10 Fighters That Might Squash Anderson “The Spider” Silva
As we head into UFC 126 and the showdown between Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort, the question that has been asked for over a half decade remains—can anyone defeat “The Spider?”
Since being disqualified in his fight with Yushin Okami in 2006, Anderson Silva has been on an absolute warpath through the entire 185-pound weight class and even some of the 205-pound weight class.
Silva has won 13 straight, fights, 12 of which came in the UFC, and is considered one of, if not the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport today.
His crushing defeats over former UFC Middleweight champion Rich Franklin, Dan Henderson, Forrest Griffin, and James Irvin leave little doubt that he is the top middleweight fighter in the world.
But as great as Anderson Silva is, he did show a chink in his armor in his last fight against Chael Sonnen last August.
Sonnen was a big underdog going into the fight but things quickly got interesting when Sonnen was able to avoid taking major damage from Silva’s striking early in the fight. He worked his own game and wrestled Silva to the ground where he controlled him, winning the fight’s first four rounds by most accounts. In the fifth and final round, however, Sonnen’s submission defense skills were exposed as Silva wrapped up his opponent in a triangle / arm bar combination that led to a victory.
With Silva looking less than perfect in that fight, there is suddenly hope for his future opponents.
Let’s take a look at the top 10 fighters in the world who could potentially squash “The Spider.”
10. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza
1 of 10The first name on the list is current Strikeforce Middleweight champion, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza.
Souza boasts a 14-2 career record with impressive wins over Tim Kennedy, Matt Lindland, and Jason “Mayhem” Miller. But his most impressive career victory came last Saturday night as he successfully defended his title by submitting the heavy-handed Robbie Lawler.
“Jacare” continues to look for new competition in the deflated Strikeforce middleweight division and a dream fight against Anderson Silva would be something that everyone would love to see.
The 185-pound Strikeforce champion possesses among the very best submission skills in the business and has finished 11 of his 14 career wins by submission.
He would, however, have a disadvantage on the feet as his striking is not up to par with that of Anderson Silva (and whose really is?). “Jacare” has not yet finished a fight by knockout. He would need to bring the fight to the ground and hope to get Silva to make a mistake.
Fight Odds:
Anderson Silva (-485)
Yushin Okami (+350)
9. Yushin Okami
2 of 10
He’s made a career for himself outside of the fight, but Yushin Okami’s biggest claim to fame at this point may be the fact that he is the last man to have, technically, defeated Anderson Silva.
The fight happened over five years ago in Jan. 2006 at Rumble on the Rock 8. Silva had dominated the majority of the early action but found himself in guard as Okami looked to gain control. As Okami worked his ground-and-pound style from the top, Silva swung his leg around and landed a violent kick to the face that sent Okami onto his back.
The fight ended there with a disqualification, the fourth loss of Silva’s career.
Okami has worked his way to the top of the 185-pound division in the UFC and has been promised a title shot but has been waiting for quite some time. His most recent victory over Nate Marquardt may be the most impressive of his career.
Fight Odds:
Anderson Silva (-475)
Yushin Okami (+325)
8. Gegard Mousasi
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At 30-3-1 in his mixed martial arts career, Gegard Mousasi may be the man with the most intimidating career record on this list. At just 25 years old, Mousasi already possesses a world of experience and has wins over some of the world’s top non-UFC middleweights.
Mousasi possesses a tremendous overall game with impressive striking and the ability to submit his opponents with ease. In his 30 career wins, Mousasi has finished a ridiculous 28 fights by knockout or submission.
Gegard Mousasi did lose his UFC Light Heavyweight championship to “King Mo” Muhammed Lawal in Apr. 2010 by unanimous decision but has been back on the winning path ever since. Many questioned whether Mousasi’s kryptonite had been found in facing top tier wrestlers but he answered that question with a quick submission on Jake O’Brien in July 2010, finishing the fight in just 31-seconds.
