By Derek Bolender
Special to CBSSports.com
Anderson Silva needs no formal introduction. He is one of the most recognizable faces in MMA and arguably the best fighter on the planet.
With a record-breaking nine consecutive UFC wins to his credit, he has been as dominant as any fighter in the history of the sport during a reign of terror that began during the summer of 2006.
|
|
| Silva has recently been criticized for lackluster efforts. (UFC) |
Silva begs to differ. He is under the impression that a win is a win and wants to continue to move forward and not dwell on the past.
"I want to please the fans and Dana White. I feel I did my job right. I want to focus on my next fight and on training harder for now," Silva said.
Against Cote and Leites, Silva appeared uncharacteristically content in the cage. He was comfortable letting his opponents dictate the action and focused solely on staying mistake free.
As a result, we were treated to two insipid main events by one of the UFC's biggest stars.
"I followed the game plan that I had trained. It's not always possible to please all the fans, but I know that I did my job right," Silva said.
In other words, he was hell-bent on being extra cautious in order to protect his middleweight championship belt, his undefeated record in the UFC and his legacy.
Is it possible he has lost his killer instinct or his burning desire to be great?
According to Silva, it's not a question of waning desire.
"I haven't lost my motivation. I am still very motivated to put on great fights and keep my belt."
Nevertheless, as a result of his recent snooze fests, the UFC has decided to pair him up against a guy who likes nothing better than to get in an opponent's face and force him to engage: Former UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin, who will oppose Silva in a light heavyweight bout in the co-main event on Aug. 8 at UFC 101. The fight will take place at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. Griffin is notorious for his aggressiveness, undeniable spirit and fight-to-the-death mentality.
Not surprisingly, Silva remains as confident as usual going into this matchup.
"Forrest Griffin is a tough fighter with a lot of heart, but like everyone, he has his weak spots."
Only Silva knows whether he will come out and vigorously attack them. Thankfully, the odds are that Griffin will be able to bring the old Anderson Silva we have all grown accustomed to seeing out of hibernation, simply because of his style. That would be great news for all stakeholders but Griffin.
The old Silva was a guy who overwhelmed and physically dismantled the majority of the top tier of the UFC middleweight division, including Dan Henderson, Nate Marquardt, Rich Franklin (twice), Travis Lutter and Chris Leben.
Dana White and company think Griffin will be the answer to the Anderson Silva riddle. They are banking heavily on his ability to put pressure on Silva and force him to fight, and we will find out soon enough if the experiment will work.
Silva is not into forecasting the future though.
"I don't know [about the outcome]," he said. "I can't predict it. We will have to wait until Aug. 8."
One thing that he is certain about is that the scrap will be a memorable one.
"It's going to be a great fight," said Silva.
I never thought I would ever have to say this, but I'll believe it when I see it.
Now go make the bosses look good.
