Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort: Inside the Fights

What's in a fight?  Is it speed?  Is it technique?  Is it determination?  It's important to understand that simply predicting MMA fights is an inane and somewhat dubious process. People get caught up in how they "picked" a certain fight and that's simplifying an extremely complicated sport.  What's important is the analysis and what may happen in a particular fight.  

On February 5th at the Mandalay Bay Event Center in Las Vegas the best middleweight MMA has ever seen will put his UFC belt on the line against Vitor Belfort.  Anderson Silva had a rough time in his last bout when Chael Sonnen used his superior wrestling skills to put Silva through the grinder.  The biggest weakness in Silva's game has always been his defensive wrestling and oddly enough, it's also Vitor Belfort's most glaring weakness. Neither fighter will take advantage though as their penetration step and chain wrestling techniques are pretty much non-existent anyways.  They use their wrestling to try to keep the fight standing and that's where they both are deadly.

Anderson Silva uses incredible movement and angles to unleash his arsenal on his opponents.  Vitor Belfort uses pretty good traditional boxing technique, but what makes him scary is his hand speed and killer instinct.  Something Anderson is fantastic at is patience, picking his spots to find that perfect angle or perfect timing to exploit a defensive weakness.  Patience will be key for Anderson because if Vitor has you hurt you're not likely to recover.  Speed is the ultimate equalizer in combat sports and both fighters have it in spades.  It would be pointless to debate who is the faster fighter as we don't know until they step in the cage, but as far as just rushing a guy and blinding him with hand speed it's definitely in Vitor's corner.  Silva's speed is more deceptive because of his superior technique and footwork.

The more diverse striker is certainly Silva who has utilized everything from savate kicks to spinning back elbows.  His muay thai clinch is a sight to behold and Rich Franklin's nose can attest.  His leg kicks are precise and sniping and his ground and pound is a vastly underrated skill that is criminally overlooked.  

The big sticking point in this fight is that Vitor Belfort has historically been a front runner in his career. When things don't go his way early he tends to go into panic mode and Anderson Silva is an extremely patient fighter.  There are also other variables though.  Did Anderson Silva get old overnight?  He was hurt by a Chael Sonnen punch on the feet at UFC 117, the first time he has shown any weakness in an otherwise brilliant chin over the course of his career.  So it's an interesting side note to take in.

Anderson Silva is the betting favorite and he should be, but just because he has a more realistic chance, a more clear path to victory, doesn't mean that Belfort can't go out there and starch him in 30 seconds. This is exactly what makes MMA and all sports compelling and interesting.