It seems like every MMA fan loves to talk about the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. We have a great fight coming up on Jan 31. Just in case you've been living under a rock, we are all going to be treated to B.J. Penn vs. Georges St. Pierre 2.
This is an example of two fighters making a super fight happen. B.J. is proving that he is not afraid to move up in weight and fight a seemingly untouchable champion. GSP would have good reason to try and avoid this fight because he has more to lose than gain.
If he wins people can make the argument that he should win because he's much bigger than Penn, and if Penn wins, then GSP will be looked at as a welterweight that let a lightweight step up and beat him. However, GSP, being the professional he is, took the fight without hesitation.
So am I the only person that can see a fight between Fedor and Anderson Silva as a reality? I think most people would agree that in any discussion that involves the best fighter pound for pound, Silva and Fedor are at the top of the list.
In fact these two fighters are most likely Nos. 1 and 2 on everyone's list. So why can't we get this fight? Anderson Silva looked great when he fought at light heavyweight and from what I hear, he walks around around 210-220lbs; after all, he is listed at 6'2".
Fedor is a machine and most people are quick to comment on his physique, or lack there of, and the fact that he is not the most intimidating fighter when it comes to looks.
Fedor is listed at 6'0" and is probably closer to 5'11" and weighs 233lbs. One benefit of being a heavyweight is that your average fighter in that division doesn't have to worry about making weight. It is safe to assume that Fedor doesn't cut weight before his fights, and if what I hear is true, without cutting weight, Silva is a natural heavyweight.
In fact, I couldn't tell a difference in him when he fought at 205 from his normal fighting weight of 185. That's probably because when he steps into the ring as a middleweight, he probably weighs 200-plus, which is not uncommon in MMA.
I could understand Silva not wanting to fight at heavyweight because he would be a small heavyweight but he looks as big as any other fighter at 205. So why can't Fedor drop 28lbs. and fight Silva at light heavyweight? Fedor has 28lbs on his frame to lose and anyone can see that.
Fighters like Couture, Shamrock, Ortiz and Griffen have larger frames than Fedor and they all make 205. What MMA fan would not go to any length to watch this fight? I truly believe that this fight could happen if we, the fans, demanded it.
Dana White, you are indeed a smart man, so I know you've thought about this if I have. If you really want to bring MMA into the mainstream, this would be a great stride. I really couldn't care less where the fight took place or what organization put it on.
Come on MMA fans, let's let our voices be heard.
18 comments Last one added 7 months ago — Leave a Comment
Marco Yanitelli 7 months ago
I think your writing is very good. I just think your premise is not.
Anderson Silva does not have to look that far to find someone that can kick his arse.
Im sorry I dont agree with you - it would be a very short and violent experience for Silva - at best.
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Brian Oswald 7 months ago
Nice Dream Mike, I applaud you on that. Fedor has no interest in cutting weight, never has. And I actually think Silva looked better at LHW then he does at MW. At HW it would be interesting to see how good Silva really is. His striking at MW is so dangerous for obvious reasons - would it be that lethal at HW? I think Fedor would stand with Silva for awhile and then take him to the ground. It is not that hard to take Silva to the ground however he is very dangerous on the ground with underrated BJJ.
The big problem here is that Dana will never co-promote one of his champions. What would he have to gain financially? Dana is interesting in signing fighters to build up the brand of the UFC. Besides If Silva loses then that makes the UFC look inferior. Also, its not just Dana - Fedor's management team is notoriously hard to work with and they could almost care less about the UFC. There is a feud there for sure.
That being said it is an intriguing matchup. There have been articles written about it before and there will be articles written after. Keep Dreamin, who knows maybe one day, after Silva leaves the UFC, this fight could happen! And welcome to B/R...keep up the good work and have fun!
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Anthony Pole 7 months ago
Anderson is a great fighter, and anything can happen in MMA, but no sane person would actually bet on Anderson if this fight was ever going down.
There are too many reasons for this to list even half, but here are some:
1- Anderson only fought nobodies at 205. Now we are going to ask him to step up another weight class AND face it's best fighter?... Isn't that a bit too sudden? Can he even take Nog? His own BJJ teacher? Their videos of training together say that NO, Anderson can NOT beat Nog.
2- Anderson looks great in the sport's weakest division (185lbs) where he is the biggest guy with the longest reach. But dancing around unranked opponent for 3 rounds (Cote), and beating a #4 ranked 2-time UFC Champion heavyweight in 36 seconds are two very VERY different things.
3- The fact that Anderson got beat 4 times, and has lost a round to Hendo, and got punched in the face by Hendo and Cote suggests that he isn't THAT hard to get to. Fedor would swarm him quickly.
4- Anderson's BJJ clips suggest that he doesn't have the ground game to survive with MMA's best ground fighter. Even the guy who gave Anderson his BJJ Black Belt got destroyed on the ground by Fedor on 2 occasions.
