Puneet Singh
With UFC 101 11 days away (including today), a potential match of the year is setup for that night: UFC Middleweight champion Anderson Silva vs former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin. Let's take a closer look at these fighters and the matchup at hand.
Anderson Silva
Enought can't be said about this man. Silva is always in the conversation as the best pound for pound fighter in all of MMA, and a victory over Forrest Griffin would help to cement that title.
Since making the jump to UFC back in 2006, Anderson Silva is 9-0 against all competition, which includes victories over Rich Franklin (twice), Dan Henderson, Chris Leban, Nate Marquardt, and James Irvin; all men who are highly regarded and respecting in UFC.
In addition to going 9-0, Silva picked up the UFC Middleweight Title against Rich Franklin in his second career fight in the octagon. Since then, he has successfully defended the title in five straight matches.
Silva is considered to have the complete set of skills; excellent submission technique, world class in-the-clinch skills, quicks hands, a vast array of kicks to go around with a cheetah like instint.
But with the good there is the bad. This is in reference to Silva's last two fights, which have been sub-par by many people's standards. Silva seems to have gotten lazy or lost his drive due to a lack of competition.
A win for Silva could lead to a mega matchup with current Welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, who said he'd be willing to jump up to Middleweight to fight Silva. A large purse and THE BEST Pound for Pound fighter in MMA right now should be more than enough to satisfy Silva's hunger.
Forrest Griffin
A fan favourite because of his enourmous heart and never quit attitude, Griffin is a always a threat whenever he steps into the eight sided ring.
Since winning and becoming the Ultimate Fighter back in 2005, Forrest has been a force to be reckoned with. He has gone 7-3 in the UFC including big wins over Mauricio Shogun Rua and Quinton Rampage Jackson; the latter for the UFC Light-Heavywright title.
Although, Griffin's title run was short lived (he'd lose it six months later at the very next paperper view to Rashad Evans), he is still a major draw and big competition for anyone that steps into the ring with him.
The good of Griffin's fighting abilities: too much to list. He is the complete fighter with size, strength, speed and mixes them well against different opponents.
The bad for Griffin is that he has a decent ground game; nothing to be ashamed of but at the same time, it can't rival that of his opponent for that night, Anderson Silva.
A win for Griffin would put him up in the conversation again for a Light-Heavyweight title shot against Lyoto Machida or at least a rematch against Rashad Evans; both of which would be almost as big as a draw as this.
Conclusion:
Easily two of the top three fighters in the Light-Heavyweight division going at it against each other. Griffin coming off a disappointing loss to Evans, while Silva is coming off a string of disappointing performances.
If Silva doesn't come out motivated or hungry, Griffen will eat him by Round II. If Anderson is focused, Silva will beat Griffin by the third round. Forrest's heart will carry him as far as his body can take him. It's up to Anderson's hunger to match and surpass Griffin.
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