Prime Anderson Silva vs. Poatan - Who wins?

[jeff7b9]

Anderson really did not do amazing against discipline strikers who stayed balanced and didn't over extend.

I love Anderson but this is a TERRRIBLE matchup for him.

Alex. KTFO. R2 or so.

That left hook is LETHAL and Alex sets it up methodically with the body jab.
And he has stupid long reach.

Anderson was always hittable.
Alex pereira is NOT the guy to test your granite chin against.

 

[markg171]

Also with the exception of Izzy, the fighters Pereira has been dusting aren't better than the fighters Silva faced in his prime. Jiri has zero defense and was there to be hit. Strickland wouldn't be a top 5 middleweight during Silva's reign.

Strickland gives Silva as much trouble as Bisping did, if not more.

 

[JKS]

I would go with Anderson on this one. I think he was faster and would beat Alex to the punch.

 

[nonoob]

who said it would be a "striking" battle?

No One imho during The Spider's prime would have escaped from that wicked position without having a weapon - maybe not even then.

 

[blaseblase]

Strickland gives Silva as much trouble as Bisping did, if not more.

Silva was 41 when he faced Bisping. Bisping was a non-factor in Silva's prime. Age, how does it work?

 

[pick999]

prime silva was dropped by sonnen

 

[Safwan ibn Muattal]

Lol you mfs must be joking

This would not be competitive, especially at 205

 

[NikLuk]

Silva in his prime was amazing. But he never faced a striker like Poatan, and most opponents of Silva were head hunting (which was great for the elusive Silva). I think Poatan would have beaten Silva’s legs up over 5 rounds and found his chin after Silva lost the spring in his legs.

 

[Bowel-forged Stool]

It’s so hard to bet against Poatan. If the left hook lands, Silva is KO’d. We are also talking about someone far more capable of landing his nuke than anyone Anderson faced.

I’d pick a 3rd option for I have no idea if I could, but I went Poatan

 

[GoshiShun17]

I would probably pick Alex personally, Silva was clearly a much better BJJ fighter but this would likely be standing and I never really bought his "Matrix" unhittable image, when people didnt get sloppy he tended to have to walk though offence to land quite a lot.

Also Pereira consistently attacks the legs and body. He's far from a head hunter.

 

[markg171]

Silva was 41 when he faced Bisping. Bisping was a non-factor in Silva's prime. Age, how does it work?

Bisping was a "non-factor" (he actually was in 2 #1 contender fights and another other top contender fight but okay) in Silva's prime from OTHER people beating him. What the fuck does that have to do with how Silva himself matches up with Bisping himself? What, was Silva going to wrestle fuck Bisping in their supposed title fight like Chael did in your mind?

Silva had issues with Bisping's boxing when they fought just like he had issues with Chael's boxing in his prime too. Cause Silva has issues with boxers. And Strickland is a boxer.

I'd pick Silva like probably anybody else would, but wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if Strickland boxed his head off like he did to Izzy.

 

[blaseblase]

Bisping was a "non-factor" (he actually was in 2 #1 contender fights and another other top contender fight but okay) in Silva's prime from OTHER people beating him. What the fuck does that have to do with how Silva himself matches up with Bisping himself? What, was Silva going to wrestle fuck Bisping in their supposed title fight like Chael did in your mind?

Silva had issues with Bisping's boxing when they fought just like he had issues with Chael's boxing in his prime too. Cause Silva has issues with boxers. And Strickland is a boxer.

I'd pick Silva like probably anybody else would, but wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if Strickland boxed his head off like he did to Izzy.

Sonnen v Bisping was a contender fight for Sonnen, not Bisping. Bisping was a gatekeeper at best during Silva's prime. He lost to all the guys Silva was destroying.

Again, 41 years old dude. Do you not understand how age works? That fight doesn't mean anything, Silva was old and shot and he still basically KO'd him. If Izzy and Pereira fight into their 40s their losses to younger fighters wont mean anything either. Let's revisit this in 5 years if they are still fighting. If you're consistent you will be arguing the new guys are better than them because they lost fights as old men.

Aging happens to everyone. It doesn't diminish how good a fighter used to be.

 

[blaseblase]

Bisping was a "non-factor" (he actually was in 2 #1 contender fights and another other top contender fight but okay) in Silva's prime from OTHER people beating him. What the fuck does that have to do with how Silva himself matches up with Bisping himself? What, was Silva going to wrestle fuck Bisping in their supposed title fight like Chael did in your mind?

Silva had issues with Bisping's boxing when they fought just like he had issues with Chael's boxing in his prime too. Cause Silva has issues with boxers. And Strickland is a boxer.

I'd pick Silva like probably anybody else would, but wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if Strickland boxed his head off like he did to Izzy.

Who are your favorite fighters from 15 years ago? I'll do a breakdown of their losses in their late 30s and 40s to explain how they actually were never good.

 

[markg171]

Who are your favorite fighters from 15 years ago? I'll do a breakdown of their losses in their late 30s and 40s to explain how they actually were never good.

Guys who blame every single loss on prime issues refuse to ever analyze how the fighters actually fought and matched up with their opponents.

In your worldview people get caught simply because they slowed down, or KO'd because their chins gone, not because they leave openings their opponents prepare for that just can exacerbate those issues. Especially when they don't even both trying to adapt to their older bodies and instead fight exactly like they always have.

There are guys who just completely fall of the wagon and their skills go to shit. That's some real prime issues shit. There's also guys like Fedor and Frankie who tried to fight exactly like they always did and so kept running into guys prepared for their tendencies. That's not (entirely) prime related.

 

[sylvalant]

prime silva was dropped by sonnen

This.

Silva only looked good against average strikers and non-strikers. Poatan looks good against even elite strikers. How many kickboxing championship titles did Silva have？


Poatan only needs one left hook to put Anderson to sleep. Poatan has the world record for hardest punch and his leg kicks are on a different level compared to Silva's. Even Adesanya's low kicks were hurting Silva and Poatan kicks even harder. Silva's shin would've broke fighting Poatan.

 

[moreorless87]

Guys who blame every single loss on prime issues refuse to ever analyze how the fighters actually fought and matched up with their opponents.

In your worldview people get caught simply because they slowed down, or KO'd because their chins gone, not because they leave openings their opponents prepare for that just can exacerbate those issues. Especially when they don't even both trying to adapt to their older bodies and instead fight exactly like they always have.

There are guys who just completely fall of the wagon and their skills go to shit. That's some real prime issues shit. There's also guys like Fedor and Frankie who tried to fight exactly like they always did and so kept running into guys prepared for their tendencies. That's not (entirely) prime related.

The reality tends to be a mix of things IMHO and not always in the same amounts with different fighters.

I do think you could argue Anderson shifted style across his career, just within his UFC career I think if you watch say the fights with Franklin, Nate and Hendo then his latter run there is clearly a difference with him becoming more of a counter fighter.

I do think that potentially helped Bisping, it meant that Silva ontop of being slower and with a worse chin was generally more passive were as the Silva who fought Franklin would most likely have been in Bispings face far more which was something he often struggled to deal with(Wand and Hendo most obviously) as he lacked the consistent power to punish it.

In Alex case though I think thats very different, if Silva tried to fight him like he fought Franklin he'd been in much greater danger but by the same token the latter more passive Silva would also have been in danger of having his legs hacked down and Alex still picking out a big punch.

 

[TimeToTrain]

Poatan by leg check