- Joined
- Jun 16, 2014
- Messages
- 6,775
- Reaction score
- 685
The bad:
[1] Anderson's chin has gone. This is hardly surprising given his age. But it was apparent here and in the Weidman fights. Anderson is aware of it, too. He got dropped by a soft puncher like Bisping. He used to laugh even when being cracked by hard punches.
[2] His offensive reflexes have declined. Anderson still looked pretty quick (head movement still good enough to clown, lateral movement, etc) but his speed is not what it was. Again, given his age this is not a surprise. What was particularly striking was that he didn't appear to be able to find openings for offence for the vast majority of this fight. The old Anderson would have found way more openings - and probably with ease. Here, he couldn't go from observe-orient-decide-act with the speed, and lethality, that was his signature.
[3] His trademark boxing skill has evaporated. Anderson did land some good punches, but these were rarely technically sound. His punching looked wild and sloppy. This is another indication of his age - it could even be discerned manifesting itself in the second Sonnen fight. The last time we saw brilliant boxing was against Okami.
[4] As in the Diaz bout (and the second Weidman fight) his clinch entry and control skills have declined. Anderson has tried to get the muay thai clinch repeatedly against Diaz, and was simply shrugged off. Not the same man who was murdering people in the clinch.
The good:
[1] Despite slowing down, Anderson still has good head movement and reflexes is thus able to avoid the vast majority of his opponent's offence, whether thrown from range (head kicks) or in close (even ducking punches while laid against the fence).
[2] In bursts, Anderson is still very dangerous. He can still use creativity and ultra-violence when he sees an opening that his declining reflexes can take advantage of. This fight demonstrated that clearly. Most fighters would have been stopped by the little offence that Anderson did land - credit to Bisping for pushing through. Anderson was able to show beautiful precision at times - just not with his hands.
[3] Overall, for a forty-year old, it was a pretty amazing performance even though I think Bisping deservedly got the nod.
Summary
Anderson should probably retire. I have little doubt that the Silva who turned up tonight can defeat most of the roster, but he is too old to defeat the elite.
From a technical perspective, what struck me most was that when Anderson led, Bisping did not like it and Anderson always did damage. Silva just did so little leading. He spent most of the fight looking to counter, as always, but doesn't have the reflexes to do it anymore and he gave away rounds. If Silva had been more proactive I sense he would have won the fight, because Bisping was very uncomfortable, and got caught hard, whenever Anderson came at him. Silva's power advantage should have been enough to win rounds through damage if he spent less time ineffectually looking to counter.
Poor game planning by Silva in that respect. But what a determined, gutsy, patient and measured performance by Bisping to edge the fight. He deserved it.
[1] Anderson's chin has gone. This is hardly surprising given his age. But it was apparent here and in the Weidman fights. Anderson is aware of it, too. He got dropped by a soft puncher like Bisping. He used to laugh even when being cracked by hard punches.
[2] His offensive reflexes have declined. Anderson still looked pretty quick (head movement still good enough to clown, lateral movement, etc) but his speed is not what it was. Again, given his age this is not a surprise. What was particularly striking was that he didn't appear to be able to find openings for offence for the vast majority of this fight. The old Anderson would have found way more openings - and probably with ease. Here, he couldn't go from observe-orient-decide-act with the speed, and lethality, that was his signature.
[3] His trademark boxing skill has evaporated. Anderson did land some good punches, but these were rarely technically sound. His punching looked wild and sloppy. This is another indication of his age - it could even be discerned manifesting itself in the second Sonnen fight. The last time we saw brilliant boxing was against Okami.
[4] As in the Diaz bout (and the second Weidman fight) his clinch entry and control skills have declined. Anderson has tried to get the muay thai clinch repeatedly against Diaz, and was simply shrugged off. Not the same man who was murdering people in the clinch.
The good:
[1] Despite slowing down, Anderson still has good head movement and reflexes is thus able to avoid the vast majority of his opponent's offence, whether thrown from range (head kicks) or in close (even ducking punches while laid against the fence).
[2] In bursts, Anderson is still very dangerous. He can still use creativity and ultra-violence when he sees an opening that his declining reflexes can take advantage of. This fight demonstrated that clearly. Most fighters would have been stopped by the little offence that Anderson did land - credit to Bisping for pushing through. Anderson was able to show beautiful precision at times - just not with his hands.
[3] Overall, for a forty-year old, it was a pretty amazing performance even though I think Bisping deservedly got the nod.
Summary
Anderson should probably retire. I have little doubt that the Silva who turned up tonight can defeat most of the roster, but he is too old to defeat the elite.
From a technical perspective, what struck me most was that when Anderson led, Bisping did not like it and Anderson always did damage. Silva just did so little leading. He spent most of the fight looking to counter, as always, but doesn't have the reflexes to do it anymore and he gave away rounds. If Silva had been more proactive I sense he would have won the fight, because Bisping was very uncomfortable, and got caught hard, whenever Anderson came at him. Silva's power advantage should have been enough to win rounds through damage if he spent less time ineffectually looking to counter.
Poor game planning by Silva in that respect. But what a determined, gutsy, patient and measured performance by Bisping to edge the fight. He deserved it.