5- Anderson is a counter-striker. Fedor has already faced prime Crocop, who was THE most amazing counter-striker in all of MMA. Fedor outstruck him with one hand...
Anyway, I think Anderson has a huge test in the face of GSP or several guys at 205lbs. HW is not in the cards for him.
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david ritchie 7 months ago
Fedor would take him to the ground and demolish him. i think anderson is a bit over-rated, he dominates a division were the challangers are people he has already beaten.
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Robert DesRoche 7 months ago
...? Do you even realize how dimwitted this comment is?
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jeremy couturier 7 months ago
Hmm I think the spider is one of the most accurate and complete strikers around and besides GSP has the most command of his game. Really Cote had no chance, Anderson just played with him to give the fans a show. That being said, Fedor is also one of those fighters with great command of his game and like Silva has reached the point of fighting opponents who really aren't in his league. Both men are in similiar points of their career. Fedor will just keep fighting who is available, like Arlovski and Silvia *yawn*, while Silva will attempt at least to fight the most exciting fights he can. Fedor won't. Let's face it, the UFC is where the best talent end up. All the former Pride fighters haven't walked all over the UFC. They have'nt been that great, but Fedor don't care about UFC. I almost wish Lesner blossoms into the beast of the HW division and starts calling out Fedor. I guess pride and legacy mean more in Brazil, so at least in the court of public opinion Silva wins this "fight".
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Anthony Pole 7 months ago
strange post Jeremy:
-You claim Pride fighters have not done well in UFC, but Anderson is 3-3 in Pride and is a UFC Champion, Nog is a UFC Champion, Rampage is from Pride and he beat UFC's best by KO in first round upon coming over to UFC from Pride, BJ, Machida, Liddell and Herring have all fought in Japan as well, some with mixed results.
-You claim UFC is where the talent is, but according to rankings UFC's HW division is NOT where the talent is. UFC HW division is very weak, and has been such always, even according to Dana White himself, who said those exact words once in an interview.
-You claim Silva will attempt to take the most exciting fights he can, but actually he is attempting to RETIRE... And Cote, Irvin and Leben are hardly exciting fights...
And besides, who do you want Fedor to fight? Who is in UFC that's better than Barnett and AA? Nobody. Nog? lol...
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Joseph Lupoli 7 months ago
It doesn't matter who would win because Dana White is not interested in giving the fans what they want...especially allowing one of his locked in fighters taking on anyone from another Promotion.
The only two ways you'll see Fedor and A. Silva go at it is: Dana drops dead or Dana gets fired.
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Jeremy Botter 7 months ago
It doesn't matter who would win because Dana White is not interested in giving the fans what they want...
Do you mean the almost-900,000 mainstream fans that bought Couture vs. Lesnar or the 25,000 hardcore fans that used to buy Pride shows?
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Joseph Lupoli 7 months ago
And I agree, Jeremy,
I hope that Brock Blossoms, Dana White gets fired, and Fedor vs. Brock finally happens.
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Anthony Pole 7 months ago
Joseph,
Chances are nearly 100% that Nog will take the Lesnar hype, and flush it down the toilet like Franky did once already.
But then Lesnar will "sherk" someone without world class subs again, and the UFC Lesnar hype train will be back on the rails...
Personally I'm confused by the ever increasing Lesnar VS Fedor talk, as Nog is the real UFC Champion, not Lesnar, Nog is higher ranked and better fighter with better recent record than Lesnar. Attention should be on Nog (and Mir), they are vastly superior fighters to Lesnar.
Nobody talks about Fedor-Mir or fedor-Nog, only because Lesnar is big and sells tickets.
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Jeremy Botter 7 months ago
Hey, *I* talk about wanting to see Fedor vs. Nog again but every time I do, you make fun of me. :-)
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Anthony Pole 7 months ago
Personally I don't understand the need for Fedor-Nog 4. They have already spent 45 minutes in the ring together, with Nog landing zero strikes and never passing thru the first line of sub defense.
I think there are more interesting (and realistic) match-ups for both guys, like Fedor-Barnett or AA or Werdum or Sergei or Overeem, and Nog-Mir or Lesnar or Couture.
I'm totally torn with regards to UFC HW tourney. I like Mir, Lesnar and Nog. I don't want to see either man lose. But Nog is a heavy favorite of course.
I think Fedor-Nog 4 would only make sense if Fedor loses 1 or 2 fights, while Nog absolutely destroys Mir and Lesnar. Then they really do have to fight again to see who is #1 in the world, and of all time.
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Dorothy Willis 7 months ago
Once upon a time, my "favorite" Russian goose whisperer had an air of invincibility. He was thought to be "immortal" and a legend in MMA. Recently, though, the last emporer was kicked to the curb by a man from Belgium, and ended up, not a close second to the new conquerer, but a distant third in his prefered Sambo! Ah, could the oft heard Dana rumor be true? Is Fedor the great, not so great, a fraud perpetrated by his multitudinous minions, and not a great warrior or P4P contender? Could he last for more than one fight in the mighty and superior realm of the UFC? Are the Russians too afraid of "real" competition to allow him to sign with the UFC and be exposed as a fraud ala Kimbo Slice?
