Anderson Silva: Will He Retire As Champion in 2010?

Last year against Forrest Griffin, Anderson Silva put on one of the most masterful performances in MMA history.

The first minute was a feeling-out process, but in an instant, Anderson Silva came alive when Griffin threw a leg kick. Silva caught the leg effortlessly, punched Griffin, and pushed him away with disdain.

Over the next few minutes, Silva would show absolutely no regard for the striking abilities of Griffin as he pressed forward like Griffin's punches didn't even exist.

He knocked Griffin down for the first time by moving forward, practically at a run, and cut off the angle to make Griffin step directly into a big right hook. Rather than attempting to finish Griffin on the ground, Silva let him up and pursued him relentlessly.

At one point, Silva furiously motioned Griffin forward, goading him to engage. Griffin raised his arms in a shrug, as if to say, "I'm trying my hardest! What else do you want me to do?"

Griffin would move forward though, as he always does, and the results were not good for him.

Silva stood right in front of Griffin, leading with his chin right at the end of Griffin's jab, because Silva had gauged his distance so perfectly that he knew exactly how close Griffin's jabs would be, down to an inch.

Discouraged and overwhelmed, Griffin charged forward one more time, but was stopped senseless by a backpedaling downward jab, right on the reset button.

In victory, Anderson Silva jumped on top of the cage, and stood straight up to his full 6'3" height, and raised his arms above his head. In that image, we saw visually just how high Anderson Silva was over the rest of the competition.

With that image in mind, what are the implications of a possible Anderson Silva retirement in 2010?

A few years ago, Silva said in an interview that he planned on retiring at the age of 35. Well, he turns 35 in April of this year.

Before we get too far into the speculation, we should also consider the remarks of his manager, Ed Soares, who says that Silva plans on completing his contract with the UFC, which has three fights remaining on it.

Still even considering that, Silva could very conceivably finish the contract by the end of 2010.

If he does retire, he'll leave a huge gap in the UFC that now looks potentially much bigger this year than would have looked a few years ago.

Silva has never looked more dominant than he did in his last fight. If he continues his domination, he could very easily tear a big hole in the UFC's roster before his contract is done.

Such a hole didn't matter to the UFC as much in previous years, since the UFC might have gladly traded in Silva for a champion who speaks English more fluidly. If Silva were an English-speaking, trash-talking American, his marketability and value to the UFC might have made him a crossover superstar.

As it stands, Silva is marketable, but serves the UFC nearly as much by being a pillar of UFC dominance.

He is, by most accounts, the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world, and like boxing's Manny Pacquiao, seems to have gotten better as he has moved up in weight.

As a stick-thin welterweight, he was still able to dominate top competitors at the time, like Hayato Sakurai, but he was vulnerable to submissions, and might not have had quite as much knockout power.

At 185 and 205, Silva knocks people senseless and is far more difficult to take down.  Even former Olympic wrestler Dan Henderson had great difficulties trying to take Silva to the mat.

The dominance of Silva has allowed the UFC to claim ownership of the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, as well as the best middleweight.

Had Anderson retired a year ago, the changes resulting from a Silva retirement might not have been nearly as dramatic as they would be if he were to retire today.

If he retired now, not only might the UFC lose its best claim to pound-for-pound supremacy, but it might also loosen its grip on claims to having the best middleweight and light-heavyweight fighters in the world.

Strikeforce's Dan Henderson is already ranked by some as the second-best middleweight in the world. Henderson, or anyone who beats Henderson over the next year, might arguably be able to lay claim to middleweight supremacy, should Silva retire.

The light-heavyweight rankings unanimously hold Lyoto Machida as the leading man, despite his disputed victory over Mauricio Rua. 

My personal opinion is that Machida is currently far better than any light-heavyweight outside of the UFC, but that hasn't stopped some analysts from making a case for Strikeforce's champion, Gegard Mousasi.

What makes Anderson Silva's place in this equation important are two things. First of all, if Shogun were to defeat Machida, the UFC light-heavyweight belt would have essentially become a merry-go-round of champions, and I doubt as many people would be as certain of Shogun's supremacy as they were of Machida's before his latest bout.

If Machida beats Shogun impressively, I think that a lot of his naysayers will be silenced, but even then, doubts have already been created in the minds of some of the fans.

Silva is seen by many as a guy who could win the belt, if he didn't care about stepping on Machida's shoes.

Going back to the claim of Mousasi, many observers feel that Silva is a bad match-up for Mousasi, and so even if Mousasi is better than the current UFC champ, the UFC still has the best light-heavyweight in Silva.

Since there are already powerful forces in play waiting for any opportunity to try to take some power away from the UFC, as WAMMA tried when it crowned Shinya Aoki champion, using BJ Penn's short move to welterweight as an excuse.

The retirement of Silva might just be the very moment that the UFC competition and their backers are looking for.

There are, of course, those that would still argue for the supremacy of UFC champions, but Silva has been nothing less than a pillar of strength for Dana White and the UFC. Losing such a pillar is never a good thing.

The UFC would also still have a gigantic advantage in terms of brand recognition, and total roster depth, but the lead advantage would have shrunk remarkably, all with the retirement of one man.

So will Anderson Silva retire this year?

He's said nearly as much in interviews, but at least some of that feeling could be changed if Dana White offers him enough money.

Additionally, the shocking fall of Roy Jones may have lessened Silva's desire to box against him, which was one of the factors that people suggest made Silva wish to retire from MMA.

I came across a third reason in the form of an interview featuring Silva and his friend, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. It seems like maybe Silva might remain in MMA as long as his friends are standing there beside him, strengthening him, and maintaining his desire.

Personally, as a fan of MMA, I hope Silva stays to fight at least a few more years, because his "ballet of violence," as Joe Rogan calls it, can simply be a joy to watch.

Those more interested in the politics of MMA who are on either side of the fence that separates UFC fans from Strikeforce fans will probably be cheering either for or against Silva's possible retirement.

Of course, there's also the possibility that Silva might actually lose this year, perhaps even at middleweight. But as dangerous as Nate Marquardt, and Vitor Belfort might be, I'm not exactly holding my breath on the possibility.

Here's the video interview I mentioned, featuring Silva and Nogueira, the spider and the minotaur.

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