It’s strange to think how much time has passed since Anderson Silva first introduced himself to western audiences with a glorified mercy killing of Chris Leben at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 5. None could have predicted the artistry that took place in the cage that night, just as none could have foreseen the run of brillance, and sometimes absurdity, that would follow over the next six years.
But that time has passed, and at 36 years old, Silva’s professional mortality is quickly becoming a reality. Check out what “The Spider” had to on the subject, along with who he’d prefer to face in a career-ending superfight on today’s Morning Report.
5 MUST-READ STORIES TO START YOUR DAY
Anderson Silva would like to fight Georges St-Pierre, but not Jon Jones. Silva was surprisingly honest when asked about his advancing age, Chael Sonnen, and which superfight remains a possibility.
Dana White says all main events to be five rounds after Ellenberger vs. Sanchez. White announced a change in policy after UFC on FUEL’s main event left fans wanting more.
UFC 145 press conference video. Jon Jones and Rashad Evans kicked off their UFC 145 promotional tour with the official pre-fight presser in Atlanta, Georgia.
Jon Jones and Rashad Evans reignite rivalry. The two former friends lost themselves trading barbs on Thursday afternoon, but both men eventually agreed on one thing — their title tilt won’t last five rounds.
Waiting game continues for Dan Henderson. Dana White discussed the future of Dan Henderson and his strange spot in championship purgatory.
MEDIA STEW
Is the idea of Jose Aldo’s soccer kicks + Pride rules ridiculously scary for anyone else, or just me?
Being the youngest champion in UFC history doesn’t mean a thing when a police dog is on your trail.
Relive the electrifying bantamweight brawl that snatched UFC on FUEL’s ‘Submission of the Night’ honors.
Rampage Jackson, Miesha Tate, Natasha Wicks and a host of others sound off on Brittney Palmer’s Playboy spread. (HT: MMA Mania)
MMA Fighting’s Luke Thomas analyzes Rashad Evans’ chances against Jon Jones at UFC 145.
Wow, surgery from a pre-fight fight night injury. What a tough break for Sean Loeffler.
3 rd degree tib fib strain possible surgery …either way back in @ufc within 6 months talked to dan white n joe silva! twitter.com/SeanLoeffler/s…
— Sean Loeffler (@SeanLoeffler) February 16, 2012
Flawless logic.
Your face < Velcro
— Erik Jon Koch (@NEWBREED04) February 16, 2012
Haha I found my high school year book picture twitter.com/amirMMA/status…
— Amir Sadollah (@amirMMA) February 16, 2012
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Announced yesterday (Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012):
UFC on FUEL 2: Akira Corassani (9-3) out with injury against Jason Young (8-5)
M-1: Jeff Monson (43-13) vs. Alexey Okeinik (33-8-1) set for March 11 in St. Petersburg, Russia
FANPOST OF THE DAY
Today’s Fanpost of the Day goes to BE reader HaterSlayer: UFC on Fuel 1 was Everything UFC on Fox was Supposed to Be.
Since we’re all hardcores here, we have all memorized some of Dana’s “go to” statements. One of them being his reasoning for thinking MMA will eventually be the biggest sport on the planet. He uses a story about if Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan (Dana isn’t that big of a sports fan so he doesn’t realize how terrible that game would be now) were playing a basketball game, and a fight broke out in stands, then everyone would turn around to watch the fight. Fighting is in our DNA, blah blah blah. I agree with his line of thinking for the most part, but for the UFC on Fox cards it seemed like he forgot that mindset.
First of all there were SIX fights on the 3 hour main card. Which means that last night we got fights on fights on fights. If you want to attract new fans this is what you do. We don’t need 7 minutes of talking between every fight because the people who care are already watching and people who don’t care (i.e. the new fans Dana wants) just want to see fighting. Half of the people watching the Superbowl every year don’t even who the teams are, but they’re watching just to watch people run into each other. The channels showing these games don’t “go to the desk” every fifteen minutes to talk about what we just saw and explain what is going to happen in the second quarter, they just keep showing more of the game.
Found something entertaining, brutal, or bizarre you’d like to see in the Morning Report? Just send it to @shaunalshatti and we’ll include it in Monday’s post.