Discipulus
Black Belt
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My latest breakdown for BE here. Pertinent to the "biggest U-turn" thread going on right now, I don't know if I've ever switched from hater to fan as quickly as I did with Thiago Silva. Not only did he show real improvement, but I finally was interested enough to go through his catalog of fights, and I have finally realized what a bad, dangerous man Silva is. Enjoy!
Judo Chop: Thiago Silva's Knockout of Feijao
In our UFC on Fuel 10 staff predictions, I made no bones about the fact that I have never been impressed by Thiago Silva. His crushing defeat to Alexander Gustafsson and dull performance against Stanislov Nedkov fresh in my mind, I fully expected a dangerous, well-rounded fighter like Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante to wipe the floor with him.
Oh, how wrong I was.
Certainly, Feijao had some shining moments in the only round of their Fight of the Night clash, but it was clear from the bell that we were seeing a very different Thiago Silva from the one who spent three rounds walking into the jabs and uppercuts of Alexander Gustafsson. Instead it was Silva with the jab and combination punches, patiently absorbing the early onslaught of Feijao and coming back to win in spectacular fashion. Brief though it was, this fight proved just how effective the fundamental tools of boxing can be.
HEAD MOVEMENT & THE DOUBLE FOREARM GUARD
To truly appreciate Thiago's success against Feijao, it behooves us to look back just two fights to his bout with Alexander Gustafsson. That night the cold-eyed Brazilian did very little that could be called good striking. Mostly, he just opted to sling single power shots at Gustafsson, who frustrated him and kept him out of range using his jab. Thiago seemed determined to get inside on Gustafsson simply by walking him down, using his high guard to absorb damage and unload one vicious right hand or left hook once he'd entered range. Walking forward, occasionally swaying rhythmically back-and-forth before lunging forward with power punches, Silva seemed to be doing a poor imitation of Mike Tyson. But the Brazilian's head movement was perfunctory at best and, like Iron Mike himself in his later years, he forgot that Tyson possessed a stellar jab, and used it often.
1. Silva inches toward Gustafsson, bobbing his head back and forth as if to make himself a difficult target--
2. --but covers up and ducks his head the moment Gustafsson threatens him with a strike.
Thiago would do this time after time, inching forward only to leap away and cover up every time that Gustafsson even thought about hitting him. Much like Shogun, his sudden flashes of side-to-side head movement were really just for show, as any attempt to make the opponent miss went out the window once fists started flying.
Though it really is the best method of defense, good head movement is not a necessity for effective striking. There are plenty of very successful strikers who choose to block punches rather than dodging them. The key to success with this approach is to use the opportunity created by a successful block. Rampage Jackson, in his highlight reel knockout of Wanderlei Silva (GIF), not only blocked Wanderlei's punches, but utilized the opening created by his block to land a clean left hook on Wanderlei's jaw. Not only did his block leave Wanderlei open, it loaded up the punch that put him away. Thiago did very little of this against Gustafsson. Instead, he held a high tight guard that not only failed to cover his whole head while leaving his torso entirely open, but also blinded him to the attacks and movements of his opponent. He would only lower his guard to attack when Gustafsson had mercifully backed away, or when several hard punches had already snuck through his defense.
The double forearm guard still made a few appearances against Feijao, but Silva seemed much more determined to make Feijao miss, and then punish him for missing, as you'll see below.
...continues at Bloody Elbow
Judo Chop: Thiago Silva's Knockout of Feijao
In our UFC on Fuel 10 staff predictions, I made no bones about the fact that I have never been impressed by Thiago Silva. His crushing defeat to Alexander Gustafsson and dull performance against Stanislov Nedkov fresh in my mind, I fully expected a dangerous, well-rounded fighter like Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante to wipe the floor with him.
Oh, how wrong I was.
Certainly, Feijao had some shining moments in the only round of their Fight of the Night clash, but it was clear from the bell that we were seeing a very different Thiago Silva from the one who spent three rounds walking into the jabs and uppercuts of Alexander Gustafsson. Instead it was Silva with the jab and combination punches, patiently absorbing the early onslaught of Feijao and coming back to win in spectacular fashion. Brief though it was, this fight proved just how effective the fundamental tools of boxing can be.
HEAD MOVEMENT & THE DOUBLE FOREARM GUARD
To truly appreciate Thiago's success against Feijao, it behooves us to look back just two fights to his bout with Alexander Gustafsson. That night the cold-eyed Brazilian did very little that could be called good striking. Mostly, he just opted to sling single power shots at Gustafsson, who frustrated him and kept him out of range using his jab. Thiago seemed determined to get inside on Gustafsson simply by walking him down, using his high guard to absorb damage and unload one vicious right hand or left hook once he'd entered range. Walking forward, occasionally swaying rhythmically back-and-forth before lunging forward with power punches, Silva seemed to be doing a poor imitation of Mike Tyson. But the Brazilian's head movement was perfunctory at best and, like Iron Mike himself in his later years, he forgot that Tyson possessed a stellar jab, and used it often.
1. Silva inches toward Gustafsson, bobbing his head back and forth as if to make himself a difficult target--
2. --but covers up and ducks his head the moment Gustafsson threatens him with a strike.
Thiago would do this time after time, inching forward only to leap away and cover up every time that Gustafsson even thought about hitting him. Much like Shogun, his sudden flashes of side-to-side head movement were really just for show, as any attempt to make the opponent miss went out the window once fists started flying.
Though it really is the best method of defense, good head movement is not a necessity for effective striking. There are plenty of very successful strikers who choose to block punches rather than dodging them. The key to success with this approach is to use the opportunity created by a successful block. Rampage Jackson, in his highlight reel knockout of Wanderlei Silva (GIF), not only blocked Wanderlei's punches, but utilized the opening created by his block to land a clean left hook on Wanderlei's jaw. Not only did his block leave Wanderlei open, it loaded up the punch that put him away. Thiago did very little of this against Gustafsson. Instead, he held a high tight guard that not only failed to cover his whole head while leaving his torso entirely open, but also blinded him to the attacks and movements of his opponent. He would only lower his guard to attack when Gustafsson had mercifully backed away, or when several hard punches had already snuck through his defense.
The double forearm guard still made a few appearances against Feijao, but Silva seemed much more determined to make Feijao miss, and then punish him for missing, as you'll see below.
...continues at Bloody Elbow
