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Anderson Silva: Talks the Dragon Hidden Within ‘The Spider’

Anderson Silva, the undisputed king of the MMA stratosphere and reigning UFC 185-pound overlord, speaks about the dragon hidden within “The Spider,” the same fire-breathing dragon that has been the catalyst in his rise to fame, fortune and …

In the arena of warriors, more times than not, The Spider has spun his intricate web of devastation (sucking the blood out of his hapless foes) with effortless efficacy, and in a Matrix-esque manner to boot

However, his ability to overcome the sometimes insurmountable and woo the masses with his phenomenal striking prowess was not achieved over night; it was accomplished through the school of hard knocks, and with that entered the dragon.

Original quotes reported by Fiveouncesofpain.com.

“When I was 8 I was already getting kicked in the face, getting beat up by the big kids. I was 8 years old but I was tall. I was a troublemaker, I would tease the big kids. I would get beat up in training and I would cry. They would say, ‘He ain’t coming back,’ and and I would always be there the next day, in their face—‘Do you want to beat me up?’ I want to see you try.’ Then I would get beat again, of course,” Silva explained with a laugh. “But while the big bullies didn’t want to learn, I wanted to learn. While the big kids were beating everyone without learning, I was learning. Then I became gnarlier than the big kids. You must have a dragon hidden inside of you. When you need, you let that dragon out.

“First you achieve your competence. Use your talent and believe in yourselves. Things will happen. But you have to believe that nothing is impossible,” said Silva to a group of training partners later in the clip. “Nobody is here only to be a sparring partner. You are not here to be anybody’s punching bag. We are here to help each other. Without you I would not be champion. And with me you will get farther than without me. So we’re here for each other.”

The 37-year-old Silva began his professional mixed martial arts career in his native Brazil before traipsing across the globe as far as Japan (Pride), England (Cage Rage) and even South Korea to establish himself in the realm of combative sports.

The turning point in his now storied career came in the guise of the UFC who saw his potential, and in 2006, signed him to a multi-fight contract.

A successful and jaw-dropping debut (a 49-second starching of Chris Leben) followed suit, and he hasn’t looked back since.

He captured UFC gold in only his second outing and has thus far defended the title a record nine times. Moreover, Silva (31-4 MMA) holds the record for most consecutive wins in the UFC—14. The Black House-trained fighter is currently riding a 15-fight unbeaten streak.

In addition, Silva also unified the UFC middleweight and PRIDE welterweight titles, submitting the legendary Dan Henderson.

On July 7, the inimitable Brazilian is slated to lock horns with his arch-nemesis and unheralded rival, Chael Sonnen, in a highly anticipated rematch for the aeons.

UFC 148 is scheduled for July 7, 2012, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.

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Jon Jones: Was His Tumble from Grace Inevitable?

The fact that UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones was recently arrested for a DUI offense should come as no surprise—no pun intended, but he’s been an accident waiting to happen. Ever since “Bone” Jones systematically destr…

The fact that UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones was recently arrested for a DUI offense should come as no surprise—no pun intended, but he’s been an accident waiting to happen.

Ever since “Bone” Jones systematically destroyed Mauricio “Shogun” Rua to capture the 205-pound crown, certain sections of the MMA contingent have come to loathe him with a passion.

True or not, two phrases which have become synonymous with the Endicott, New Yorker are arrogant and fake, which probably stem from his antics both inside and outside the Octagon.

Jones (16-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) might come across as a superhuman species in a steel cage, but once on the outside, he’s susceptible like everyone else to the vulnerabilities and pitfalls that life presents us.

At 23, he became the youngest ever UFC champion, and with such success comes adulation, fame and sometimes over-the-top scrutinization from fans as well as the media.

We’re not privy to what goes on behind closed doors apropos how he deals and/or has dealt with his newfound fame, not to mention the overt criticism slung his way at every given opportunity.

Nevertheless, his rant on Facebook suggests the burden of being this overly clean-cut guy and to boot, the champ, had been festering away for some time now.

