Who's To Blame: Anderson Silva or the UFC?

The ever familiar black and yellow shorts have been hung up for another couple of months and the critics are out for blood. Anderson Silva's performance at UFC 112 came under fire for his complete lack of interest in fighting, preferring instead to fool around in the octagon, mocking his opponent and showing disrespect toward the fans.

If we try to analyze the psychology of the nine-time UFC champion, can we get any insight into his motives?

Take a moment to look at the opponents the UFC has handed to Anderson Silva. You could argue that the majority of the fights on Silva's record have failed to capture the imagination of both Silva and the fans. How many of those opponents deserved a title shot? did they beat rated fighters to get a title shot? were those opponents even well known to the fans?

When a champion starts asking himself, "who the hell is this guy?" can we really expect an inspired performance during the fight? Probably not!

Coined during the fighting career of Joe Louis, "bum a month" is a stage every boxing champion will go through. This has even been true for the great Muhammed Ali. Anderson Silva is no exception to this scenario.

When looking through Silva's UFC record there are arguably only three or four highly rated fighters, the rest largely being no profile journey men! Therefore, the consternation at Silva's unimpressive victory from UFC boss Dana White seems absurd, can White really expect anything but a jaded performance, with the proposition of fighting, Demain Maia, Patrick Cote, or now Chael Sonnen?

Silva is an ambitious fighter wanting fights in the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions with even an eye looking toward the boxing ring. When a worker's performance is limited by closed minded employers, the chances of creating a disgruntled, resentful, disengaged employee is bound to ensue.

UFC take note, Chael Sonnen is unlikely to inspire, there are many worthy takers for Anderson Silva's crown, George St Pierre, the mooted matchup with Vitor Belfort, plenty of possible superfights at light heavyweight with the likes of Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Rampage, Rashad Evans, or even a grudge match with Yushin Okami, these would be highly marketable matchups, far superior to an unimpressive matchup with a low-profile fighter like Sonnen.