Since joining the UFC, Anderson Silva has gone through the company unblemished. Seriously, the guy has never taken a loss with the company.
That is very impressive, considering most of Silva’s fights have been title bouts. With the exception of his debut against Chris Leben and “superfights” with Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar, Silva’s other fights have been him going for or defending his golden strap.
With an impressive resume like that and a legendary skill set, will there ever be anybody that can beat Silva with a straight mindset?
Some people will point to Chris Weidman as the guy who has the exact toolbox to beat Silva. I myself have Weidman beating Silva at UFC 162, but is that more of a product of Weidman being a prodigy, or Silva going through the motions?
It is true what they say that anybody is beatable. That is why Silva is not undefeated at this stage in his career. In fact, his losses have come to guys who shouldn’t have even been in the ring with him (for example, Ryo Chonan and Daiju Takase).
However, those losses were early in Silva’s career and can be chalked to mere flukes. Silva was winning those fights and was caught in hail mary type finishes.
Weidman, and most of the other men Silva has faced in his career, are obviously superior to Chonan and Takase. However, Silva has beaten them, most of the time with ease.
There have been times that Silva should have dominated and destroyed opposition just based on different skill levels. For example, Thales Leites and Demain Maia couldn’t hold Silva’s jock strap, yet, Silva looked lackluster and disinterested in fighting those two.
So, is the only guy who can beat Anderson Silva, Anderson Silva?
Based on evidence already stated, one would have to assert with a definitive no. Sure, Silva can be his own worst enemy by going through the motions and not having his heart completely in a fight, but as stated, anyone can be beat on any night.
Depending on which phenomenon of skill and determination we see in Silva, we could see a variety of results. However, everyone has good and bad nights, so Silva can be beat by anybody (including himself).
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