“Man I haven’t added anyone new to my Facebook page in like three years and right now I’m so glad that I haven’t. It has literally been sickening to have so many people try to kick me while I’m down. At the same time, I totally understand, I gave them the leeway to. I screwed up, big time.”

“Always having to deal with so many critics, haters and fickle mma fans,” Jones said.

Being in the media’s spotlight is tantamount to striking a Faustian bargain—in Jones’ case—anonymity for eminence.

He can allow the pomp, pageantry and criticism associated with being a well-known celebrity to consume him like a raging fire or use the aforementioned as a source of inspiration to scale even higher heights.

However, I believe Jones’ recent indiscretion and infraction of which he’s plead guilty to is just a minor blip and his trajectory to MMA greatness is still on course.

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Anderson Silva: Is His Jiu-Jitsu Overrated?

Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown—it’s seems to be open season for taking pot-shots at Anderson Silva. The latest swipe at the UFC 185-pound kingpin is that his Jiu-jitsu is overrated, and I’m inclined to take that stance as w…

Vinny Magalhães, who has been training Chael Sonnen in the art of submission defense for his upcoming bout with “The Spider,” basically ripped to shreds his BJJ credentials, and in doing so inadvertently questioned the authenticity of the Nogueira brothers, Antonio Rodrigo and Antonio Rogério, who handed Silva his black belt.

“Here’s another point. A lot of people hype Anderson’s Jiu-Jitsu game because he got his black belt from the Nogueira’s. But not every black belt is a high-level black belt. You just happened to have got a black belt under that guy. It’s not like he has great sweeps. It’s not like he has great submissions. How many submissions has he gotten [in the UFC]? He submitted Henderson. He submitted Chael; that’s two guys. And he submitted Travis Lutter. So that’s three guys. He’s even got a couple submission losses. They may be eight years ago, but they’re still losses. So I feel like this whole thing about Anderson being a black belt doesn’t make much of a difference in the fight.

“It’s not that I’m not impressed. People think that if you have a black belt under certain guys, it automatically means you’re excellent at it. It doesn’t mean anything though. Black belts are not always going to have black-belt skills. The whole fight with Chael, [Silva] was on his back the whole time. I’m not saying he’s not good, he just might not be as good as people think he is. He spent 23 minutes on his back [against Chael]. He should’ve got something in those 23 minutes. Yeah, he did. He got the submission. But he was trying the whole time and he couldn’t get it. So like I’m saying, it’s not like he’s not good—he is good—just not as good as people think he is,” Magalhães said.

Truth be told, as Magalhães (both a former UFC resident and M-I Global light heavyweight champion) alluded to, in the entirety of his UFC career which amounts to 14 outings, Silva has only submitted three opponents—Travis Lutter via rear-naked choke and elbows, Dan Henderson by way of rear-naked choke and Chael Sonnen with a triangle armbar.

It’s safe to say that the latter of the three has next to no submission defense, hence his succumbing to eight submissions in 11 defeats.

Furthermore, Silva has only one other legitimate submission on his résumé (a rear-naked choke against Raimundo Pinheiro on his MMA debut), as the other two were submissions via punches.

I also agree with Magalhaes’ take on the Sonnen fight—Silva had intimated before the match that his sole intention was to submit the Oregon native.

However, the payoff didn’t transpire until the 23rd minute, suggesting the Brazilian couldn’t implement his game plan—which should’ve have been a routine submission against (as earlier mentioned) someone of Sonnen’s calibre.

Silva himself has twice been on the receiving end of submissions—Daiju Takase via triangle choke and Ryo Chonan by flying scissor heel hook.

Finally, with regards to Silva’s purported BJJ expertise, against Demian Maia, one of professional MMA’s foremost exponents of the art, he vehemently refused to take matters to canvas, even when Maia imploring beckoned him to do so.

That being said, Silva knew if he’d run the gauntlet, the inevitability of falling victim to a submission was more or less a done deal.

