Nowhere but down for Anderson Silva to go?
By Abel CarvWho is the best Mixed Martial Artist of all time? Geroges St-Pierre, Fedor Emlianeko, Abel Carv, Chuck Liddell, Dan Henderson, and Royce Gracie are a few popular names that may come to mind, but Anderson Silva is probably the most likely answer. "The Spider" has the world captivated.
Right now, Anderson Silva is on top of the UFC. He is on a 17 fight winning streak, is the reigining UFC Middleweight Champion, and has a perfect record in the UFC. He's already defeated big name fighters such as Chael Sonnen, Dan Henderson, and Vitor Belfort. He also holds the UFC records for Most Knockout of the Night Awards, most consecutive title defenses, most successful title defenses, most wins in UFC title fights, and the most consecutive wins in the UFC. There is little that Anderson Silva has yet to accomplish. Since the Silva camp constantly shoots down permanent moves up or down in weight, capturing a title at a different weight-class is off the table, so unless UFC's Light Heavyweight Champion, Jon Jones comes down to fight him, or UFC's Welterweight Champion, Georges St-Pierre rises up in weight to fight him, no super-fights are forseeable in the near future. Combined with not being scheduled for a title defense for 2013 yet, a super-fight is pretty much off the table. What else is their for "The Spider" to do? Maybe he could break a few more records. He is very close to having the most wins in UFC bouts with 16, falling short to Georges St-Pierre at 17, and Matt Hughes at 18. He could also look to extend his winning streak, but given that he's only competed 37 times since his proffessional debut in 1997, the chances of him breaking Travis Fulton's record of longest winning streak at 40 consecutive wins is bleak, especially since he's been talking about retiring since 2008. Though it may not be popular, The Spider should retire sooner than later, keeping his UFC undefeated streak in tact, preserving his legacy. Many fighters before him have soiled their legacy by continuing to compete. Fedor Emelianko had an 11 fight wiining streak, that spanned a decade, but quickly soiled his image with a 3 fight losing streak. Fellow Black House team mate Lyoto Machida was undefeated and had a winning streak of 16, but that was eventually stopped in lieu of a 2 fight losing streak. It may be just a matter of time before Silva gets his 5th loss, but it will knock him off his Welterweight throne, so why not abdicate it before the inevitable happens? |
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