Is Anderson Silva the Roy Jones Jr of MMA?

[akproplayer]

I don't hate the comparison, but... Prime RJJ was considered #1 P4P. Anderson's prime ran parallel GSP, who I personally think had a better career.

 

[moreorless87]

Basically your point is about downplaying Silva's competition behind the argument that he didnt pull off those moves vs every single one of his opponents, or against Roy Jones Jr.

This talk about Forrest and Okami being beaten before they stepped into the octagon is BS. Okami was as composed and determined during their first round as he ever was, while stalking him down, stepping in with his jab or working in the clinch.
And with that same composure and skills would have been trouble for most if not every single one of GSP's opponents in his career.

Instead of talking about how Silva's fluid and unpredictable movement (which makes much harder to find a pattern than in GSP's for example), ability and willingness to take a punch, counterstriking skills and clinch prowess are what made Okami - or Griffin, or Belfort, or Franklin or Sonnen in the 2nd - look real bad....you prefer to talk about some alleged moral defeat that happened before the fight...or straight up downplaying their skills, as if they were just "that sloppy" in the first place.

His incredible chin definitely played a big role in his ability to pull off those movements btw, as he often allowed his opponents to touch his chin in order to gauge their rythm and punching power, and to adjust his head movement/slips from there. And this often puzzled his opponents.

Come on, Forrest was caught on Xanax for the fight and your telling me he wasnt feeling the pressure? that performance was fucking awful lunging forward with mechanical left/rights and he was so embarrassed by it he ran out of the cage before he could be interviewed.

I mean credit to Silva he earnt his own fear factor in the cage/ring, he was a dangerous mofo who destroyed opponents for years before that but the Matrixs legend really wasnt a reflection of what Silva was actually capable of. It makes for a few good gifs of course but it wasnt something he was able to consistently pull off against opponent who weren't getting sloppy.

As I said go watch fights like Franklin 2, Hendo, Weidman 2, Cote, etc and you see the sholder roling punch slipping Anderson really wasnt there at all, instead you have a fighter with decent but not really THAT amazing defence who's biggest strenghts were his offencive power and his chin. Offencive wise I do think he has a good arguement for being the best MMA fighter ever standing, certainly the one with the most variety.

 

[Cranberry2.0]

No.

I'm retiring from this site soon and I think you should too

 

[pankrat]

Come on, Forrest was caught on Xanax for the fight and your telling me he wasnt feeling the pressure? that performance was fucking awful lunging forward with mechanical left/rights and he was so embarrassed by it he ran out of the cage before he could be interviewed.

I mean credit to Silva he earnt his own fear factor in the cage/ring, he was a dangerous mofo who destroyed opponents for years before that but the Matrixs legend really wasnt a reflection of what Silva was actually capable of. It makes for a few good gifs of course but it wasnt something he was able to consistently pull off against opponent who weren't getting sloppy.

As I said go watch fights like Franklin 2, Hendo, Weidman 2, Cote, etc and you see the sholder roling punch slipping Anderson really wasnt there at all, instead you have a fighter with decent but not really THAT amazing defence who's biggest strenghts were his offencive power and his chin. Offencive wise I do think he has a good arguement for being the best MMA fighter ever standing, certainly the one with the most variety.

So all comes down to Forrest getting caugh on Xanax...

First of all, Forrest doesnt share your take on the fight, nor on the outcome of a potential rematch. Yet we read sherdoggers in a daily basis downplaying such performance to levels not even Forrest himself does lol. That's called bias, simple as that.
I wonder if you downplay any of GSP's wins in similar way....or instead you take for granted that every single one of GSP/Jones/Aldo/Fedor opponents stepped into the cage at 100% their best version so whatever skill they displayed on them deserve full-credit

Regardless, why did Okami, Sonnen, Franklin, Leben or Belfort among others looked so sloppy vs Silva? Do you acknowledge it has to do with Silva's movement and skill? or your theory is that they were that "sloppy" in the first place?

Were GSP's challengers much more profficient boxers? Or rather GSP was much more predictable and stiff to make them look so out of rythm?

