Is Anderson Silva our Ali?
by T1B1ALH4MM3R on Aug 9, 2009 2:14 PM EDT
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PrintIs Anderson Silva our Ali? After watching Silva's amazing striking display at U.F.C.101 i was reminded of another fight.....
Muhammad Ali vs Sonny Liston. The punch to drop both fighters was almost exactly the same, Ali's "Anchor Punch".
They didn't know what they were seeing back the like some don't realize what we are seeing now a true master at work.
After watching both fights one more time it occurred to me how similar Anderson's movement and Ali's were. He bobs and weaves like Ali, then waits for the perfect moment and strikes. If you have seen the video on youtube of Silva were he imitates the fighting styles and movements of many fighters from past and present ( Chuck Liddel, Lyoto Machida, Bruce Lee, Royce Gracieand more .)
I think he emulates Ali's qualities quite well, and uses it to perfect ion in his MMA arsenal. Before the fight with Forest I wasn't sure if he could hang in a boxing ring with Roy Jones, but after this I think Anderson "The Chameleon" Silva will just clone Roy's style and make it a short night for him too.
We are truly watching a master at work when we witness "The Spider" crawl into the cage. As he circles the the octagon before the match he lays a web down for all those who he faces. At this point there are only two options for his opponent.
1. Run and lay down with big puppy dog eyes and hope he doesn't kill you Ala Thales leatis.
Or , 2. Try your best before you got to sleep and look like a man in the process ala Forest "Dana better be taking me ona sweeeeet vacation"Griffin
So here's my question Is Anderson Silva our generations Muhamed Ali?
The punch, which Ali was quick to call the anchor punch, has been analyzed endlessly. Seen now with the benefit of slow motion technology. It is exquisitely timed and certainly concussive almost like the blow of a martial artist. Liston shakes and slumps to the floor. Only sonny would ever truly know what effect it had.
The punch had certainly duped the crowd. The columnist jimmy cannon proclaimed from ringside that "it wouldn’t have dented a grape…" the audience became convinced the fight was fixed a view that became popular over the following months.
The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Bloody Elbow readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloody Elbow editors or staff.
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Trying to see.
Disintegration -- I'm taking it in stride.
by Eugene Schelfaut on Aug 9, 2009 2:38 PM EDT up reply actions
I might have edited out some text.
Disintegration -- I'm taking it in stride.
by Eugene Schelfaut on Aug 9, 2009 2:45 PM EDT up reply actions
Thank you very much! i was hoping i didn’t get the fail award from weox3 again!
by T1B1ALH4MM3R on Aug 10, 2009 4:35 AM EDT up reply actions
Not sure how anyone can say no after last night, Silva is to MMA what Ali was to Boxing. I would like to hear an opposing argument.
"You guys are jerking eachother off with some pseudo deep bullshit." - Kid Nate
Awful comparison.
Ali was so much more in every way that the comparison falls completely flat. Ali was a national figure, polarizing both for his actions in the ring and in the social/political arena.
Perhaps most importantly, this comparison completely fails to note that Ali worked his trade against guys who were fully trained in the sport of boxing. Anderson Silva has counters and movement that stands out in MMA precisely because of how poor, comparatively, many MMA fighters are at fluid offense and defense. There might not be many other mixed martial artists who could have done what Silva did to Forest yesterday night, however there are numerous boxers of no particular note who could, simply because slipping punches and executing counter offense is far more prevalent in boxing.
It ends in an armbar or a strangle regardless.
by capital L on Aug 9, 2009 3:39 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
However
I do think that Silva’s performance was masterful, and I continue to think that he’s one of the best mixed martial artists today. Just wanted to make it clear that is only the comparison I object to, not the general point that Silva is awesome.
It ends in an armbar or a strangle regardless.
Rec'd.
