So people…let’s confess now, who was as naive and clueless as Chael Sonnen? Who really ever doubted Anderson Silva would lose to Yushin Okami? Me neither.
I don’t want to spend this article ranting (like some articles I have written in the past), but let me just get something off of my chest…honestly, this is like a therapy for me. If Chael Sonnen really believed that Yushin Okami stood any chance against Anderson Silva, he is living in a dream world. So what if Okami trained with him? And so what if Sonnen is the only person to push Silva to his absolute limit? At the end of the day, he didn’t beat him. So I lost what little respect I had for Sonnen last night. End of rant.
The way Anderson Silva disposed of Okami on Saturday Night was scary. It sent shock-waves across the entire Mixed Martial Arts world. His 14th consecutive win and 12th UFC Middleweight Championship Title defense is enough to give him the Pound for Pound King Crown.
His elusive head movement and unbelievable footwork completely overwhelmed Okami. His speed and accuracy broke Okami. And his power? That destroyed Okami. Once Anderson steps it up a gear, his movements become sincere, his head becomes loose, his hands drop and then his opponents follow. He is simply out-of-this-worldly good.
With this in mind then, and a flurry of punches still ringing fresh in Okami’s ears, it’s beginning to look impossible to find a worthy opponent for The Spider now. He has avenged his controversial loss to Okami as well as cleared out his entire division. And, after recent performances on Georges St.Pierre’s behalf, it is highly unlikely we will ever see that superfight happening in the future. So who can the most dangerous man on the planet fight next?
The second most dangerous man, of course.
At the moment, Jon Jones is still yet to hit his prime. But he is a supremely talented young fighter that is more than capable of taking a fight to Silva, more so than Okami managed anyway. The only question that remains is whether Silva would be prepared to move up to light-heavyweight again to do so. He performed well at light-heavy last time, out-classing James Irvin and Forrest Griffin.
An area in which Silva would be significantly weak against Jones is his reach—something that is usually his biggest advantage. Jon Jones has the longest reach in UFC history at 84.5 inches, compared to Silva’s 77.6. But a fighter like Anderson Silva seems to always find a way to overcome a problem like this.
Aside from the reach, I see this fight being extremely close in every department—although Silva is 12 years the elder.
Superfight Prediction:
My prediction then for the possible clash between Anderson Silva and Jon Jones.
I think this clash is dependent on time, really. If the fight happened tomorrow, I would go with Anderson Silva. But if the fight happens a year or two down the line, Silva will be nudging 38 years of age, whilst Jones would be entering his prime. If this was the case, I would have to go with Jones. But, for the sake of the prediction, if the fight happened within the next year—as Dana White hopes—I would give it to Anderson.
It would be a very close encounter, possible even a split decision, but as both fighters are explosive, I see the likely end being a KO or TKO. Chael was able to rock Anderson, so Jones would have no trouble doing the same. Likewise, Anderson was able to KO Forrest Griffin—amongst other huge names—so he is probably able to do the same to Jones.
It’s a close call, really. But I’m not sitting on the fence by any means—Anderson Silva would win via third round TKO.
Disagree?
Leave your thoughts in a comment below.
Thanks for reading!
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