We've seen Anderson displaying great head movement even at 44 years old vs no other than Israel Adesanya, one of the most decorated and technical strikers ever in MMA,.who even he looked more puzzled and sloppier than what is usual on him when facing top fighters in their athletic prime ...but hey, Forrest got caught on Xanax....

 

[moreorless87]

So all comes down to Forrest getting caugh on Xanax...

First of all, Forrest doesnt share your take on the fight, nor on the outcome of a potential rematch. Yet we read sherdoggers in a daily basis downplaying such performance to levels not even Forrest himself does lol. That's called bias, simple as that.
I wonder if you downplay any of GSP's wins the same way....or instead you take for granted that every single one of GSP/Jones/Aldo etc opponents stepped into the cage at 100% their best version so whatever skill they displayed on them deserve full-credit

Regardless, why did Okami, Sonnen, Franklin, Leben or Belfort among others looked so sloppy? Do you acknowledge it has to do with Silva's movement and skill? or your theory is that it has more to do with them being "sloppy" in the first place?

Were GSP's challengers much more profficient boxers? Or rather GSP was much more predictable and stiff to make them look so out of rythm?

We've seen Anderson displaying great head movement even at 44 years old vs no other than Israel Adesanya, one of the most decorated and technical strikers ever in MMA,.who also looked more puzzled and sloppier than what is usual on him when facing top fighters in their athletic prime ...but hey, Forrest got caught on Xanax....

A fighter not admitting his own mental weakness(relative to some other fighters of course, nobody he steps in the cage with Anderson is mentally weak by the standards of the general population) really isnt that supprising is it?

If were compairing to GSP then yeah Andersons ability to slip punchs was probably better but I don't think George was ever that great as a close in striker personally, got outstruck by two LW's fighting that way and then never really did so again preferring to fight from range behind the threat of the takedown. He had good control of distance and timing on his jab but was never that great an aggressive MMA boxer.

A big issue as well is how the fight is going down, Silva was generally a much better fighter defencively when on the back foot.

 

[KillerIsBack V2]

Roy Jones Jr was not only the highest level fighter but he was also exceptionally exciting- from showboating to clowning to taunts. I think Anderson was that guy for MMA. Does anyone else come close? Who's the most like that in modern times?

Roy debut as a fully grown adult Swelter Weight. Won a world championship in HW. dude even skipped a weight class moving up.

Much more impressive than anything silva ever did.
If Cejudo ever wins that third belt, that'll be comparable.
But Volkanovski still gonna duck him. Robbed max in the rematch.

 

[pankrat]

A fighter not admitting his own mental weakness(relative to some other fighters of course, nobody he steps in the cage with Anderson is mentally weak by the standards of the general population) really isnt that supprising is it?

If were compairing to GSP then yeah Andersons ability to slip punchs was probably better but I don't think George was ever that great as a close in striker personally, got outstruck by two LW's fighting that way and then never really did so again preferring to fight from range behind the threat of the takedown. He had good control of distance and timing on his jab but was never that great an aggressive MMA boxer.

A big issue as well is how the fight is going down, Silva was generally a much better fighter defencively when on the back foot.

Forrest himself says that - regardless of alleged mental weaknesses that you happen to only assume on Anderson's opponents - Silva's timing was something he had never experienced before, either in a fight or sparring. His take on the fight revolves around it. You prefer to give the Xanax thing more relevance....

I just wonder if you make out-of-the-cage objections to any big win of GSP/Jones/Fedor/Aldo career....or happens to be only this one.

While you conceed that the fear of the TD directly affects GSP's opponent's striking potential....
...you dont acknowledge that not knowing where the fuck the devastating counter strike will come from - as opposed to GSP's rythmic jab, for instance - plays a big role on Silva's opponents looking unusually sloppy or puzzled....even no other than Israel Adesanya....Xanax or not, man.

 

[Franklin U.]

If you put Frankie's heart into Conor's chest cavity , youd have something close.

But we cant so ......

