MMA Thread

[Liquidrob]

LMFAO!

[Kuzzy Powers]

Yeah all that dancing is cool when you actually finish the guy.. not when you're trying to look cool when you CANT finish him.

[Steel Mamba]

That's the approach that Tim Sylvia took when he had the belt and he was endlessly criticized for it.

But we're not going to compare Anderson Silva to Tim Sylvia are we?

It takes two to tango, and to this day I've never seen Anderson not try to put on a good performance and go for a win.

[Steel Mamba]

and Anderson is turning into a point fighter

Seems like the only way Silva can finish someone is by letting them attack and countering, he cant take the fight to you for some reason even is they are clearly out classes and shouldnt even be in the cage with him

That's BS, Anderson was going for the KO many times in that fight.

[Bigpapa42]

But we're not going to compare Anderson Silva to Tim Sylvia are we?

It takes two to tango, and to this day I've never seen Anderson not try to put on a good performance and go for a win.

Why not? Sylvia was reviled for putting on fights that many fans considered boring. Anderson Silva has becoming beloved because he puts on fights that are exciting. Up until the last two fights. Its not exactly the same situation, but "fighting to win" and "make the challenger win the fight" were how those boring fights from Sylvia were justified. I would just find it curious if Silva was somehow exempt from that same criticism that Sylvia faced. Maybe not every fan hated Sylvia for that approach he had - I won't argue with RosettaStoned, because I honestly don't recall if he was critical of Sylvia for that style - but he got a lot of criticism for it. A lot.

Silva did go for the win in this fight. By maintaining his distance, landing enough strikes, refusing to go to ground, and having better cardio. He went for the win in a very boring manner. Would either pressing to engage Leites or going to ground with him have been dangerous? Yes, it would have been risky. But it would have been a more direct attempt to end the fight than what Silva try.

[Liquidrob]

Silva's last 2 fights are no different than Big Tim

lol @ steel mamba, silva was coasting and not looking for a KO, he freaking circled for like 4 minutes in some rounds

Anderson 'The maine-iac' Silva

Dancing, shucking and jiving is only cool when you do something with it, it doesnt cover up anything when you are playing point karate

[Steel Mamba]

Answer this then, how can you KO someone who's flopping on purpose everytime you engage? That fight being boring wasn't Silva's fault.

As far as circling around for long periods of time, we've seen many counter fighters do that many times. Rampage and Chuck often take awhile before they start mixing it up as well.

[Bigpapa42]

Answer this then, how can you KO someone who's flopping on purpose everytime you engage? That fight being boring wasn't Silva's fault.

As far as circling around for long periods of time, we've seen many counter fighters do that many times. Rampage and Chuck often take awhile before they start mixing it up as well.

Leites didn't flop every time Silva got close. Earlier in the fight, he tried to shoot on occasion. Leites gassed after the second round, realized he couldn't get the takedown, so he did what he could in hopes that Silva would engage him on the ground.

As I previously stated, Silva used low kicks and side kicks to keep Leites at distance, so that he couldn't shoot. It also made it tougher for Silva to engage. The champ never really tried for a clinch. And he did have the option of getting into Leties' guard, especially once he knew that Leites was gassed later in the fight.

So yes, Silva does have to take some blame for that fight being boring. He fought a smart fight, but doing so also it boring.

[Steel Mamba]

Nah. Silva had a muay thai just about locked at least 3 times and Leties defense was to simply fall to the ground. Even Chuck said the same thing after the fight, he said Silva can't do anything when Leties is falling everytime on purpose. Yes, the first round was different, but that's how Silva always starts out.

[Bigpapa42]

Nah. Silva had a muay thai just about locked at least 3 times and Leties defense was to simply fall to the ground. Even Chuck said the same thing after the fight, he said Silva can't do anything when Leties is falling everytime on purpose. Yes, the first round was different, but that's how Silva always starts out.

Hmmm... what about getting into the guard of the exhausted BJJ guy? You know, being that Silva is also a BJJ Black Belt and is supposed the best fighter in the world, would the risk of getting subbed really that huge? There were options there. Silva chose to continue to fight the safe, boring fight. He made a choice. He deserves some blame.

[Steel Mamba]

Falling on your back in order to get the fight to the ground is not a justifiable MMA technique. If you want to get the fight to the ground then you work to get it there. For him to fall to the ground and hope Silva follows is an absolute embarrasment to the sport.

[Bigpapa42]

Falling on your back in order to get the fight to the ground is not a justifiable MMA technique. If you want to get the fight to the ground then you work to get it there. For him to fall to the ground and hope Silva follows is an absolute embarrasment to the sport.

So is butt-scooting. Yet Aoki did it against Eddie Alvarez and only took so much heat. Why? Because it worked. He did what he needed to do to win. As Leites was trying to do. As was Silva by only engaging on his terms. Interesting that you criticize Leites for using that approach, yet want to give Silva a free pass for doing the same thing.

Again, you haven't addressed Silva refusing to get into Leites' guard late in the fight, when it was clear that Leites was exhausted and the risk of a submission attempt being successful would have been minimal, when Silva showed he could have successfully used ground and pound to take the fight close to an end in the few moments he did use that approch.

[CrimsonGhost56]

Hmmm... what about getting into the guard of the exhausted BJJ guy? You know, being that Silva is also a BJJ Black Belt and is supposed the best fighter in the world, would the risk of getting subbed really that huge? There were options there. Silva chose to continue to fight the safe, boring fight. He made a choice. He deserves some blame.

silva may be a black belt but only one of his 24 victories have come from a submission move (over hendo) so pulling off a sub seems very unlikely for him and half of his loses have come from getting subbed so him not wanting to go into the guard of leites is understandable. he certainly deserves some blame for the boring fight but he did what he had to do to get the W and winning is the bottom line, whether its from a first round KO or a five round decision. your only as good as your last fight so silva has to come out and put on some exciting fights to get the fans back on his side.

[Steel Mamba]

Because Silva was at least trying to fight. Falling on your ass everytime you're in danger is a bitch move and avoiding a fight when doing it repeatedly and knowing that he's not going to follow. Again, if that's how you want the fight to go (on the ground) then actually fight to get it there, don't just fall on your ass. It'd be different if Silva wasn't trying to engage when standing, then I'd blame him too, yes.

[Bigpapa42]

silva may be a black belt but only one of his 24 victories have come from a submission move (over hendo) so pulling off a sub seems very unlikely for him and half of his loses have come from getting subbed so him not wanting to go into the guard of leites is understandable. he certainly deserves some blame for the boring fight but he did what he had to do to get the W and winning is the bottom line, whether its from a first round KO or a five round decision. your only as good as your last fight so silva has to come out and put on some exciting fights to get the fans back on his side.

Entirely my point. I understand completely why Silva chose the approach he did. It was the smart approach. But it is also what resulted in the boring fight. To say he had no other option - as Steel Mamba does - is something I see as inaccurate. It may not have been "smart" to attempt to end the fight in a manner like that, but it certainly would have made for a more exciting fight.