Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
UFC Vegas 12 is set to go down this Saturday (Oct. 31, 2020) live from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, featuring a Middleweight bout between former division champion Anderson Silva taking on Uriah Hall.
The fight will mark the final time we see Silva compete inside the Octagon — he has gone on record to say that this will be his retirement fight after 23 years of competing in the sport as a professional, 14 of those under the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) umbrella. Before the former 185-pound champion and pound-for-pound great delivers his swan song, let’s take a look back at one of his most-exciting performances of his storied career.
Back at UFC 101 in 2009, Silva moved up to the Light Heavyweight division for the second time in his career to take on former division champion, Forrest Griffin. What ensued was a complete and utter dominant performance by “The Spider,” who absolutely embarrassed Griffin on the feet. When he wasn’t tagging him at will, he was leaving his hands down daring the former The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) winner to hit him. When Griffin did land, it didn’t affect Silva one bit.
During one attempt to pop off some offense, Silva put on a defensive clinic, channeling his inner Matrix to dodge several of Griffin’s strikes before dropping him with a counter attack. Later in the round, Silva once again showed off his defense, luring Griffin into rushing him with some punches, only to use his slick feet to back up, dodge his punches and then deliver the fight-ending knockout blow.
It was vintage “Spider.”
And while the last few years haven’t been as kind to Silva, he will look to end his storied career on a positive note by taking out Hall, a man who hasn’t quite lived up to the expectations many had of him coming in from TUF.
To see the entire UFC Vegas 12 fight card click here.