Mark Munoz and 5 Fights We Don't Want to See Anderson Silva in

Whether you've been watching MMA your entire life or you've just started watching the sport, you know that Anderson Silva is a legend. A very easy case could be made that he is the greatest fighter of all time.

When Silva's manager, Ed Soares, proclaimed that the reigning middleweight champion only had four fights left, everyone had an immediate opinion as to who those four fights should be against.

Since Soares' proclamation, Silva has separated himself from his manager and stated he plans on fighting for at least seven more years. Either way, it is pretty clear that Silva isn't going to fight forever.

Given all that he has achieved, Silva could retire today and be called one of the top three fighters of all time and the undisputed greatest middleweight to ever live. That's why it is very important for each of his next fights to have significance—to remove all doubt that he is the best ever.

If Silva wants to cement this legacy, a move to light heavyweight appears imminent. That means that many of the fights that we don't want to see would occur at his current weight class, where his dominance has been proven over and over again.

Here are the fights that we would rather not take up Silva's remaining fights in his career.

Mark Munoz

Yes, Mark Munoz has looked impressive in his recent four-fight win streak. Yes, he has excellent ground and pound, and yes, the UFC hype machine could sell this fight. The problem is Mark Munoz has not faced an elite striker yet.

Time and time again we have seen Silva take on middleweight challengers who are not ready for a title shot but are forced to step up because there is no one left.

Not only would this matchup do nothing for Silva's legacy but add another win, it would be a bad fight for Munoz. Demian Maia, Patrick Cote, Thales Leites and Travis Lutter are all great examples of fighters whose careers have been severely set back due to being destroyed by Silva before they were really ready to fight for the title.

Munoz has a bright future in the UFC and could develop into the middleweight champion when Silva either moves up to 205 permanently or retires, but a win over Silva really isn't in the cards. And giving him the shot now would not serve his career well in the long run.

Should Munoz take on an elite level striker (perhaps Vitor Belfort) and come out with a convincing victory, he could find his way off of this list.

Michael Bisping

Talks have already begun calling for a shot at the middleweight title for the controversial Brit Michael Bisping should he get past Mayhem Miller in their upcoming December bout. For the sake of the entire sport of MMA, let's hope not.

Not only does Bisping not have the in-your-face aggressive style or the dominant wrestling ability that it would take to beat Silva, his actions would be a liability for the sport.

His behaviors such as spitting at opponents' cornermen, throwing a possibly intentional illegal knee and other general thuggery is not the image that the UFC needs for its champions.

All preaching aside, this fight really does nothing for Silva's legacy, and as much as many fans would love to see Bisping receive one of Silva's highlight reel knockouts, there isn't much of a storyline here.

Dan Henderson II

Welcome to the rematch portion of this list!

With Dan Henderson's return to the UFC, many have clamored for the fan favorite with the atomic right hand to get a highly sought rematch with Anderson Silva.

No thanks.

Pre-Chael Sonnen, a rematch had some appeal due to the fact that Henderson was able to win the first round of his fight with "The Spider" before succumbing to a rear naked choke in the waning seconds of the second round. That was the hardest we had really seen Silva pushed in the UFC.

However, Sonnen raised the bar when he was able to dominate the middleweight kingpin for upwards of 4.5 rounds before succumbing to a submission of his own. Sonnen seems to be the only fighter in a long time who fought Silva like he truly wasn't afraid of him, even exchanging with Silva on the feet aggressively.

These days, Henderson seems to be content to use his wrestling base to keep things standing to land that massive right hand—a strategy that won't be successful against the pinpoint striking of Silva. Henderson has changed as a fighter, and in the case of a rematch with Silva, it hasn't helped.

Vitor Belfort II

A new rule should be instated: If you got hit with this kick, you don't get to fight Anderson Silva again.

This is a rematch that just doesn't make sense. Belfort is a great striker, one of the best in MMA even, but as Silva has proved again and again, he is in a class all by himself.

Belfort got his crack at Silva and simply showed nothing. He fought as tentative as a fighter can fight, often appearing afraid to commit to any sort of offensive attack. His conservatism cost him, as Silva implanted his foot directly into Belfort's jaw in a knockout that will forever be on Silva's career highlight reel.

Belfort now wants a rematch with the champ, shrugging off Silva's fantastic front kick as a "lucky" strike. Fact of the matter is when opponents choose to be tentative with Silva and not engage, he is the master at figuring out exactly what he has to do to put you to sleep then doing that with dead-on accuracy and brutal power.

Belfort did not do enough in their first fight to warrant a rematch anytime soon.

Any Middle-Tier Light Heavyweight

Should Silva decide that he wants to come up to Light Heavyweight to end his career, it needs to be to take on the elite fighters in the division.

Rashad Evans, Shogun Rua, Lyoto Machida (highly unlikely), Jon Jones or even Rampage Jackson are acceptable fights that would definitely take Silva's legacy to the next level.

When Silva fought Forrest Griffin, he was at the top of the heap and seemed to be an elite Light Heavyweight. Given his run post-Silva, it's clear that while he is a great fighter, he is no longer a true contender. These are the kind of fights that would just fill Silva's record, not give us an idea of exactly how great he truly is.

A superfight between Silva and Light Heavyweight Jon Jones would be ideal, but if another elite contender were to emerge as an opponent for Silva, that would work, too.

Georges St. Pierre

Earlier this year, this was the superfight that everyone wanted. Some even compared it to boxing's Pacquiao-Mayweather as the fight the sport had to have.

Since then, many opinions have changed, and this superfight has lost a lot of steam due to a variety of factors involving both fighters.

For GSP, a once cleaned out division now seems to be generating a pair of interesting contenders with the reappearance of Nick Diaz into the UFC and rising star Carlos Condit getting a title shot, then getting his title shot taken away and now lurking in the shadows.

For Silva, Chael Sonnen has stolen the show. Although Silva has stated he doesn't believe the brash Sonnen to be worth of a rematch, Sonnen has made it his personal mission to have his rematch granted, and the buzz has quieted any talks of a Silva-GSP superfight.

Aside from the lack of momentum for this fight, it is a lose-lose for Silva. Should he win, St. Pierre was the underdog anyway, as he would be the one that would need to put on the bulk to be able to fight at 185 or any catchweight. With a loss, Silva would outright lose the title of best pound-for-pound fighter in MMA.