UFC 134 Results: Is Anderson Silva's Competition Overrated?

After his win over Yushin Okami at UFC 134, there is no question where Anderson Silva lies in the middleweight division. 

The victory earned Silva his 15th consecutive win and ninth consecutive title defense, both UFC records. The achievement of erasing a loss to Okami definitely left the champion and the Brazilian crowd in a sense of relief and excitement, as Okami was the last opponent to defeat Silva in 2006. 

So as the support continues to grow for Silva, and the numerous claims as the greatest fighter of all-time is consistently to be brought up, it leaves some to question whether any fighter can dethrone him.

Although his legacy might remain intact following his recent win, there is still a dark cloud that hangs over Silva and his legitimacy as an elite-level competitor. 

In other words, who has he really beaten to receive such high praise and reward for his accomplishments?

Sure, he has faced and beaten fighters like Rich Franklin, Dan Henderson and Forrest Griffin but he never fought elite-level competitors on a consistent basis, nor did he face those three opponents in the same year.

According to Sherdog.com, following his first win over Franklin, he fought Travis Lutter and Nate Marquardt, whose last four opponents had a combined record 70-51 and 87-35, respectively.

After he defeated Henderson, Silva would get past Patrick Cote, James Irvin and Thales Leites, who all share a combined record of 31-20. And following his win over Griffin, Silva's last three opponents carried a combined record of 85-29. 

Obviously, he has fared a little better against his opponents since his win over Griffin, but these statistics would suggest that he hasn't necessarily fought the best fighters, and neither have most of his opponents.

And while his victory at UFC 134 gave him a measure of revenge, it wasn't like Okami realistically had any chance of beating him.

Silva's reign as UFC Middleweight champion will go down as one of the most impressive reigns in UFC history, statistically, but there is a little more left to be desired in terms of his resume.

Silva is unquestionably one of the greatest fighters of all time and while he deserves all the credit for his accolades and accomplishments inside the Octagon, his victories might mean a little more if it came against better competition more consistently.