(Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)
The spider is an amazing creature; his web is an architectural masterpiece of nature, and—as an insect with predatorial tendencies—he uses this web as a trap to catch unwary bugs that become careless and fly straight into it.
In the world of mixed martial arts, specifically the UFC, Anderson "The Spider" Silva is also a predator with a trap-setting, and counter-punching technique.
And in the 185-pound middleweight division, the champion Spider Silva also reigns supreme.
So much so, in fact, that it's no longer a question of who will defeat him in the future; it's now become doubtful in the minds of many—with only three fights left on his contract—if he can possibly be beaten at all.
In The Spider's UFC debut, his opponent, Chris "The Crippler" Leben, was hit with nine unanswered pinpoint-accurate blows to the face, most of them right jab counter-punches from a southpaw stance.
The coup de grâce was a well-placed knee-strike to the forehead, knocking Leben into a semi-conscious state, causing him to fall face-first onto the canvas!
The one-sided affair was over almost before it started, and Leben's counter-punching attack resembled a child in a swimming pool learning to do an awkward version of the overhand stroke.
The Spider has four losses in his career, yet none of them are in the Ultimate Fighting Championship; after winning 10 straight in the UFC and having a couple of them seem less than zealous, UFC president Dana White was left wanting more.
"I honestly think Anderson Silva needs to challenge himself a little more," White said, according to MMAweekly.com. "Maybe we need to do another fight at 205. Maybe we go to 205 and do a fight [with] somebody who poses a serious threat to him."
That somebody turned out to be Forrest Griffin, who—despite being a questionable former UFC 205-pound champion—like Leben is an "offal product" of White's reality TV show The Ultimate Fighter.
Griffin's performance—if possible—was worse than Leben's and earned the exact same result, except that The Crippler was enough of a good sportsman to hang around to hear the judges' decision, then congratulate Silva on his win.
Griffin, on this night, reminded fans of a popular character from a movie named Forrest Gump.
The UFC's proverbial fall-guy regained his legs and ran full-throttle out of the Octagon, and, for all we know, he may still be running.
So now the question is, what's next for The Spider?
Many rumors have circulated, but most have been dispelled by White.
One that is starting to gain momentum, however, is a super-match—possibly the biggest one in the history of the sport—between the 185-pound champion Spider and the 170-pound champion, a fighter who also seems to have no equal, Georges St-Pierre.
Where Silva has been successful at 185 and 205, GSP has single-handedly wiped out the 170-pound welterweight division of any and all competition.
However, unless the bout was fought at some sort of catch weight, it ultimately would mean that the french Canadian superstar St-Pierre would need to pack on at least 15 more pounds of muscle to his 5'10" frame.
Adding this extra weight could mean that one of St-Pierre's greatest assets—his explosive double-leg takedown—may not be quite as explosive.
The Spider may seem to many as having very few deficiencies in any area of his well-rounded fighting ability.
Yet, if there is one area, it would have to be his wrestling; Dan Henderson twisted him off his feet with ease, and, as we know, St-Pierre has been called the best wrestler in MMA.
And it's this writer's opinion that GSP would need every ounce of his bolt-of-lightning agility and ground-slamming wrestling maneuvers to have any chance of beating the 185 champion Silva.
Although it's never been proven, The Spider, in my opinion, could easily cross over and become a world-ranked top-10 boxer; therefore, it's also my opinion that the chances of St-Pierre winning this fight from a vertical position are slim to none.
The bottom line here is that the extra 15 pounds of weight would undoubtedly transform GSP's double-leg shooting speed from a fast .9 mm into a .44 caliber, meaning that he would have a bigger gun, but possess a much slower bullet.
At this point, the actual fight is no more than a mere rumor, but even the remote possibility of the match is enough to make this writer excited.
So good luck to you, my fellow Canadian; stay out of The Spider's web, meaning not to fly straight into his trap—as the others before did.
And also, keep in mind the words of the immortal sportscaster Howard Cosell:
“The ultimate victory in competition is derived from the inner satisfaction of knowing that you have done your best and that you have gotten the most out of what you had to give.”
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