UFC 134 Results: 5 of the Greatest Opponents of All Time for Anderson Silva

After decimating his latest challenger, Yushin Okami, at UFC 134, Anderson Silva has all but cleaned out the middleweight division and has proven to be one of the greatest of all time. 

With no serious retirement talk in the air, fans and analysts are wondering what’s next for “The Spider.”

All that is for sure is that Silva will take on the winner of Brian Stann vs. Chael Sonnen at UFC 136 at an event that is yet to be named, but almost definitely will not take place until 2012. 

Assuming Silva can defend his title successfully one more time, fans would love to see a super fight with either welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre or light heavyweight champ Jon Jones. 

Outside of these aforementioned fights, there seem to be little challengers left for the highly skilled Brazilian fighter.

That leads one to ask, could anyone, from any era of MMA, possess the ability to defeat Anderson Silva?

Let’s take a look inside at some all-time greats who could have given The Spider a closely contested bout. 

Don Frye

Besides having one of the best mustaches in MMA history, “The Predator” was a heck of a force in his younger days. 

A former Oklahoma State wrestler and second degree black belt in Judo, Frye was a great grappler with some punching power in his heyday. 

His rock solid chin also never hurt his cause. 

Frye owns notable victories over the likes of in their prime versions of Tank Abbott and Ken Shamrock, and was the tournament winner of UFC 8 and the Ultimate Ultimate 96.

A circa 1996 Frye could certainly give Silva some problems with his wrestling, submission acumen and ground and pound. 

Rickson Gracie

Rickson is one of the most well rounded grapplers on the planet, so it is a shame more MMA fans are not familiar with him.

For starters, the now 52-year-old is an unheard of eighth degree red and black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, meaning he is basically untouchable when the fight hits the ground.

He also earned black belts in Judo and Aikido during his many decades of training. 

Rickson is so highly regarded as a martial artist that Rickson has taught self defense courses for FBI agents, SWAT teams, Navy SEALs, Delta Force, Army Rangers and various other military personal. 

The Gracie family member retired in May of 2000 with a professional record of 11-0, with each victory coming by way of submission. 

Seven of those wins came via rear naked choke. 

A 35-year-old Rickson certainly would have had all the tools to get Silva to the ground and work for a submission.

Matt Hughes

The first king of the UFC welterweight division could very possibly have given Silva a run for his money in his prime.

A former Division I All-American wrestler, Hughes' takedowns were simply not defendable in his prime. 

Through some religious jiu jitsu training and simply freakish strength for his size, it is easy to see why Hughes was such a dominant champion for so long.

While Hughes has lost to Georges St-Pierre twice, he made GSP tap to an armbar in their first meeting at UFC 50. 

Hughes is one of the few fighters with wrestling dominant enough to win fights with the rarely seen slam KO, and his ground and pound has done some serious damage over the years as well.

While Hughes may be too small to defeat The Spider at middleweight, his power, heart and grappling skills gives him a very real chance (in his prime). 

Meeting at a catchweight would have increased the intrigue for this fantasy fight. 

Fedor Emelianenko

Maybe “The Last Emperor” is past his prime; maybe he is just not as good as we all thought he was. 

There are a million and one scenarios as to why Fedor has lost his past three fights after going undefeated for over a decade, but the bottom line is he is still a legend in the sport. 

While Fedor has weighed around 230 pounds and competed at heavyweight for the entirety of his career, he is well known for never cutting any weight. 

Imagine if Fedor had signed with the UFC in late 2007.  While Dana White was hoping for a title unification bout with Randy Couture, imagine how easily it would’ve been to sell a light heavyweight bout with Anderson Silva.

In his earlier days, Fedor showcases excellent submission skills, heavy hands and a great chin. 

While it is tough to imagine Emelianenko being a true threat to Silva right now due to his recent skid, it would’ve been amazing to see how he fared in a super fight with Anderson in his better days.

Frank Shamrock

While the younger Shamrock brother is best known for his dominant UFC title run as a light heavyweight, his most recent fight against Nick Diaz was at a catchweight of 179.

Although it may not have been desirable when he was in his mid to late 20s, that basically means that there is no reason Shamrock could not meet Silva at either middleweight or a 195 pound catchweight. 

So why would this fight be enticing?  Shamrock was considered the top pound-for-pound fighter after defeating Tito Ortiz and retiring back in September of 1999. 

His catch wrestling and kickboxing always made him a dangerous opponent regardless of where the fight ended up, and his toughness was bar none. 

Shamrock is recognized as “Fighter of the Decade” in the 1990s by The Wrestling Observer, “Best Full Contact Fighter” by Black Belt magazine in 1998, and a three-time recipient of “Fighter of the Year” honors by Full Contact Fighter Magazine. 

Silva vs. Shamrock would be amazing to see. If only Shamrock were 10-15 years younger today.