After another dominant performance at this weekend’s UFC 153, Anderson Silva has all but cemented himself in the history books as MMA‘s pound-for-pound king.
Sure, an easy win over Stephan Bonnar may not be the most amazing victory on “The Spider’s” résumé, but it does speak to the lack of serious challengers left for the reigning middleweight champ, as he’s ran through almost everyone the UFC has put in front of him.
At this point in Silva’s career, he’s really only fighting for his own legacy, so the only bouts that make sense are fights against the biggest names in the sport—i.e. Georges St-Pierre and Jon Jones. Those are really the only two names out there who could pose a challenge to Silva, who’s expressed a disinterest in leaving his home at 185.
An argument can be made that there are challengers left at middleweight for the champ, with the likes of Michael Bisping and Chris Weidman staking their claims as the division’s leading contenders. While there’s no denying that these men deserve a shot at the title, they really don’t make sense for Silva, who’s already taken out a plethora of top 185ers during his long title reign.
Top contenders are constantly emerging, so it’s impossible for the champ to take on every single person who appears to be a threat to his belt. To really cement himself as the greatest of all time, Silva needs to look at the bigger picture of his career.
As UFC commentator Joe Rogan noted during last night’s broadcast, it would be a shame if fans never got the chance to see Silva take on Jones. Both men are at the top of their games and are set to go down as two of the greatest in MMA history, so missing out on this superfight would be a travesty to say the least.
Even though this bout is still just a fan’s fantasy, as both Silva and Jones have squashed any talk of facing each other, a potential superfight with St-Pierre is much more likely.
Both men have expressed serious interest in facing each other in a catchweight bout in recent months, and that might just come to fruition if the Canadian can take out interim champ Carlos Condit at UFC 154.
Regardless of which champ Silva may or may not take on, the clock is ticking on his career. If he wants to go down as the best, he has to go out beating the best.
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