Anderson Silva is, without doubt, the closest thing that MMA has to a complete package. He is skills, training, experience and unfaltering confidence all lumped into one lethal package. Those primary assets drive the highlight-reel knockouts he delivers time and again.
But you probably already knew that—you’ve probably seen his backlog of fight-ending tricks on more than one occasion.
What’s more interesting, perhaps, are the mind games tucked in between the formal introductions and the brutal finishes. Rare and fleeting, these demonstrations of superiority allow Silva to cripple his opponents psychologically—the shock waves then travel throughout the middleweight division and cast doubt in many future contenders’ minds.
He’s gained a certain infamy for toying with his opponents mid-bout. Juking, jiving, dancing and even voluntarily placing himself into vulnerable positions are all fair play.
At UFC 162, Chris Weidman will need to maintain the same confidence he’s displayed in the buildup to his showdown against the middleweight champion. He’s vowed to not be yet another victim of Silva’s manipulations.
Whether or not he succeeds remains to be determined.
In the meantime, sit back, relax and take a look at some of Silva’s most memorable psych-out moments.