UFC 148: Is Anderson Silva Human?

Who’s the baddest other-worldly slayer of mortals in the universe? Superman? Predator? Alien?

Or is it Anderson Silva? 

Since falling victim to one of the most highlighted submissions in MMA history, Anderson Silva has gone on a historic tear, winning 17 straight fights (DQ loss to Yushin Okami excluded) against his division’s best.  

That embarrassing defeat was eight years ago in Pride against the unheralded Ryo Chonan. Silva was a different fighter then. A feared striker but not much more than that, Silva would take that defeat and channel it into the greatest championship run in UFC history. 

He’s won 14 straight in the Octagon, including nine title defenses. To say that nine title defenses is merely a record is to minimize the severity of it. The previous record was five, which was considered a lot for a long time. Silva isn’t just raising the bar. He’s redefining the phrase.

Simply put, Anderson Silva is just operating on a more advanced channel than everyone else.  

His two bizarre decisions against Demian Maia and Thales Letes aside, Silva has finished every opponent he’s faced in the UFC and in devastating fashion, no less. He was kind enough to give Rich Franklin a free nose job. He earned the pride of Sensei Seagal by knocking Vitor Belfort into next year with a front kick. And what he did to Forrest Griffin was just wrong and should never be spoken of again.  

Silva is so tough he'll even get on stage and lip synch to Justin Bieber. No, seriously. Check out the video for yourself. In a weird way it actually makes Silva more terrifying.

The guy is a horror, a genetically engineered fighting specimen. Long and lean with incredible speed and athleticism, Silva also possesses deceptive power. It’s a lethal combination that makes me question his planetary origin.  

The ease with which he dispatches most of his opponents is actually eerie. And you can tell when his kill switch goes on. Once he calibrates the distance between his fists and his foe’s chin, he gets a serious look in his eyes, starts spinning those fists and then it’s just a matter of time before someone experiences some pain. 

He doesn’t even get cut. If he did, he would probably confirm these suspicions by bleeding a mix of space goo and machine parts.  

It’s an inhuman scenario. Even Superman had a weakness—kryptonite. Silva’s ostensible weakness—wrestling—hasn’t really been much of a detriment. He’s beaten a two time Olympian in Dan Henderson and an Olympic alternate in Chael Sonnen.  

If Silva defeats Sonnen again at UFC 148, I’m half-expecting him to levitate above the Octagon while Dana White and Joe Rogan gesture wildly and yell, “The power of Christ compels you,” over and over again.  

Maybe those fictitious monsters and superheroes can give Silva a run for his money, because there certainly aren’t many humans who have. And after UFC 148, when he demolishes Chael Sonnen, any doubt that may have been born after their first fight will be put to rest.

Human or not, Anderson Silva is the baddest fighter in the universe.