Anderson Silva

[sensei8]

Anderson Silva's latest actions speak negative about him and casts a negative light onto MMA, particularly the UFC. Silva remains uneffected by his disrespectful actions, and imho, Silva needs to be more respectful towards the MMA sport, other MMA fighters, Dana White/UFC, MMA fans, and the martial arts. Martial arts teach the tenents: Seek perfection of character, be faithful, endeavor, respect others, and refrain from violent behavior. It's these tenets that seem to be void from Silva, and in that, his misapplied actions are taking a lot away from any positive thing that he's done in the octagon, especially his fighting skills.

Check this out...

http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news?slug=ki-ufcsilva041010

[Toptomcat]

*Shrug*

There's a very simple way to keep Silva from clowning in the ring, and that's to put him in with someone who has business being there with him. It's not an easy fix, necessarily, but it is a simple one.

[GeoGiant]

Ditto.

Professional in the ring or kid on the play ground, there is only one way to shut someones trap. I agree that I don't want to see the UFC turn into WWE but you can"t mandate respect.

[quinteros1963]

I don't understand why people talk about Silva. He is a fighter, why would he engage a BJJ guy (5X world champ) on the ground? You take away your opponents best weapon, which he did. So he toyed with the guy, so he stayed away from him when he had the fight in the bag. Was it fun to watch? No not at all but he did what he needed to do to win. The bottom line is that he is the best fighter in the UFC, and for some reason many can't stand the guy. BTW those were not his latest actions. In his last fight vs Sonnen you will see him kneel and bow to his last opponent (nothing but respect). I am honestly starting to think that some hate the guy because as of late he has been somewhat untouchable. I think he is great and will continue to support him.

[tonydee]

I don't normally follow UFC (or any martial sports), but your post got me curious. I watched the fight without sound, so whatever verbal comments were being made are not factored into my impression. From my perspective, it was an interesting fight. It did make the jujitsu fighter look silly - in combination with previous BJJ wins it shows very clearly that neither standup nor ground fighting is a sure-fire way to win, and the better fighter will work out a way to apply his techniques and protect himself.

I was also interested to see that after Silva made a big display of challenging Maia to go toe to toe, he wasn't so lost in his bravado, or sincere in his mischeivous challenge, that he felt the need to stay there when Maia did eventually get up the gumption to try to close. I expected him to stick it out and start doing some serious damage, but instead he let it play out in points. And was that purely teasing and contempt, or was it also a reasonable sports tactic, in that going toe-to-toe may have given Maia some takedown opportunities? That's the difference between sport and fighting... if someone can dance around and let the clock expire without even fighting properly, as a tactic to win, then while it may be unsporting it's - IMHO - a reflection of the limitations of the rules and sport as much as the participants. Taekwondo has similar problems getting fighters to engage in a meaningful way. Martial arts sets a higher challenge - perfection - and while someone may act as Silva did to illustrate larger issues for the opponents long-term benefit, only someone insincere in their training would think that a "points" win is any kind of win for a martial artist. Anyway, I hope Maia takes on the challenge of improving his skills so he can make a better fight of it next time - quite a reality check for him I'd imagine.

Cheers,

Tony

[quinteros1963]

Wondering what your thoughts were on Anderson's last to fights? I still don't see where or when he has been disrespectful. His last two outings have shown that he is a great mixed martial artist. Some of his actions are purely promotional in nature.

[sensei8]

Wondering what your thoughts were on Anderson's last to fights? I still don't see where or when he has been disrespectful. His last two outings have shown that he is a great mixed martial artist. Some of his actions are purely promotional in nature.

Yeah, that's his problem, imho. Showboating has it's place, but not in a martial arts venue. Shouldn't we respect our opponent whether one wins or losses? Yes, imho!! Forget for a moment that it's in a martial arts venue; it's still an act of unsportsmanship, imho!!

Edited February 15, 2011 by sensei8

[MasterPain]

Unfortunately, television must appeal to the lowest common denominator. To keep people paying, someone has to behave badly. If the Ultimate Fighter program focused on training and fights, it would be a fun show. Instead the focus is on grown men acting like spoiled juveniles, oh and there's a fight at the end. I believe half of the idiocy is put on because Dana White understands his target demographic is the unwashed masses, not a select few cultured martial art enthusiasts.

In the words of a great philosopher of my time, Dave Mustain, "Peace sells but who's buyin?"

[bushido_man96]

That's true. I believe the Greeks even knew this when they had fights in the Collusieum. Pit fighters also learned to entertain a bit when they fought, and fights were often unbalanced to make them interesting.

[MasterPain]

That's true. I believe the Greeks even knew this when they had fights in the Collusieum. Pit fighters also learned to entertain a bit when they fought, and fights were often unbalanced to make them interesting.

I think you mean the Romans, but they did take much of their culture from the Greeks.

They invented the pro wrestling gimmicks. The guys with the net and trident were supposed to be Atlantans.