Mousasi fights at 205-pounds which is 20-pounds higher than Silva’s normal 185-pound middleweight class but “The Spider” has been successful in his appearances at 205-pounds as well as he knocked out both Forrest Griffin and James Irvin.
The stylistic match-up between these two would be interesting as both have impressive striking and submission skills.
Fight Odds:
Anderson Silva (-425)
Yushin Okami (+275)
7. Thiago Silva
4 of 10
Thiago Silva is the first truly powerful fighter to make this list as he represents a new physical test for Anderson Silva.
Thiago is fresh off of an absolutely punishing victory over Brandon Vera in which he dominated the fight from bell to bell, slamming Vera at will and taunting him throughout the beating.
Some say that Thiago Silva’s lack of respect shown towards Brandon Vera was unnecessary and unprofessional but is it really much different from what we’ve seen from Anderson Silva in the past when he has humiliated his opponents?
A former member of the Chute Boxe Academy, Thiago now trains with American Top Team and has really dominated almost all of his fights with the exceptions of his two losses against former UFC Light Heavyweight champions Lyoto Machida and Rashad Evans.
He spent over a year on the sidelines, recovering from a back injury, but has returned to fighting now and appears ready to take the step to the next level.
Fight Odds:
Anderson Silva (-325)
Thiago Silva (+220)
6. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
5 of 10
One of the biggest fan favorites in the business, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson would love nothing more than to get a big money fight against one of the world’s top pound-for-pound fighters.
Rampage has been one of the top light heavyweights in the world for years and is a former UFC Light Heavyweight champion himself. His 31-8 career record includes wins over some of the best fighters of all-time including Wanderlei Silva, Chuck Liddelll, Ricardo Arona, and Lyoto Machida.
Rampage brings an interesting stylistic problem for Anderson Silva as he possesses not only one-punch knockout power but also incredible strength and ground-and-pound technique that is among the best in the business.
If Jackson were to get Anderson Silva on his back, he would have to avoid submissions but he has only been submitted once in his 39 career fights. A ground-and-pound finish is actually very possible.
Fight Odds:
Anderson Silva (-300)
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (+210)
5. Chael Sonnen
6 of 10
A heart-breaking loss ended Chael Sonnen’s last fight as he was submitted in the waning moments of his battle with Anderson Silva for the UFC Middleweight championship. Sonnen had dominated the fight, arguably winning each of the first four rounds before he got caught by Silva in a triangle / arm bar submission by the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt.
Up until that fight, no one in the UFC had even given Anderson Silva a run for his money in a fight. Silva had completely dominated all challengers, embarrassing many of them in the process.
According to CompuStrike, in his first 11 fights in the UFC, Silva was only hit 208 times. But in his one fight with Chael Sonnen, he was hit 289 times in their fight at UFC 117.
Following the fight, however, it was reported that Sonnen had tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs (PED’s). He was suspended until Sept. 2, 2011. The suspension was later reduced to Mar. 2, 2011.
While Silva came out on top in the first fight, he has not faced anywhere near the challenge he did against Chael Sonnen since coming to the UFC. A rematch somewhere down the road is almost certainly in order and there will surely be a lot of money bet on Sonnen this time.
Fight Odds:
Anderson Silva (-260)
Chael Sonnen (+195)
4. Vitor Belfort
7 of 10
Before he gets a chance to prove himself against anyone else on this list, Anderson Silva will have to get past perhaps the toughest challenge of his career thus far when he faces Vitor Belfort this Saturday night at UFC 126.
One of the true legends of the sport, Vitor Belfort is currently on a five fight winning streak that includes his most recent victory over Rich Franklin in his return to The Octagon at UFC 103.
Belfort has incredibly fast hands and has knocked 13 opponents in his 19 career wins. Many of the highlight reel knockouts he has had in his career are ones that have and will continue to go down in MMA history.
Although Dan Henderson possesses the kind of power that Vitor Belfort has, no man that Anderson Silva has ever faced has the combination of strength, speed, and ferociousness that Vitor Belfort will bring to the cage with him this weekend.