I see alot of this Anderson head movement stuff going back and forth. OUTSIDE THE WEIDMAN fight, that's what made Anderson so great. Prime Andy also had some chin- even when he was caught, he walked through it. He only had problems when fighting on the balls of his feet with hands down while an elite wrestler was ready to do what it took to get him down ( just like any great striker in this sport would have)

 

[Perrichet]

He’s the Lance Armstrong of MMA

 

[Fioretti]

Come on, Forrest was caught on Xanax for the fight and your telling me he wasnt feeling the pressure? that performance was fucking awful lunging forward with mechanical left/rights and he was so embarrassed by it he ran out of the cage before he could be interviewed.

I mean credit to Silva he earnt his own fear factor in the cage/ring, he was a dangerous mofo who destroyed opponents for years before that but the Matrixs legend really wasnt a reflection of what Silva was actually capable of. It makes for a few good gifs of course but it wasnt something he was able to consistently pull off against opponent who weren't getting sloppy.

As I said go watch fights like Franklin 2, Hendo, Weidman 2, Cote, etc and you see the sholder roling punch slipping Anderson really wasnt there at all, instead you have a fighter with decent but not really THAT amazing defence who's biggest strenghts were his offencive power and his chin. Offencive wise I do think he has a good arguement for being the best MMA fighter ever standing, certainly the one with the most variety.

Franklin 2

Hendo


I didn't search for gifs of the other fights, but there's moments in all of his fights where he displays his head movement/timing/reaction speed. These are just two of the more famous head movement moments he's had, and I was actually surprised that you tried to use these two fights as examples of how his defense was "decent". I do agree his chin played a big factor as well, but to say he didn't dodge anyone who wasn't "sloppy" is bullshit.

 

[Fioretti]

A fighter not admitting his own mental weakness(relative to some other fighters of course, nobody he steps in the cage with Anderson is mentally weak by the standards of the general population) really isnt that supprising is it?

If were compairing to GSP then yeah Andersons ability to slip punchs was probably better but I don't think George was ever that great as a close in striker personally, got outstruck by two LW's fighting that way and then never really did so again preferring to fight from range behind the threat of the takedown. He had good control of distance and timing on his jab but was never that great an aggressive MMA boxer.

A big issue as well is how the fight is going down, Silva was generally a much better fighter defencively when on the back foot.

I'm not sure Forest was unwilling to be candid about his feelings or his mindset. Hmmmm



Griffin actually speaks about his feelings prior to the Silva fight, and jokes about asking his doctor for Valium. He also said that he was unhappy with his preparations and agitations for his previous fights, but feels better going into this one (the Silva fight), despite people's reaction to who he's fighting. Then talks about his road rage that he's had since he started driviing.



Another video on his thoughts before the fight. "They want a big slow guy to follow him around and make him look good. I'm a big slow guy." "It's 100 g's, man, what are you gonna do? I'll be alright."



Aaaaaaaand of course his very candid and hilarious description of what actually happened during the fight, right after an admission that he hoped he wasn't fighting Jon Jones. "That's a bad dude. That dude will whoop my ass." Again, he doesn't seem to be afraid to be candid or "admit his own mental weakness" as you like to put it.



Making fun of himself again, and everyone else who tried to fight Silva in the UFC at that point.

 

[Wand claude van-damme]

Basically your point is about downplaying Silva's competition behind the argument that he didnt pull off those moves vs every single one of his opponents, or against Roy Jones Jr.

This talk about Forrest and Okami being beaten before they stepped into the octagon is BS. Okami was as composed and determined during their first round as he ever was, while stalking him down, stepping in with his jab or working in the clinch.
And with that same composure and skills would have been trouble for most if not every single one of GSP's opponents in his career.

Instead of talking about how Silva's fluid and unpredictable movement (which makes much harder to find a pattern than in GSP's for example), ability and willingness to take a punch, counterstriking skills and clinch prowess are what made Okami - or Griffin, or Belfort, or Franklin or Sonnen in the 2nd - look real bad....you prefer to talk about some alleged moral defeat that happened before the fight...or straight up downplaying their skills, as if they were just "that sloppy" in the first place.

His incredible chin definitely played a big role in his ability to pull off those movements btw, as he often allowed his opponents to touch his chin in order to gauge their rythm and punching power, and to adjust his head movement/slips from there. And this often puzzled his opponents.

this is perfect