Anderson Silva: The Current Pound for Pound King in Mixed Martial Arts

Pound for Pound. In many descriptions and general consensus, the term means best of the best, being even compared to other athletes outside someone's normal weight class. This title is very subjective and many factors go into determining the worthy.

You may have a phenomenal fighter in the featherweight/fly weight classes who could beat anyone in bantam or lightweight divisions as well, but to say that they could beat any light heavyweight, or even heavyweight is something to look at.

One is left to only speculate on how a fight would go between a 145-pound Jose “Junior” Aldo and a 275-pound Brock Lesnar going at it in the cage. Defining the P4P term as "beat anyone at any weight class" is in itself, a grey area.

Many tend to look at that half of the equation as more of an emphasizing description of skill. The other half is actual results.

Take Anderson “The Spider” Silva for example. He is the current UFC Middleweight Champion, whom many sources with a “Pound for Pound” rating have at the top of the heap, and for good reason.

He is able to be dominant at his class of 185lbs, as well as when he travels to 205, and some believe he could even give heavyweights and welterweights a run for their money. For a fighter with Silva’s skill-set, he is a potential threat to anyone who competes in MMA.

Silva’s sheer talent would give him a fighting chance against many. These traits are what give him the P4P status. There are many other greats with talent, but when matchmaking them against other fighters in other classes, their weaknesses may start to show more.

For example, take a jiu-jitsu fighter such as heavyweight, Antonio “Minotauro” Nogueira. If he were to fight someone such as lightweight Frankie “The Answer” Edgar, Frankie's speed might make all the difference and Nogueira wouldn't be able to catch him. This is all just speculation and assumptions, of course.

Now with Anderson Silva, some believe if he were (logically able) to go to ANY other weight class, he could do well. If he went up in weight, his already long reach puts him on par, along with his very precise striking. Also, no matter how big you are, you can still be submitted, which Anderson could very well do being a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

If “The Spider” were to drop down in weight, he would gain significant reach advantages, along with fewer opponents who are knockout power strikers than in the heavier classes. Regardless of which weight he would go to, one can arguably say that if he were to have a "weakness" it's against takedowns and wrestlers.

His skill-set however has shown that anyone who has taken him down recently can be submitted. Not to discount his losses in the past, most of which were submission finishes, however he is a fighter that has stepped into the UFC Octagon and has continued to climb the success and skill ladder ever since.

Along with this skill set, he also has the numbers to back him up. Every time Silva steps into the cage and pulls out another victory, he is setting/extending records. With each win he adds to “Most Consecutive Title Defenses,” “Most Successful Title Defenses,” “Most Consecutive Wins in the UFC,” and “Longest UFC Title Reign.”

To compliment to his dominance at 185, Silva has gone to 205 twice, both ending in the first round via knockout. He has cleaned out his division, minus fighting "top contender" Yushin Okami, whom he will face at UFC: Rio in August.

The two have fought before, but in their first bout, Silva knocked Okami out with an illegal up-kick, leading to Silva’s disqualification and only loss in the past six years. Just because some sources say Anderson Silva is the best P4P, does not mean he’s the only one in the mix.

A year ago looked very different on a UFC poster from a UFC catalog, portraying the then-five champions of each weight class. Through the smoke and fire, two emerged: Anderson Silva, and Georges St Pierre. Both to be classified as the best in the world, but the cherry on top goes to Silva.  

Arguably the other top P4P is Canadian superstar and current UFC Welterweight Champion, Georges “Rush” St. Pierre. Deserving of top three P4P best in the world, and to some, the No. 1.

GSP’s pedigree of opponents as well as his overall performance and ability has helped him practically clean out his weight division. His last challenge lies ahead on April 30th, when he will face off against Jake Shields…an American jiu-jitsu fighter that has won his last 15 fights in a row and has not lost in six years. To see the preview, visit the event website.

If Georges St. Pierre is able to win his fight, he will surely be giving good argument for being the No. 1 P4P. Going back to Anderson Silva, after his last fight against Vitor Belfort, in which he knocked Belfort down with a front kick to the mouth and finished with his precise strikes, he has once again proven his versatility and incredible athleticism.

Regardless if his undefeated record status gets tarnished, he will still go down as one of the greatest fighters of all time. Silva’s manager Ed Soares said it best...”he can be beaten, but I believe he can beat anybody”.