(This piece appeared in 8CountNews on May 13, 2009)

by Mark Lorenzana

I don’t know what the other MMA fans were thinking as they watched the main event of UFC 97: Redemption almost a month ago, but as for me, at the start of the third round, I was thinking, just what exactly in heaven’s name was Anderson Silva doing?

Sure, it takes two to tango. Sure, Thales Leites – with his jiu-jitsu background and his less-than-stellar striking skills – didn’t take the fight to Silva. Sure, the guy kept dropping down to the mat in a rather cowardly fashion whenever Silva would press the action and unleash some of his brutal strikes. But that doesn’t give Silva the license to play around and showboat in front of thousands of spectators who shelled out hard-earned cash to witness a good fight.

Especially since Silva could have ended the fight any time he wanted to. In fact, he hurt Leites with a few good shots in the course of the fight. He could have pressured Leites and gone in and knocked the guy out just to give the crowd what they wanted.

Alas, Silva had other plans. Instead, the boring fight ended with a lopsided unanimous decision win for Silva.

In the end, the fight fans in Montreal, Quebec, Canada went home disappointed. But not before showing their disapproval by booing the fighters and repeatedly chanting the acronym of the name of their hometown MMA hero, Georges St.-Pierre.

I’ve written a couple of previous pieces regarding Silva’s penchant to toy with his opponents especially if he thinks they are inferior, so I don’t want to belabor the point (and yes, in my book at least, punching the other guy in the leg and doing fancy leg sweeps do count as “toying with your opponent”) anymore.

However, I did point out that Silva should move up to light heavyweight if Dana White cannot give him anything but tomato cans at middleweight.

That’s exactly what will happen in Silva’s next fight, as he is slated to face former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and number two rated MMA light heavyweight fighter Forrest Griffin at UFC 101.

After two straight lackluster title defenses by Silva, I’m pretty confident that this time he cannot, and should not, dismiss Griffin. Silva toys with the guy and he just might get knocked out. Who knows? Maybe that’s just what the doctor ordered for Silva to regain his hunger for the game.

So far, Silva has won all his nine fights in the UFC. That’s pretty incredible. And it seems he is firm in his decision to retire after his contract is over. I just hope that Silva would be professional enough to give his best in all of his remaining fights to be fair to his fans.

The End of an Era

I honestly thought Chuck Liddell had just enough left in the tank to defeat Mauricio Rua, but sadly, I was wrong. Kudos to Rua, however, that was a perfectly-timed left hook to the jaw. But you still can’t ignore the fact that practically, Liddell’s reflexes are all but gone, and so is his chin and ability to take a punch. If this is indeed the end of a great career, thanks for the memories and the great fights, Chuck. The hall of fame beckons.