Author: Michael David Smith

MMA Top 10 Pound-for-Pound: Anderson Silva Slips

Filed under: UFC, WECThere’s another change at the top of my pound-for-pound rankings.

A month ago I dropped Fedor Emelianenko from the top of the list to all the way off the list following his loss to Fabricio Werdum. When Fedor dropped out I moved A…

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There’s another change at the top of my pound-for-pound rankings.

A month ago I dropped Fedor Emelianenko from the top of the list to all the way off the list following his loss to Fabricio Werdum. When Fedor dropped out I moved Anderson Silva to the top. But on Saturday night we watched the worst performance of Anderson Silva’s UFC career, and although Silva pulled off a brilliant submission to win the fight, he struggled enough through the first four and a half rounds that he deserves to drop in the rankings.

Find out who’s No. 1 now, and how far Silva fell, below.

MMA Top 10 Middleweights: Respect for Chael Sonnen

Filed under: UFC, Strikeforce, Sengoku, Rankings, MiddleweightsI didn’t think Chael Sonnen was a serious threat to Anderson Silva, didn’t think their fight would get out of the first round and didn’t think Sonnen could even come close to backing up all…

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I didn’t think Chael Sonnen was a serious threat to Anderson Silva, didn’t think their fight would get out of the first round and didn’t think Sonnen could even come close to backing up all that ridiculous trash talk he spewed in the run-up to their UFC 117 fight on Saturday night.

But while Silva did manage to pull off a fifth-round submission victory, I now believe Sonnen has to be considered the No. 2 middleweight in the world, and I also believe the next middleweight title fight should be Silva-Sonnen 2. No one had ever even come close to beating Silva in the UFC, and Sonnen had victory within his grasp on Saturday night. He deserves another chance.

You know Silva and Sonnen are the top two middleweights in the world. Find out about the rest of the Top 10 below.

Anderson Silva Is Getting Old

Filed under: UFCAging always feels like a difficult subject to broach: We all know we’re getting older, but it feels rude to point it out about anyone else. But you can’t follow sports and not be acutely aware of how athletes change as they age, and on…

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Anderson SilvaAging always feels like a difficult subject to broach: We all know we’re getting older, but it feels rude to point it out about anyone else. But you can’t follow sports and not be acutely aware of how athletes change as they age, and on Saturday night at UFC 117, we were reminded of a simple fact that it had so far been easy to overlook: Anderson Silva is getting old.

Although he managed to pull out a submission victory in the fifth round of his fight with Chael Sonnen, Saturday night’s fight was by far the worst of Silva’s UFC career. When an athlete Silva’s age offers up a sub-par performance, it’s hard not to conclude that age was a factor.

UFC 117: Junior dos Santos Beats Roy Nelson

Filed under: UFC, NewsJunior dos Santos was tested by Roy Nelson in a way he hadn’t previously been tested in his UFC career, but dos Santos did enough to win a unanimous decision in his biggest fight to date at UFC 117.

The victory earns dos Santos a…

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Junior dos Santos was tested by Roy Nelson in a way he hadn’t previously been tested in his UFC career, but dos Santos did enough to win a unanimous decision in his biggest fight to date at UFC 117.

The victory earns dos Santos a heavyweight title shot against the winner of the upcoming fight between Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez.

UFC 117: Matt Hughes Chokes Out Ricardo Almeida

Filed under: UFC, NewsUFC legend Matt Hughes may be a little bit past his prime, but he had one of the most impressive finishes of his career on Saturday night, choking out Ricardo Almeida at UFC 117.

Hughes landed a huge left hook that knocked Almeid…

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UFC legend Matt Hughes may be a little bit past his prime, but he had one of the most impressive finishes of his career on Saturday night, choking out Ricardo Almeida at UFC 117.

Hughes landed a huge left hook that knocked Almeida down, then pounced, sunk in a choke, and cranked on Almeida’s neck until Almeida was unconscious.

UFC 117: Clay Guida Beats Rafael dos Anjos

Filed under: UFC, NewsClay Guida earned a big come-from-behind victory Saturday night at UFC 117, struggling in the first round before coming back in the second and forcing Rafael dos Anjos to tap out in the third.

It wasn’t clear why dos Anjos tapped…

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Clay Guida earned a big come-from-behind victory Saturday night at UFC 117, struggling in the first round before coming back in the second and forcing Rafael dos Anjos to tap out in the third.

It wasn’t clear why dos Anjos tapped, but it appeared that he may have suffered a broken jaw. In a classy move, Guida offered his sympathy to dos Anjos after the fight and said he hoped dos Anjos wasn’t hurt.