Saturday night in Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil,
UFC 153 took place. The main event was your typical “David verses Goliath”
showdown. Anderson Silva was asked to step in and headline this fight after
Jose Aldo had to withdraw from his main event bout against Frankie Edgar due to
a foot injury. This fight card had changed various times due to injuries and
fighters having to step out and fight on other cards. After Anderson Silva said
that he would fight and save the card from a possible cancellation, it was time
to find him an opponent for the event in his home country. Due to short notice, Anderson told Dana White that he wouldn’t be
able to drop his weight to his normal 185 lbs. He would fight at 205 and his
middleweight championship belt would not be on the line.
Stephan Bonnar, who has been retired, had been training MMA
fighters and getting them prepared for a career that he has much experience in.
Bonnar got the phone call that the UFC needed someone to step in and fight Glover
Teixeira. Stephan declined that offer, and with a new baby on the way, felt his
fighting days were behind him. Then he got another call, this time it was for
him fight Anderson Silva in the main event at UFC 153. This was a fight he
could not say no to.
The first round started off like most Silva fights, slow and
with much caution. Bonnar then looked to be aggressive and wanted to get in
close with Silva. Anderson
was rather passive in the early minutes of the fight. He chose to fight with
his back up against the cage and at one point did not have his hands up to
cover his head. Bonnar threw a barrage of punches and a few landed. They seemed
to not phase Silva at all. Bonnar tried to take Silva down to the ground a few
times. When that didn’t work, he continued to stand toe to toe with him. Silva,
very relaxed in there, looked a lot like Muhammad Ali. He was dipping and
dodging most of Bonnar’s punches. Then with about 30 seconds left in the fight
Anderson and Stephan were clinched together when Anderson threw a high knee that looked to
catch Bonnar in his solar plexus. Down he went and Silva stood over top of him
and threw a few punches and just like that the fight was over.
After the fight, UFC commentator Joe Rogan said that all he
wants to see next is Anderson Silva fight Jon Jones. This is a fight that every
UFC fan would love to see happen. However, when Rogan stepped into the ring and
asked Silva if he would fight again at 205, Anderson response was “no he would not.”
Silva claimed he only did this as a favor to the UFC and the fans so the event
could go on.
What’s next for Anderson Silva? He is already the greatest
MMA fighter of all-time. Some of his opponents may not have been the most
skilled fighters, but that is not his fault. He feels most comfortable fighting
in the 185 pound weight class and he does take on any opponent the UFC throws
at him. Rumors have been going around that there will be a super-fight between
Anderson Silva and Welterweight Champion Georges St- Pierre.
If this fight were to happen, it would be the greatest and
most anticipated fight in UFC history. This fight would truly show who the
greatest fighter in the world is. I have a very good feeling that Dana White is
going to try and get this fight to happen.
GSP has a fight against Carlos Condit in November. If he
were to win this fight, I believe the UFC would try and make the Silva-GSP
fight to take place sometime in early 2013.
-Brett Gibbs
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