"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito Ortiz on Vitor Belfort at Affliction:DOR
by Rundownloser on Aug 10, 2009 11:11 AM EDT up reply actions
The difference is competition
Ali is considered the greatest because he lived i perhaps the greatest era of heavyweights – from Liston to Frazier to Forman to Norton to Holmes, Earnie Shavers, Cleveland Williams, George Chuvalo. Ali was the greatest because he fought the greatest and won. Silva has dominated, but he’s dominated mostly weaker fighters – Franklin, Griffin, and Henderson being exceptions.
Marquardt.
Silva fights whoever comes to him, he’s not picking and choosing fights other than Lyoto for obvious reasons.
by Patrick Tenney on Aug 9, 2009 8:02 PM EDT up reply actions
…but he could challenge himself if he really wanted to. Dana White certainly isn’t keeping him from fighting the #3 grestest fighter in the world- Lyoto Machida.
by P4P is a stupid concept on Aug 10, 2009 11:25 AM EDT up reply actions
Weaker fighters? Franklin-former UFC middleweight champ, Griffin-former UFC light heavyweight champ, Henderson-former Pride 205 and 185 lb champ, Marquardt-King of Pancrase..those are 4 top fighters right there. You can make that argument with Cote and Leites, but not with those 4 guys. None of them are “weak.”
by filipinomix2oo0 on Aug 9, 2009 11:57 PM EDT up reply actions
Yes, they are.
I have decided that being a former champ means nothing. Forrest Griffin was a former champ. Chuck Liddell is a former champ. Shogun Rua is a former champ. Rich Franklin is a former champ. They all suck now, so who cares what they did in the past? And excuse me if I disrespect being the “king of pancrase”. Unless your name starts with “Bas” and ends with “Rutten”, your title means nothing.
Props to fighting Hendo, though. That was actually a good fight, and Silva definately was impressive in sinking in the choke in rd. 2 after getting dominated in Rd. 1.
by P4P is a stupid concept on Aug 10, 2009 11:29 AM EDT up reply actions
Anderson is Muhammad A-Bruce Lee
While certainly not the social figure Ali was, Anderson is certainly as talented a fighter, if not moreso due to the nature of MMA being a more diverse sport than boxing. Ali was a polarizing figure in the 60’s, but then again, the 60’s were a different time than today. The comparison falls flat only in that sense. In the sense of, “Anderson is the greatest fighter on the planet” the comparison is dead on… The fact that they have very similar styles, as intense, focused counterstrikers helps. They do have similar footwork and punching mechanics… and even more interestingly, similar physical builds. When Anderson fights at 205, he is essentially the same size as Ali in the Liston fight shown above. 6’-2" 205 (Ali was 6’-2" or so, 206 in the Liston fight). Both are long, lean fighters with outstanding footwork and head movement, with quick, powerful and accurate strikes.
Anderson also reminds me of Bruce Lee, for obvious reasons, in the sense of being a creative fighter, a true artist, and for his “intercepting fist” techniques when he amps up the intensity (you know, where he stays just at the cusp of his striking range, but able to bob, weave, or parry his opponents strikes, and counterstrike). Plus, he’s a fan of Bruce Lee (and probably Ali as well) so there has to be some emulation or at least inspiration there. It’s obvious he studies other fighters (well enough to do spot-on impersonations), their footwork, their striking… I mean, it is his life’s work and he is the best on the planet. There was only one Ali, but there is also only one Spider.
The dude is just creative
Anderson is just creative.
Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Pernell Whitaker, Roy Jones Jr. Anderson Silva, AND Jon “Bones” Jones are all really creative fighters.
They done things in the ring that baffled boxing coaches. Reports say that Anderson Silva saw Ong Bak and was so inspired he decided to try out new found skills on Tony Fryklund. Everybody seems to be psyched over Jon “Bones” Jones inspiration from YouTube fight videos.
An Ali comparison is definitely valid in the way they fought.
Daily MMA Drawings starts Aug 10th!
http://www.scritchandscratch.com/blog
by VeeisAnimated on Aug 10, 2009 11:59 AM EDT up reply actions
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