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I'm not going to get into the tiny details, just the broad strokes.
Tonight we witnessed Michael Bisping execute on a very smart gameplan. The reason Anderson lost this fight is because Anderson is a counter-striker and Bisping applied pressure while starving Anderson of counter opportunities.
Throughout the whole fight you see Anderson waiting and waiting for a good shot to counter off of, but to his chagrin, Bisping would pop him with one or two clean straight punches and then dart back out in staccato intervals to upset Anderson's sense of timing. In other words, Bisping never entered into an obvious rhythm, and he never over-committed. He would simply back Silva up to the cage and then burst forward with one or two punches before retreating back into a disciplined stance. Anderson, ever the counter fighter, entered full defense mode with parries and bobs and weaves in order to try to goad Bisping into overcommitting like his past victims, but Bisping never took the bait. Nearly every strike Bisping threw was half-committal and deliberate. He would wait for Anderson to recover from a weave and then throw a little pot shot here and there. This is a far cry from the Forrest Griffins and Chris Lebens of old who would commit fully to their punches and swarm with wild combos. Plants need sunlight and water to grow, and a counter-puncher needs offense from his opponent. If his opponent patiently waits him out and throws only erratic offense, the counter-puncher wilts since he is deprived of what he needs to flourish.
This is why at the end of a couple rounds, Silva throws caution to the wind and enters berserker mode, desperately trying to finish the fight or score points before the round ends. He realizes that the counter game he's playing with Bisping is having poor results and thus he is forced to initiate the offense, which is where he is least comfortable. A buddy of mine pointed out that this is why Conor is so good... not only is Conor a masterful counter-puncher, but he is completely comfortable going on the offense and backing his opponents up in order to force offense out of them. In other words he creates openings. Anderson tends to wait for them.
Props to Bisping because the dude gameplanned masterfully for Silva and had the discipline to execute on it almost flawlessly.
Props to Silva because he still almost managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat by improvising on the fly and going on the offense with that knee.
Overall, great fight. I'm super butthurt as a hardcore Anderson fan, but Bisping deserves full accolades.
Tonight we witnessed Michael Bisping execute on a very smart gameplan. The reason Anderson lost this fight is because Anderson is a counter-striker and Bisping applied pressure while starving Anderson of counter opportunities.
Throughout the whole fight you see Anderson waiting and waiting for a good shot to counter off of, but to his chagrin, Bisping would pop him with one or two clean straight punches and then dart back out in staccato intervals to upset Anderson's sense of timing. In other words, Bisping never entered into an obvious rhythm, and he never over-committed. He would simply back Silva up to the cage and then burst forward with one or two punches before retreating back into a disciplined stance. Anderson, ever the counter fighter, entered full defense mode with parries and bobs and weaves in order to try to goad Bisping into overcommitting like his past victims, but Bisping never took the bait. Nearly every strike Bisping threw was half-committal and deliberate. He would wait for Anderson to recover from a weave and then throw a little pot shot here and there. This is a far cry from the Forrest Griffins and Chris Lebens of old who would commit fully to their punches and swarm with wild combos. Plants need sunlight and water to grow, and a counter-puncher needs offense from his opponent. If his opponent patiently waits him out and throws only erratic offense, the counter-puncher wilts since he is deprived of what he needs to flourish.
This is why at the end of a couple rounds, Silva throws caution to the wind and enters berserker mode, desperately trying to finish the fight or score points before the round ends. He realizes that the counter game he's playing with Bisping is having poor results and thus he is forced to initiate the offense, which is where he is least comfortable. A buddy of mine pointed out that this is why Conor is so good... not only is Conor a masterful counter-puncher, but he is completely comfortable going on the offense and backing his opponents up in order to force offense out of them. In other words he creates openings. Anderson tends to wait for them.
Props to Bisping because the dude gameplanned masterfully for Silva and had the discipline to execute on it almost flawlessly.
Props to Silva because he still almost managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat by improvising on the fly and going on the offense with that knee.
Overall, great fight. I'm super butthurt as a hardcore Anderson fan, but Bisping deserves full accolades.
