Silva opponents that would've or could've beaten Weidman/Rockhold/Jacare
- Thread starter yookfarb
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who was he supposed to fight that he did not?
it would be great if your answer simply was a name(s).
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I'm not saying he avoided anyone; I'm saying the MW division itself was weak and favored Anderson's style by not posing any real wrestling threat. Not faulting Anderson; he was just very very fortunate.
That is until Sonnen appeared with the first aggressive wrestling style Anderson was ever forced to face, and despite the end result of the fight we all saw what happened. Then Weidman appeared as the first aggressive wrestler/grappler who was also extremely well-rounded, with good power and Anderson was dismantled like a rookie.
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Why does everyone act like Griffin was some sort of bum one fight away from being the LHW champion?
Also, Vitor was a second or two from being the LHW champion. He dislocated Jones elbow. Only Jones being a complete badass and the referee not jumping in when the arm snapped prevented Vitor from grabbing UFC gold again.
Even Chael almost took out Jones by sheer luck when Jones nearly snapped his toe off.
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Hendo?
Also Juicy Belfort would be a tough matchup for anyone. Maia had his ups and downs, but he's a legitimate threat.
Franklin was very good rounded fighter too, 07 Franklin would be tough for Rockhold and Jacare IMO.
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What about Hendo? At that point in his career he was a brawler and a headhunter, and not a very technical one. He's durable and has scary power, but his style at the time was right in Anderson's comfort zone.
Same with Vitor, and TRTor is a myth. He was comparably explosive and had comparably high T levels in the Weidman fight.
Maia was too intimidated and too limited wrestling-wise to be a threat.
Anderson was great at his specific style, and very weak against the aggressive wrestling style that seemed to be very popular everywhere except MW. Anderson was a great fighter, but also a VERY lucky one; he was lifted beyond his actual station by fortunate circumstances.
If MW had been structured like WW he'd likely have ended up being a Carlos Condit type figure in his division, instead of being considered the GOAT.
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thats harder to argue with than the phrase "given favorable matchups", which to me sounds like a conscious decision was made.
im not so sure i agree MW was weak, as a dominant champ typically makes a division look that way.
Franklin, Maia, Newton ,Okami and British bank robber (name escapes me) were certainly very solid wins, but i believe he had great wins as well.
Sonnen isnt the slouch everyone says that he is, and as another fighter posted, Belfort and Hendo are great wins for anyone regardless of style. as well.
there have been plenty of threads arguing Hendo should be on the GOAT Top 5 list- he managed to beat Nog and Fedor but not Silva.
every fighter has their kryptonite, and Silva's was simply Weidman. its too early to say who is ultimately the better fighter, as im sure you know the average mma fan has a poor memory once someone loses.
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At that point in time Hendo had just ko'd Wanderlei and would go on to ko Fedor, Shogun, Feijao, Babalu, Bisping as well as decision Franklin and Palharas. Stop being silly.
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while i dont agree with a lot of this, you DO articulate that side of the argument better than 99% of those that make it.
the reasons i disagree (since we will never KNOW)are:
1. his willingness to go up a weight division is always particularly impressive to me. no, the opponents werent world beaters, but were above average and he dismantled them.
2. The MANNER AND METHODS of his wins. I love Carlos Condit, but he has never had the highlight reel finishes, and in my opinion no one has. Maybe 1, or 2, not a half dozen.
To be able to execute moves like this at that level is beyond just being a "good striker", but suggests a level of perfection i havent seen elsewhere.
Finishes of this type are not relegated to just striking. If we saw someone consistently finishing opponents with Ramage-esque Pride slams, they would make the same argument in my opinion- it demonstrates an ability to perform a high level finish on a quality opponent despite the low yield nature of the technique.
In my humble opinion, he really only avoided Jones, and while i think he would have lost to GSP for reasons you have mentioned, he was willing to take that fight.
for these reasons, i would put him #2 behind Fedor, with Jones knocking on the door.
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Lmao. DELUSION.
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Here's the deal with the 205 thing.
-Irvin, despite later not keeping at a great level, was in a good moment in his career at that point, he had lost to Thiago Silva who was a top level LHW(and still untefeated).
-Griffin was slow for Anderson, but had just lost the LHW title, you have to acknowledge him as at least top 5 UFC LHW at the time.
-Bonnar fight was a last time match.
SO, that apart, not many other champions took fights up a weightclass in the UFC during their reign.
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Prime Rich Franklin could beat Jacare or Rockhold. Weidman vs MW champion Franklin would have been interesting, but I'd give Weidman the edge via gritty decision.
Vitor already beat Rockhold, and him vs Jacare is still something I'd love to see today. I'm not even going to explain the Weidman beat down.
Prime Hendo would most likely KO both Jacare and Rockhold. Weidman would win against prime Hendo easily I think.
Today's version of Thales Lietes makes him fighting Jacare or Rockhold very attractive in the future if both fail to The Chris, or if Souza can get past Romero. Weidman would pick Lietes apart and finish it on the ground most likely.
Okami and Maia would be boring matches and Sonnen and Marquardt could be competitive but I wouldn't want to see those matches.
Vitor already beat Rockhold, and him vs Jacare is still something I'd love to see today. I'm not even going to explain the Weidman beat down.
Prime Hendo would most likely KO both Jacare and Rockhold. Weidman would win against prime Hendo easily I think.
Today's version of Thales Lietes makes him fighting Jacare or Rockhold very attractive in the future if both fail to The Chris, or if Souza can get past Romero. Weidman would pick Lietes apart and finish it on the ground most likely.
Okami and Maia would be boring matches and Sonnen and Marquardt could be competitive but I wouldn't want to see those matches.
