Heavyweight Aspirations: Who Should Anderson Silva Start Off With?

The news recently broke that Anderson Silva has aspirations of fighting in the UFC heavyweight division. When asked about it, he said, "It's in my plans. I've been adapting my training, and [I'm] ever-changing to take on that challenge."  So who would be the best fighter for Anderson Silva to start off with?

Silva debuted in the light heavyweight division against a formidable Forrest Griffin. He has also expressed concern over one day retiring, which is a long term goal but on the horizon nevertheless. For these reasons, Dana White would probably put him right in the mix of the heavyweight division instead of testing the waters by having him face a relatively new heavyweight.

A number of dream matches automatically occur: Silva vs. Cain Velasquez, Junior Dos Santos, Frank Mir or especially Brock Lesnar. However, getting to the top of the division should be a slow, progressive growth as Silva has a lot of potential. His first match should be carefully selected, yet challenging.

The most probable fighter for Silva to start out with is Cheick Kongo. Kongo is seasoned in the UFC, which would draw in a lot of fans. Kongo is a massive, powerful kickboxer, so it would be interesting to see how Silva would stand with him. Even though Mir demolished Kongo, it was mainly due to wanting to avoid the takedown. Being that Kongo would expect Silva to stand with him, we might actually even see “The Spider” shoot in for a takedown on this one if he loses the standing battle.

Ben Rothwell might also be a good choice. He is massive, powerful and has a solid standing and ground game. Silva would most certainly best Rothwell in the area of speed, but it would make for an interesting fight as Rothwell typically shows a lot of heart in his matches.

One last suggestion for Silva’s first fight in the heavyweight division is Heath Herring. Herring has as much heart as any other heavyweight, and he’s the only guy to bring Brock Lesnar to a decision by at least somewhat nullifying any size and power advantage. The only trouble is that Herring doesn’t know when he’ll fight next. However, Herring would definitely bring Silva a fight.

Overall, Silva will probably win the first couple fights in the heavyweight division. As far as making a prediction on how he would do against the top competition in the division, it depends on how he performs against the more massive fighters. With Silva’s speed, he would at the very least challenge any heavyweight. However, against the likes of Cain Velasquez, Frank Mir and Brock Lesnar, we might actually get to see “The Spider” get ground-and-pounded. Who knows?