UFC 101: Anderson Silva Schools Forrest Griffin; What's Next for Both Fighters

It was an absolute massacre, but ultimately, it should have been expected.

I said before the fight, that for Forrest Griffin to beat Anderson Silva, he would have to employ a strategy that he had never used before, and execute it to perfection.

Instead, Forrest tried to do what he always does, and it was predictably a disaster.

Forrest was not simply dominated, he was humiliated and embarrassed to the point that Forrest literally ran to the locker rooms after the fight before Bruce Buffer was able to announce the official decision.

This win will probably put Anderson Silva back at the top of most pound-for-pound rankings, and will have large and lasting repercussions for the UFC.

After such a highly publicized and embarrassing execution, it seems clear that Forrest Griffin will never again contend for a UFC title.

But aside from that, the UFC may well have just lost some credibility for one of it's most-marketable and popular champions. Forrest still should have a lot of good fights left in him, but he probably lost a lot of the credibility that he gained by defeating Rampage Jackson.

It will be interesting to see how the UFC markets Griffin in the future.

Also, while before there was some interest in a matchup between Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre, now much of the interest for Anderson Silva will be at the 205 lb class.

Despite the magnitude of the blowout, I do think that to some degree, the meaning of Anderson's victory and Forrest's defeat are both being over-emphasized.

Forrest was clearly outclassed by Anderson, but that does not mean Forrest is as terrible of a fighter as some people may now think.

More than anything, Anderson Silva is just a terrible stylistic matchup for Forrest, because Anderson Silva is better at everything that Forrest Griffin is good at.

Forrest Griffin can still put on competitive and exciting bouts with most of the elite fighters at 205.

And while Anderson Silva's victory is impressive, there are still other exciting challenges for him outside of Lyoto Machida.

Right now, Anderson Silva is far superior in striking technique to almost any fighter in the UFC. But he can still be beaten by a good stylistic matchup.

To beat Anderson Silva, a fighter must wage assymetric warfare.

There are plenty of good wrestlers who can use the threat of takedowns to prevent Anderson from unleashing his full arsenal.

And while Anderson will be favored against almost anyone, a good wrestler with either powerful punches, or a rock-solid topgame is much more likely to defeat Anderson than Forrest ever was.

So while Anderson deserves most of the accolades he will receive, it is still a little bit soon to be calling him unbeatable.