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UFC 146: Junior Dos Santos’ Path to UFC Heavyweight Greatness

For Junior dos Santos, the road to heavyweight greatness begins when he comes face-to-face with former divisional champion Frank Mir in the main event of UFC 146. “Cigano’s” journey will be an arduous and testing one if he’s to …

For Junior dos Santos, the road to heavyweight greatness begins when he comes face-to-face with former divisional champion Frank Mir in the main event of UFC 146.

“Cigano’s” journey will be an arduous and testing one if he’s to surpass the heavyweight apogee he now resides in—the Brazilian standout is well aware that a plethora of green-eyed heavy-hitters await their turn to both ambush and wrestle the Holy Grail from his heavyweight holiness, and thus assume his lofty position.

With that being said, his trajectory to glorification and immortalization in the UFC’s heavyweight ranks starts here.

NB. Randy Couture, Tim Sylvia and Brock Lesnar are the only heavyweights in the history of the UFC to have ever successfully defended the title on two occasions.

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Should Elbows on the Ground Be Illegal in MMA?

For a while now, certain sections of the MMA community have deemed the use of elbows on a grounded opponent either inconsequential to the outcome of a contest or nothing more than a means of precipitating a premature stoppage, and as such should be made illegal in MMA. I on the other hand beg to differ, and believe elbows should remain an integral part of mixed martial arts.

Some of the reasons against elbow use in a ground-and-pound assault is the supposition that it favors the grappler with regard to employing the technique in a negative way, which is assumed to gain an unhealthy advantage over an opponent by way of lay-and-pray. Another gripe is said attacks inflict severe facial cuts, thus leading to an unlikely halt to a bout.

Isn’t professional combative mixed martial arts all about incapacitating your opponent by any means necessary within the laws of the governing bodies?

And if that’s the case, why take away a tool which is part of a fighters overall makeup and something that could make the difference between winning and losing?

Eye gouging, groin kicks, head kicks and stomping seem to be a thing of the past. To that I say bring back the old PRIDE FC days, but that’s ancient history. Times have changed—MMA is now a going concern and directed full steam ahead toward the mainstream.

However, if taking elbows out of the equation is the way forward, why stop there? How about reviewing certain aspects of BJJ and striking while we’re at it? Either way they’re both weapons of destruction.

Personally, I believe elbows, if executed properly, can be some of the most exciting attacks on a grounded opponent. In that respect, Jon “Bones” Jones vs. Brandon “The Truth” Vera comes to mind—his elbow assaults were beauty personified.

Should elbows on the ground be illegal? Absolutely not.

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Phil Davis to Meet Chad Griggs at UFC on FOX 4

At UFC on FOX 4, Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis will face off against current heavyweight Chad “The Grave Digger” Griggs. Griggs, a former Strikeforce resident has acceded to take the plunge, and thus, try his hand at the light heav…

Davis, a former Penn State NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Division I standout, was last seen at UFC on FOX 2 vying for a top-ranked spot against friend and former UFC 205-pound champion “Suga” Rashad Evans—a contest which he lost via unanimous decision.

Had Davis (9-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) been victorious, a shot at the current division’s linchpin Jon “Bones” Jones was one, maximum two, fights away.

However, as things stand, he’ll have to work his way back into title contention and impress while he’s at it. The first stop is Griggs, who himself is on the road to redemption following a less-than-impressive debut for the Zuffa-based promotion.

In the opening stanza at UFC 145, Travis Browne threw a spanner in the works of his coming out party via an arm triangle choke.

The Arizona native, who has notable wins against former pro-wrestler Bobby Lashley and Valentijn Overeem, is caught between a rock and a hard place—he desperately needs to get back to winning ways, but more importantly, the 33-year-old Griggs (11-1 MMA, 3-0 SF, 0-1 UFC) needs to register his maiden victory, or else, he’ll go 0-2 in the firm.

UFC on FOX 4 is scheduled for Aug. 4, 2012, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

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