He's not an actual spider, nor is he an actual king. Yet none can dethrone him, nor escape his web.
He is Anderson 'the spider' Silva, undisputed UFC middleweight champion of the world. His string of 14 straight victories (half of which were first round knockouts) and 9 title defenses are both unmatched records and both are still current. With every fight those records ratchet up one more. He's been widely regarded as the best pound for pound fighter on earth. For years.
For those who are not familiar with the UFC, or Ultimate Fighting Championship, it's mixed martial arts. That means you've got to be good in boxing, wrestling and jujitsu -at a minimum. Some guys are also kickboxing champions, BJJ (Brazilian jujitsu) champions, Karate champions, Muay Thai champions -you get the picture. These men are weapons in and of themselves.
Even the worst of them could annihilate any regular guy in a matter of seconds. The best of them earn their way into the world's top and highest paying promotion, the UFC. The best of the best get title shots, and none of them can beat The Spider. Fully half didn't last one round.
The man hasn't lost since January 2006. He was 31 then, he's 37 now. Still defending his belt against the best the world has to offer. Still sending them home battered, bruised and belt-less.
Cage fighting isn't for everyone, nor is watching or even reading about it. Fortunately you can find plenty of knockout-free (and apparently arachnicidal) fare in today's edition of the 30 days of writing challenge. Enjoy.
He is Anderson 'the spider' Silva, undisputed UFC middleweight champion of the world. His string of 14 straight victories (half of which were first round knockouts) and 9 title defenses are both unmatched records and both are still current. With every fight those records ratchet up one more. He's been widely regarded as the best pound for pound fighter on earth. For years.
For those who are not familiar with the UFC, or Ultimate Fighting Championship, it's mixed martial arts. That means you've got to be good in boxing, wrestling and jujitsu -at a minimum. Some guys are also kickboxing champions, BJJ (Brazilian jujitsu) champions, Karate champions, Muay Thai champions -you get the picture. These men are weapons in and of themselves.
Even the worst of them could annihilate any regular guy in a matter of seconds. The best of them earn their way into the world's top and highest paying promotion, the UFC. The best of the best get title shots, and none of them can beat The Spider. Fully half didn't last one round.
The man hasn't lost since January 2006. He was 31 then, he's 37 now. Still defending his belt against the best the world has to offer. Still sending them home battered, bruised and belt-less.
Cage fighting isn't for everyone, nor is watching or even reading about it. Fortunately you can find plenty of knockout-free (and apparently arachnicidal) fare in today's edition of the 30 days of writing challenge. Enjoy.
Can you send that guy over to my place? I've got a spider or two I think he could take care of.
ReplyDeleteBet he eats spiders while awake!
ReplyDeleteI few of my colleagues are heavily into UFC, so I always get the lowdown after ever major fight. And of course, being in Montreal, GSP is often the favorite.
ReplyDeleteI used to do some amateur boxing (Olympic style) and we'd train until we couldn't throw another punch. The MMA regimen looks crazy intense.
Can't say I'm a fan of UFC. It's not a matter of having no taste for blood, as I was a huge boxing fan for a long time (and a wrestling fan, too, but that's a whole 'nother thang.) Just something about it that seems a tad too brutal for my taste. Wouldn't deny anyone else their joy, though, so glad you've got a fave!
ReplyDeleteI know nothing about fighting, but it's a treat not to have to read about those eight legged creepy crawlies ;)
ReplyDeleteAhhhhh, men pounding the bejeezus out of each other... what's not to love? 150 points for that awesome video!
ReplyDeleteThat was brutally marvelous! I love the fights!
ReplyDeleteI was not aware of this sport, or the Spider. Thanks for the enlightenment, even though it's not really my thing. Nice alternative to the 8-legged kind.
ReplyDeleteHow crazy... I just saw my FIRST UFC fight on tv a week ago. My co-worker loves ufc and travels to see it once in a while. I was astounded and had to look away... I'm a wuss! I kind of "get it" but couldn't watch it!
ReplyDeleteThere's no doubt in my mind that this guy is tough, but I'm a boxing fan and I can't watch MMAmfights without thinking that it almost always looks like two gay men jello wrestling. I say that with all due respect for my face, which these guys could remove with a single punch.
ReplyDeleteNoname,
ReplyDeleteAnderson doesn't fight out of his weight class, which is not the 1/1000th of an ounce division.
Mom lane,
Ewwww -why would anybody? Plus for him it would be cannibalism!
Mike,
yes, the training is ridicilis but it has to be if you're going to be at least competant at everything, because if you aren't you lose.
Sully,
sometimes it does get bloody -elbows cut the head and they bleed like stuck pigs out there. After a dozen fights the mat looks like a murder scene.
Babs,
you're welcome! I thought it would be a good and unexpected change-up.
Nicky,
my wife too. My kind of women.
Linda M,
ditto baby!
Linda not-M,
I thought so too. But people still try to squish him.
Kat,
like I said, it's not for everyone. But that's okay. We need our gentler souls in the mix too.
WJ,
that's the most common criticism; guys laying on eachother. And some fights do degenerate into that much to the fans' chimay (sorry, couldn't resist). Some boxing matches wind up being guys leaning on eachother in slow-dance mode, right? But fans of both sports have to suffer through those to get to the wild shoot-outs everybody loves. At least in MMA you're garenteed a few of those because they show 10 or 12 fights a night. In boxing you're lucky to get 2 and they could both be clunkers.
Wouldn't it be awesome to see him move up and fight Jon "Bones" Jones?
ReplyDelete