Weighing in on Anderson Silva's Top Pound-For-Pound Fighter Debate

For what seems like years, Dana White has been declaring that Anderson Silva is the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet.

Yet recently there have been so many dominant performances by other pound-for-pound fighters, that the debate has once again been blown wide open.

In my previous segments, I looked at the P4P cases that could be made for Miguel Torres and Lyoto Machida.  This week, we look at "The Spider," again, using my criteria of results, skill set, and beatability.

Results

Recently, Silva has taken a lot of flak for what have been labeled as lackluster performances.  Yet despite his seeming lack of killer-instinct in those fights, I don't think that Anderson has gotten a fair shake.

In my opinion, he would likely have finished the fight with Patrick Cote were it not stopped due to a leg injury, which was likely exacerbated by Silva's brutal leg kicks.

The Thales Leites fight was perhaps not very exciting to watch, but by the end of it, it became clear that Thales simply had no answer for Silva.  In that way, Silva actually fought the perfect fight.

If anything, the Leites fight shows how much Anderson has matured as a fighter since the days when he was getting taken down and beaten up by Ryo Chonan and Daiju Takase.

And while he has been taken down by Henderson, and was in danger against Lutter, he rebounded with second round finishes in both fights.

During the rest of Silva's UFC career, he has simply been an unstoppable juggernaut.

Next Page: The Skill Set

The Skill Set

Anderson is quite simply the most dominant striker in MMA.

He controls his distance very well, employing his huge reach, and he has excellent timing.  The imminent threat of total annihilation is enough to make most fighters think twice about shooting in for a takedown.

His kicks and punches are lightning fast, and his movement is superb, allowing him to inflict massive damage, while taking virtually none.  Yet when he has been hit, he has seemed almost unfazed.

In the clinch, Anderson has unleashed some of the most vicious knees in MMA history.  If you need a refresher, as Rich Franklin, Chris Leben, Jorge Rivera, or Carlos Newton.

Actually, don't ask Rich Franklin.  Any memories left in his head of those incidents would be excruciating to re-live.

On the ground, Anderson Silva makes effective use of his BJJ black belt.  Recently, he has done a good job of taking very little damage off of his back, while being able to get to his feet.

And when Anderson gets on top, his offensive BJJ is outstanding, and is backed up by some of the most effective ground-and-pound in the business...IF Anderson chooses to employ it.

If Anderson does lack in any area, it is in wrestling.  While Leites was unable to take Silva down, Dan Henderson, and Travis Lutter were able to have some success, as did other fighters like Ryo Chonan and Daiju Takase in the more-distant past.

Next Page: Beatability, The Verdict

Beatability

What fighter can beat Anderson Silva?

It seems almost ludicrous to think that any other striker in the middleweight division would have anything more than a puncher's chance, so let's look at the grapplers.

Travis Lutter almost did, if he had not been careless with an early armbar attempt. Later he gassed out and was defeated by triangle.

Dan Henderson won a round before getting smashed on the feet, and then submitted. After re-watching the fight, it is clear that Henderson made some crucial mistakes.

In the second round, he landed a few big punches, before getting caught by a few punches himself.  Instead of clinching, shooting, or re-establishing his distance, a wobbly Henderson kept swinging for the fences, and looking to land "the big right hand."

Even then, he almost made it to the third round on even terms.

If Henderson is able to execute an effective gameplan, employing his Greco clinch and top-position control to wear Anderson down, he stands a good chance of winning a decision.

Furthermore, if he is able to wrestle with Anderson and drag him down into the later rounds, he might be able to slow Anderson down enough to level the playing field in the striking department.

Georges St. Pierre might also stand a chance.

Were GSP to find some success with takedowns, he has some weapons that aren't even available to Henderson.

Unlike Henderson, GSP has a crushing BJJ top game, and nearly unmatched guard-passing skills.  GSP would not simply lie in Silva's guard like Henderson.

And unlike Thales Leites, GSP might be able to use ground and pound, as well as wrestling, in order to advance position.

Finally, unlike Hendo, GSP fights with incredible discipline and follows his strategy.

Aside from these fighters, other well-rounded fighters with good wrestling skills would also stand a chance against Anderson.

While Demian Maia cannot be discounted entirely, people question his ability to take Anderson Silva down, as trying to simply pull guard on Silva is nearly suicidal.

The Verdict

In my opinion, Anderson's recent performances have still been nearly flawless.

In terms of skills, there are two different ways of looking at it.

1. Anderson lacks the grappling skill of some other P4P fighters like GSP, Lyoto, Penn, Faber, etc, and is therefore not as well-rounded.

2. Anderson's striking is nearly unparalleled, and his BJJ skills are more than enough to compensate for his relatively weak wrestling.

In terms of beatability, I think there are still some questions left to be answered.  Anderson Silva has faced primarily strikers, and has wound up in some sticky situations against good wrestlers.

Anderson still needs to beat some more good wrestlers like GSP, and Hendo again before I'm willing to unanimously crown him as the No.1 P4P fighter.

In my next installment in this series, I'll take a look at the P4P case for Fedor Emelianenko.