UFC 112 went down this past weekend and while I won't bore you with results, I do want to talk about the main event, which saw middleweight champion Anderson Silva win a bizarre decision over challenger Demian Maia. By "bizarre" I mean a 25 minute fight featuring stretches of inactivity, taunting by Silva, and an unwillingness to engage in general. Sadly, this wasn't the first time we've seen this from the man they call The Spider.
Just for a little background, Silva is one of the most dynamic strikers in mixed martial arts and, in my opinion, the best striker MMA has had ever. Of course, I have only been following MMA for maybe 5 or 6 years so I didn't see the primes of many of the old school guys. But what I know is this: Silva has remarkable accuracy, landing punches and kicks at a higher percentage than any one I know of. He also has incredible power which, combined with his accuracy, helps him score many quick knockdowns and knockouts. His movement is superb as he dances (sometimes literally) around the ring/octagon, moving his feet and head quickly to not only avoid getting hit, but also put himself in the best position to counter. And finally, he has a diverse striking game. From his fearsome boxing to his deadly muay thai clinch to his lightning fast kicks and knees, Silva has it all.
His UFC reign has reflected as much. He debuted in 2006 against Chris Leben, dispatching him without missing a single punch while also not getting hit. His next fight was for Rich Franklin's title, and Silva's been champion ever since, not having lost a fight in over 4 years (6 if you disregard the DQ).
So how do you explain yet another odd, lackluster performance? Well, I believe it starts with Dana White and Joe Silva. White is the outspoken president of the UFC and Joe Silva is the organization's matchmaker. Originally this title shot was supposed to go to wrestler Chael Sonnen, but after he got hurt, they selected Maia to fill in. This is not really a fight fans wanted to see. We wanted Silva to rematch Nate Marquardt or possibly change weight classes to fight stiffer competition. With all due respect, Maia is a jiujitsu ace and poses no threat to Silva as neither his standup nor wrestling is good enough to force the fight to the mat where he has an advantage. The last time Silva was matched up against a pure jiujitsu fighter was UFC 97 against Thales Leites, and the result was much the same with Silva resorting to playground tactics and messing around, even throwing a leg punch in the middle of the fight.
Briefly, I think this issue is a big problem in MMA and one of the reasons I hesitate to call it a sport. There's no official ranking system and sometimes the guys who are best prepared for and capable of a successful title shot aren't always the guys who deserve it or have earned it and vice versa. A lot of the matchmaking is purely subjective and used to build certain guys up or put together matches fans want to see. I'm not saying this is a bad thing but it does make it harder to rank guys.
Unlucky injury and questionable matchmaking aside, Demian Maia also has to shoulder some of the blame. Good for him for not being baited by Silva, but at the same time, his lack of a standup game and his fear of striking with Silva (well-warranted as it may be) contributed to Silva's lack of interest. I hate to generalize, but there have been many Brazilian jiujitsu-based fighters who seem to have either an inability or an unwillingness to improve their striking. While their ground game is still amazing to watch, this lack of well-roundedness doesn't lend itself well to higher level fights or any fight where their opponent can keep the fight on its feet. In the end, the challenger is the one who's supposed to take the fight to the champion, not wait and hope the champ falls into his guard.
But there's no doubt that the majority of the blame for this main event which Dana White called a "disgrace" and an "embarrassment" falls on Anderson Silva himself. I don't really get his post-fight apology or his assertions that Maia disrespected him somehow. Silva said that to punish him, he wanted to make him feel vulnerable. What could make a man feel more vulnerable than a violent barrage of fists and knees? Silva is well equipped to deliver this assault and showed in the early rounds that he could batter Maia with whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. Yet he was content with dancing outside striking range, taunting Maia to come forward. White made a Mike Tyson reference saying that to best show your dominance, just finish your opponent as fast as possible instead of circling for 25 minutes.
While it would help if the matchmaking put tougher opponents in front of Silva, ultimately it's up to him (and to a lesser extent his camp) to get him motivated for each and every fight. When he shows up with the mindset of attacking his opponent and finishing the fight, he is the most exciting fighter in the game (see his fights with Rich Franklin, Forrest Griffin, Carlos Newton and Tony Fryklund for some examples). But the problem is he doesn't always bring it, he doesn't always come out with that same fire that the great champions had. And as he grows more and more uninterested, so do we.
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