UFC 97 in Montreal

With all of the opinions out there with regards to the Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leites fight I figured one more can't hurt....maybe.

Let me start off by saying that I do think that Leites is an extrememly talented fighter with top shelf jitz but when the majority of his game is on the ground, it's a bad move throwing him into a match with someone who is being regarded as one of the best counter strikers in the business.

Ever since Silva won the title he has been a counter striker and unless you can get him down to the ground with outstanding WRESTLING then all of those armbars and triangle chokes aren't going to work out so well.

It is almost like Silva was going through the motions and unless his opponent offers anything more than an impersonation of a fish out of water with all the flopping to his back bullshit, why would he try and do any different. If you are the champ and you KNOW that your striking is far superior to that of your opponents then that is where you want to keep the fight. If it's your ground game that you are more comfortable with being on your back working for submissions then that is where you are going to want to get the fight.

My biggest problem though is that it is called MIXED martial arts which means you had better be prepared to use the other elements of the game in the event that one plan doesn't work for you. I don't think that Leites had any other plan than to get Silva to the ground and try and submit him. I also think that Silva knew this and therefore not willing to play into his game.

The part that shocked me the most though was what happened afterwards when Joe Rogan was during his usual interview and Silva's interpreter said things differently than what actually came out of Silvas mouth. Silva's mouthpiece is also his manager so when he heard what Silva said I am sure that he changed things up a bit to make the statements appear more humbling than they really were. What is quickly going to happen is you are going to see the shining bright light that Silva was when he first came into the UFC turn to a complete blackout by the fans and their attitudes towards Silva. Despite of how good he is, the fans of the UFC are going to be alot less quick to buy that next fight with Silva unless he is in there with someone who can not only push the action and try to get into Silva's face but also has the ability to sell some tickets. Will Anderson Silva's next fight be a main event? Not a chance unless it's against someone with HUGE star power.
So then you have to ask yourself, who does Anderson fight next?

I will share my opinions on this later and why.

Well here goes nothing.

This is a test.
This is a test of the Notorious broadcast system. This is only a test. If this had been a real emergancy, you would have been informed to go beat your head against the wall until blood came out of your ears.

Thanks you, and good day.

I said good day.