UFC 117: For Anderson Silva, It's Do or Die Time

Sometimes, it really isn't what you do, but how you look doing it.

Some wins in MMA are overshadowed by how they occur, which takes away from the result of the fight in the end.

Controversial KO wins, prolonged submissions, lackluster performances in decision wins, and even stoppages that occur earlier or later than they should—they can all take away from the fact that one guy won and one guy lost.

Sometimes the criticisms aren't justified, but then there are times when they are justified...

...And then there are times when it's a little bit of both.

Case in point: Anderson Silva.

I'll admit, Anderson Silva is my favorite striker in MMA today. He's a great fighter standing up, and he can beat guys even when the fight goes somewhere that Silva shouldn't be.

Ask me to name one of the best technical strikers in the game now, and this guy will be my first choice for someone who is the best striker as far as pinpointing his strikes rather than let them fly.

That said, I can't say too many good things about his past two title defenses.

I'll cut him a bit of slack on the Cote fight. I don't believe I saw the same fight that everyone else did, because what I saw wasn't so much a bunch of Ali-style dancing, as much as it was attempts by Anderson to put Cote in a dangerous spot. Those movements that are seen as "dancing" by some, I saw as an attempt to aggravate Cote to the point that he would swing at Silva without any hint of caution.

Those movements would have aggravated a fighter that has seen less than Cote, but due to the leg injury in Round Three, it's tough to say whether or not he would have been eventually frustrated by Silva's antics and thus wildly thrown a shot that left him open for a solid, fight-ending shot from Silva. 

As for Thales Leites, that's a fight that many of us wish never happened in the UFC. The fight was downright terrible, any way you slice it. On the subject of Silva not willing to engage against Leites, that's true. Silva should have engaged more in the stand up and only let Thales hit the floor after landing a combination of his own punches.

Of course, if you thought Silva should've engaged when Leites tried pulling guard, that's when I have to question your logic. Plain and simple, strikers should never try to hang with a BJJ grappler on the ground.

A well rounded fighter could do it, a wrestler could do it, a guy with BJJ skills can do it, but a guy who is known for finishing fights by knockout shouldn't try to hang with a BJJ ace on the ground.

That's why Shane Carwin beat Frank Mir. Shane didn't get Mir on the ground until he landed an uppercut to Mir while Mir had his back against the cage.

Silva should have finished Thales off before Round Three, but he should have done it on the feet, not on the ground.

Same with Demian Maia, although Maia could have finished Silva if Silva had let his guard down foolishly just one more time.

Maia hasn't exactly gotten worse at takedowns, you know.

Dan Miller, anyone?

Still, Silva had opportunities to finish Maia, and I don't know if Silva really wasn't able to find his range or if it was something else, but he definitely dropped the ball in the last two rounds when he could have caused Miragliotta to stop the fight due to the would-have-been-busted nose of Maia.

Beats being warned about running from your opponent, doesn't it?

In any event, the past defenses of the 185 lb belt have brought us to where we'll be in August at UFC 117.

The "pound-for-pound" king versus the former WEC middleweight who came from nowhere against a victim of Silva's, and who, by the way, is responsible for Demian Maia's first career loss.

Break this down as you would like in terms of style and techniques, but any way you view this, it's do or die for Anderson Silva.

What Dana White did in response to Paul Daley's cheap shot on Josh Koscheck tells me that Dana might be serious about what he said about this title defense.

Remember, White said that if Silva puts on an encore of the Maia fight against Sonnen, it won't matter if Silva gets the unanimous decision because White's going to cut Silva.

Against Sonnen, the mere attempt to put on an encore would probably steer the fight towards Chael's favorite anyway.

Plus, there's still a chance that Vitor Belfort challenges Silva for the belt if Silva retains it, and there's a distinct near-certainty that Silva may not see too many more fights at 205 if he can't beat Sonnen and Belfort.

Aside from becoming a more well rounded fighter, aside from maintaining his status as one of the most dangerous strikers in the world of MMA today, and aside from not looking past Sonnen, Silva has to keep this fight exciting enough to where, if Chael gets a decision on him, at least the argument can be made that Silva did enough to win against Chael.

To beat Chael in Round One might fulfill the exciting part this time out, since the general consensus is that if Silva really was the best in the world, he'd take out all the "easy" competition in a short amount of time.

Silva might have to knock Chael out before Round Two just to keep his job, let alone his belt.

This time, Demian Maia's not opposing him. Neither are Thales Leites or Patrick Cote.

Hendo's in Strikeforce, and Marquardt's set for a fight in the next few months.

That just leaves Chael Sonnen and Vitor Belfort.

It's "do or die" for Anderson Silva. Do in Sonnen, or die off into obscurity.