Was Anderson Silva’s Greatness Too Great
By Christopher Jester
What happens to the legacy of Anderson Silva if he loses again to Chris Weidman this Saturday? Was his greatness too great? Anderson Silva faces a tough challenge as the challenger this weekend. Attempting to recapture his title is just the least of his worries. He has to battle recapturing his mystique, or at least the appearance of it.
Being treated to highlight reel knockout after highlight reel knockout has been a treat to the fans but a detriment to the Brazilian fighter. Because in each outing if he did not deliver some out of this world kick or finish, the fans and media criticized him for toying with his opponent. We have become spoiled by the richness of his technique and by the brilliance of his art. So much so that if Silva loses to Weidman again, we will begin to question just how great he was in the first place.
All kidding aside about how he lost to Weidman, the current UFC Middleweight Champion went into the Octagon and did not get entranced by the aura of Silva. Instead, he landed a knockout punch that could potentially derail all of the talk that Silva is the greatest mixed martial artist of all time. Because of this, Weidman has the opportunity to become the “Silva-killer” or “GOAT-killer”. To salvage what could be left of his place in the middleweight division, Silva will have to go out there and finish this fight in a blaze of glory – similar to his challenging of Rich Franklin’s middleweight championship – and utterly destroy Weidman.
While we will have to wait and see if this is the biggest fight in MMA history, it is without a doubt the biggest fight for Anderson Silva. What he does with his career after this fight will be determined on if he wins or loses this Saturday. A victory only highlights that he had a rough night on July 6th when he lost to Weidman. If he loses to the champion again, he faces the criticisms again and perhaps live only in dead space at 185lbs, taking on only high-profile fights.
Which brings up the next point. Silva may not have a place in the middleweight division if he loses. But he may still have one at 205lb where he has ventured before. A loss may hit his stock and decrease it by a few margins, but not enough that will be detrimental to billing the fight as an MMA spectacle. In all honesty, who does not believe that one victory at light-heavyweight would rocket him into a UFC Light-Heavyweight title shot? This would make more sense if Jon Jones retains his title in the upcoming months. Then it becomes superfight talk all of again; Silva maintains his market appeal.
It is too hard to say what will become of Anderson Silva after this fight with Chris Weidman. However, enough can be said that he loves the sport enough to continue pursuing higher goals. That should be enough for any fan to continue to root for the Brazilian. We have to remember that although we were treated to years of dominance from the former champion, that he is still only human. And with a pivotal fight taking place this weekend, Silva will prove whether those unfortunate statements ring false or more true.
UFC 168 By The Numbers: Anderson Silva
Follow Christopher “sLapDatSuCKa” Jester on Twitter @sLapDatSuCka
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