Anderson Silva is not to blame for last weekend's terrible main event. UFC matchmaking and marketing are to blame.

I'm tired of reading criticism of Anderson Silva's performance last weekend. I was there and I agree that the fight was not worth the price of admission but the basic truth is that it takes two to tango. Leites brought the fight for the first two rounds and then got tired or discouraged and started flopping to his back in the hopes that the Champ would insert himself into a triangle for the submission finish.

I don't blame Silva for refusing to engage on the ground. I don't even blame Leites for the flopping, I blame the UFC for the matchmaking. Leites is an up and coming middleweight. His biggest win to date (not counting Marquardt) was over Jose Landis-Jons, a stand up Brazilian fighter like Silva. He won the Landis-Jons fight by taking it to the ground and submitting him. Against a solid striker that's Leites' only real hope. Why did the UFC book the fight then knowing that Leites has very little stand up  and inadequate wrestling to take Silva down?

I beleive that they booked this fight because Marquardt lost to Leites due to fouls and they either had to admit that it was a BS loss and give Nate the title shot or accept the loss and give it to someone else. Unfortunately, Maia is still pretty green and Bisping/Henderson is locked in TUF pergatory.

If the UFC wants to sell events using Silva then they need to provide him an opponent who will stand and bang. Silva, like many successful strikers, is a counter-striker. He spent most of Saturday night looking for a punch or kick that he could counter. Leites knew that so he refused to provide the opening.  A lesser middleweight would have created a more exciting fight (Leben) because they'd be willing to exchange with the champ.

If the UFC is going to demand finishes then they need to be smarter in their matchmaking. They ended up with Leites when he outpointed Marquardt and tried to make lemonade out of those lemons. It failed. We ended up with an uncompetitive title fight. It bored the crowd as well as Anderson. If the UFC want to keep trumpeting him as the best pound for pound then they need to move him up a division or pay/co-promote to get a real challenge - Lawlor, Shields and Diaz all jump to mind.

I know that Silva has said that he won't fight at 205 because that belt is Machida's but what if Machida loses next month and is miles from another title shot? Why not encourage Silva to finish his career with an exciting run at the belt of the UFCs marquee division? Perhaps a mohawk would help his marketability.