Every time it seems that someone has passed Anderson Silva on the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world list he seems to come out in his next fight and re-assert his position.
Take, for instance, the recent success of UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jon Jones. With his near spotless record and recent dominance over the Light Heavyweight position some have placed him as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world. This columnist may have also put him on top of that list.
Jones is certainly near the top and some might be able to make a claim that he could be No. 1, but it is difficult for me to put anybody at number 1 over Silva.
How could we so easily forget about one of, and possibly the most, dominant fighter in UFC History? With a record of 32-4 and coming off of sixteen straight wins, is there any question that he is the top fighter in the world?
Ever since Silva first claimed his title when he knocked out the great Rich Franklin back at UFC 64, Silva has had his grip on the Middleweight division and has yet to break. Oh and by the way, he won the title back on October 14, 2006 – he’s been in possession of the belt for nearly six years!
This past Saturday’s TKO over Chael Sonnen is yet another example of Anderson’s dominance and further proves that he is the top fighter in the world.
Not only does he have sixteen straight victories, but he also has 10 consecutive successful title defenses, which is a UFC record.
Silva has also moved up and had two fights in the Light Heavyweight division; both were first round knockouts over James Irvin and Forrest Griffin.
Silva is quite possibly the best finisher in the world; he rarely goes to a decision in his fights. In fact, of his sixteen straight victories, only two of them went to a decision; eleven of the fights were won by knockout (both TKO and KO) while the remaining three were won by submission.
Anderson has incredible knockout power and is world class while on his feet, but some people might forget just how good he is on the ground (probably due to the fact that he is rarely taken down, only Chael Sonnen has had success in that department).
Silva has single-handedly made the Middleweight division look weak, simply because nobody has been able to defeat him and take the title from him. Dana White is running out of competitors to throw at Silva, it almost seems like fighters are cutting weight or fighting above their weight class just to avoid Silva.
Chael Sonnen came close in his first challenge of Silva back in 2010, but aside from that one close call, Silva has been absolutely brilliant.
So this once again raises the question, is Silva the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world? I believe that until Silva actually loses (that is if that ever even happens) he will be regarded as the best fighter in the world. Georges St-Pierre is still up there and Jon Jones will one day be on top of that list, but for now who can really make a claim that there is a better pound-for-pound fighter than Anderson “The Spider” Silva?
Tyler Rollason is a Winder-Barrow High School graduate and mass communications major at the University of West Georgia. You can e-mail comments about this column to tyrollason@yahoo.com.