Well if they don't sign, we will never know, now, will we?
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mike harvey 7 months ago
Not a chance Fedor is a fraud. He did get out pointed in a Sambo match recently. I watched the match and without understanding the rules I would have called Fedor the winner but I don't know the rules of Sambo.
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Anthony Pole 7 months ago
Kid Yamamoto, #1 fighter in his weight class on many occasions, #1 pfp fighter candidate, got tooled badly in his beloved wrestling recently. Is he too a fraud then?
And what do you mean by the word "fraud" anyway?
A loss makes a fighter a fraud???
So then would EVERY fighter unless they have zero losses be a fraud? This leaves Machida and Rashad... Nog is a fraud, Crocop is a fraud, Lesnar is a fraud, Mir is a fraud, Barnett is a fraud, Anderson Silva is a fraud, BJ Penn is a fraud, GSP is a fraud. Nice going Dorothy...
Fedor has lost several times in Sambo before this by the way, and he lost to a great fighter, a European Champion and undefeated MMA HW with a record of 14-0. Fedor has defeated this guy in the past by the way.
And Dorothy, just exactly WHO do you want Fedor to fight in UFC? Nog? lol!
Finally, if Fedor is a fraud because he isn't signing a UFC contract, than is Arlovski a fraud too? He didn't like the contract as well. Is Randy a fraud? He tried to leave the UFC. Is Hansen a fraud? He stated he'd rather fight for FREE than under UFC contract. Is he a fraud too?
LOL
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Robert DesRoche 7 months ago
I sense an air of sarcasm in Dorothy's tone. You never know though.
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Dorothy Willis 7 months ago
Thank you, Robert. As they said in the Bible, and a child shall lead them. Woo hoo@ Someone quit taking their meds a little soon. Obviously, you don't know about my reference to the "goose Whisperer" or you (A.A.?) would have recognised my sarcasm as did Robert, whom we all know is wise beyond his years. A little too much "msn love" here, though, Mister. You should do something about that.
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Jared Leatzow 7 months ago
Sorry this would simply be a dumb idea. Whether of not Silva walks around as a heavyweight is irrelevant like you said he would be a small heavyweight. Fedor is medium sized and to think he could drop 28lbs is probably impossible and he would lose one of his greatest advantages. Take a look at Fedor he is a little chubby but he is not fat, it is genetics that he looks this way not poor diet and exercise. Fedor cutting 28lbs would make him look like Joe Riggs when he first cut sickly and disgusting. Fedor lacking his fat means he will lose alot of his core strength (the man is shaped like a bowling ball) and will probably lose some of his submission defense as well, his fat makes it hard for guys to grab a hold of him.
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mike harvey 7 months ago
Fedor is a very small heavyweight and if you think that he couldn't drop 28 lbs then you are just a fool that knows nothing about fitness. What advantage would he loose if he droped 28 lbs? Please enlighten me. Fedor would lose water weight and might look sickly and digusting, as you put it, until he rehydrated. Less fat means better flexibility, thus better submission defense. Besides that Fedor is very skilled in submissions and in most fights people are defending against his submissions. I really don't know why I wasted my time replying to your comments because you are obviously clueless. I bet you started watching MMA when you heard about Kimbo Slice. I enjoy this website and for the most part I am able to trade intelligent opinions. You should get back to your Natural Light and commenting on the WWE.
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Jared Leatzow 7 months ago
Look don't confuse me with some WWE fan, I most certainly am not you on the other hand probably jumped on the mma band wagon when the Ultimate Fighter rolled around. Fedor may become more flexible but many jiu-jitsu guys like Arona and Nogueira said that his chubbiness gives him practically no handles to grab ahold of when trying to go for a submission. Also like I said the chubbinesss he has makes him like a bowling ball that lets him swing hard with less girth he isn't going to have as much weight to swing behind his punches, he is smothering too his opponents when he is on top so lacking fat would make it easier for guys to escape from underneath him, also when he receives damage to the body it is absorbed by the fat and not directly hitting the muscle. Guys like you must think that being cut makes you a good fighter some of the best guys were a little chubby around the middle. It isn't necessary for us to all look like Thiago Tavares Fedor doesn't even train weights anymore because he knows that it was only practical for so long. Man do your research and watch a Pride or two, forget your UFC crap. Besides I am not the only one saying that Anderson fighting Fedor is a bad idea.
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Brian Oswald 7 months ago
chubbiness is a funny word =)
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Joseph Lupoli 7 months ago
Why do some people here claim that others don't know anything?
Blogging articles is a lot easier.
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