After watching the destruction of the former light heavyweight champion of the world, Forrest Griffin (205lb), the Spider (185lb Champ) may have more than what he appears.
His movements are never rushed nor forced, nothing more than a smooth reaction of his opponent’s contraction or expansion. A philosophy and similar fighting style to none other than the man who fathered mix-martial arts, Bruce Lee.
Bruce believed in the fluidity of one’s movement while crashing with the ferocity of a tidal wave, so it was no surprised to see him generate unbelievable power to send opponents mid air. When you watch Silva (25-4) fight, you seem him relaxed and aware. Always observing and the presence of mind, almost, as if he was watching the fight rather than fighting the fight. And when he’s done watching, his opponents then gazed into the dark abyss that is the unconscious.
The Spider’s movements also reflects another great fighter and athlete of another era, the man who’s ego was only surpassed by his great skill, Muhammad Ali. “Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.” Ali had the ability to dip and dodge and when he decided it was time, devastated and leave a heap in the middle of the ring of what had supposedly been the top contender at the time. Not only would he make a spectacle of what had been a superior athlete and fighter, but make it look so damn easy. All the while, poking fun at his opponent. If fight fans around the world haven’t picked up on this yet, Silva does his own version of the Ali shuffle.
Unless Silva fights Lesnar, you won’t be seeing the ‘rope a dope’ anytime soon.
Silva is being overlooked of his real status as a true martial arts great because of his disappointing wins prior to the dismantling of Griffin (16-6). What those fights revealed on the contrary is that Silva saw no honor in those fights knowing that they stood absolutely no chance against him. So what did he do, he toyed with them to make it somewhat challenging and worthwhile. Like every athlete in a competitive sport knows, there is no honor in demolishing someone you know you can crush. There’s just no point to it.
The only weakness he’s shown is his wrestling and he’s not been the most dynamic off his back. Whether his guard is being treated like his performance when against not-so-stellar opponents, will be tested soon as his fights against Lutter and Henderson have shown what could be chinks in the invincible armor. It’s my personal belief that Silva has a third eye somewhere and that’s why he can move the way he does. The guy is gangly and really strong, who knows, a radioactive spider could have bitten him.
Keywords: Anderson Silva, Bruce Lee, Forest Griffin, Mohammed Ali, Spider, UFC 101
