Arachnophobia Spreads Amidst the Middleweight Division

Arachnophobia (from the Greek: ἀράχνη, aráchnē, "spider" and φόβος, phóbos, "fear") is a specific phobia, an abnormal fear of spiders.

First of all, I would like to state that this is my first article at B/R and that English is not my native tongue. Go easy on me…

The main event of UFC 97 was predictable and unpredictable at the same time.  Anderson Silva retaining his middleweight belt—predictable, the manner in which he had accomplished it—less predictable.  Fight fans expecting another highlight reel from the spider instead got a very lack-luster performance.

In this writer's humble opinion, the reason is simple—it takes two to tango.

The last two contenders were content (pun intended) with getting a shot a pound-for-pound king.  Instead of going in there and trading blows or submissions with the champ in an effort to take away his belt, all they did was play it 105 percent safe—not a way to become the next champ.

Just to throw in some examples—Cote was signaling that he made it to the third round- hooray!! Leites, in his refusal to engage and his time spent on his back, alone…

Silva wants to make the fans happy; he had stated this time and time again.  But when the other guy will not initiate an offense, what are his options?  Risk his belt and his reign trying to force action on an opponent who has no desire for action?

The short and sweet answer is—NO.

If a person does not want the belt enough to overcome his fear of spiders, I see no reason for the champ to risk his belt trying to make the fans happy.  Instead, the UFC should pit Silva against people who will actually try and take the belt from him.

Along come Dan Henderson and Nate Marquardt.

These elite fighters represent the last chance of this division, in the spider's reign, for exciting title fights.  They will not play it 105 percent safe, they will enter the octagon to do whatever it takes to exit with the belt strapped around their waists.

Will they succeed? I have no idea, but I would sure love to watch it unfold.