This is a dream fight that many of us have been waiting a long time to see and it is finally here.
Fight Odds:
Anderson Silva (-250)
Vitor Belfort (+190)
3. Jon “Bones” Jones
8 of 10
The biggest up-and-comer at 205-pounds is the UFC’s Jon “Bones” Jones who will test his skills against fellow up-and-comer Ryan Bader this Saturday night at UFC 126. The fight between these two competitors will likely determine which man will be either next in line or perhaps only one fight from a shot at the UFC Light Heavyweight championship.
Jones is a physical freak whose long frame makes him a nightmare to defend standing up. He throws punches and kicks very well but may be known most for the precision and devastating effects of his razor-sharp elbows.
Jones has only one loss on his record—a disqualification in his fight against Matt Hamill. Jones was given the loss when he delivered a series of illegal downward elbows that knocked Hamill out of the contest.
Still, there was very little doubt that Jones was completely dominating that fight, just as he has practically every fight he has been in. He has gone to a decision just twice in his 12-fight career while finishing seven opponents by knockout.
Jones would be an interesting challenger for Anderson Silva as he brings very skilled striking but also fantastic takedown defense and tremendous strength on his own takedowns.
Fight Odds:
Anderson Silva (-220)
Jon Jones (+150)
2. Georges St. Pierre
9 of 10
The dream fight to end all dream fights right now is a showdown between the world’s consensus top two pound-for-pound fighters, UFC Middleweight champion Anderson Silva and UFC Welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre.
While there is practically no way that Anderson Silva is going to ever drop down to 170-pounds, there have been an increasing number of rumors that George St. Pierre is ready to make the move to 185-pounds.
Dana White hinted at the possibility of the dream fight last week but then went on to explain it further after yesterday’s press conference. If Silva and St. Pierre both win their upcoming fights against Vitor Belfort and Jake Shields, respectively, the two will face off in a fight for the UFC Middleweight championship.
"Georges St. Pierre will vacate his title and move to 185,” White said.
Like Anderson Silva, Georges St. Pierre has completely dominated his weight class since becoming champion, and is not looking for competition outside of his normal 170-pound weight class. It may take months, perhaps up to a year for St. Pierre to comfortably amass an additional 15-pounds of muscle to get to 185-pounds but there has perhaps never been a fight that people want to see more in the UFC.
Fight Odds:
Anderson Silva (-150)
Georges St. Pierre (+110)
1. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
10 of 10
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua may be the only man in the world at 185-pounds, 205-pounds, or 170-pounds that would be the betting favorite against Anderson Silva—and even that’s not guaranteed.
The current UFC Light Heavyweight champion has tremendous skill that has given him career wins over some of the absolute elite names in the business including Ricardo Arona, Alistair Overeem, Rampage Jackson, Chuck Liddell, and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.
But perhaps his most impressive two fights came in back-to-back appearances for the UFC Light Heavyweight championship against fellow Brazilian and training partner of Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida.
Machida was awarded a controversial decision victory over Shogun in the first fight the two had in Oct. 2009. Though most fans thought Shogun won the fight, all three judges scored the bout in favor of Machida by a score of 48-47. One judge explained that Machida, “landed the more damaging strikes throughout the fight and was the more “effective aggressor.”
The decision instantly sparked demands of a rematch from fans, sports writers, and fellow fighters. The rematch was awarded at UFC 113 in May 2010. This time, Shogun would not leave the decision up to the judges. Instead, he finished the fight in violent fashion mid-way through the first round as he knocked Machida out with a series of punches to become the new UFC Light Heavyweight champion.
Although Anderson Silva has said in the past that he would not go after the UFC Light Heavyweight championship because he believes it is “Machida’s belt,” perhaps things will change over time.
Certainly a match-up between these two incredible strikers would be one of the most highly watched fights in the history of the company.
Fight Odds:
Anderson Silva (Even)
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (Even)
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