to compete against Silva?

Lots of fighters come up short in their first shot at the true big time. Browne shouldn’t read too much into the loss. Anything can happen whenever two 250-plus-pound men step into a cage wearing four ounce gloves. Browne got caught, but he just as easily could have clipped Silva with one of his own savage right hands. The question now is whether Browne will learn and grow from his first professional loss, or whether this was evidence of the upper limit of his abilities. My guess is the former will be the case.

ELLENBERGER ADDS TO THE WELTERWEIGHT CROWD

When Jake Ellenberger stepped into the Octagon to face Martin Kampmann, he was so close to a title shot that he could probably taste it. That proximity was dramatically increased in less than two rounds, as Kampmann scored an improbable and exciting technical knockout victory.  Ellenberger took a solid step toward erasing the memory of the Kampmann loss on Friday night with a solid, workmanlike victory over tough veteran Jay Hieron.

Ellenberger has now won seven out of his last eight bouts. With names like Jake Shields and Diego Sanchez on his list of vanquished foes, Ellenberger has to be part of the discussion when the topic of top 10 welterweights gets kicked around. I don’t know where he stands vis-à-vis a guys like Kampmann, Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch and Johny Hendricks, but he is definitely rightfully among them.

DODSON EARNS FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP OPPORTUNITY

The nascent flyweight division is already full of excitement. Demetrious Johnson and Joseph Benavidez engaged in a thrilling tactical affair that crowned the division’s inaugural champion just a few short weeks ago. On Friday night, The Ultimate Fighter Season 14 bantamweight winner John Dodson used a stunning knockout of Jussier Formiga to earn the first shot at the new champion. We will breakdown that fight in detail when it is closer. But my guess is it will be blur when it finally gets underway, because these are the two fastest guys in the sport, bar none. Will Dodson become the first TUF alumnus from the last 11 seasons to win a UFC title? We will all find out soon enough.