UFC 234: Starring Anderson Silva As the Stepping Stone

He was the middleweight champion for six-and-a-half years. He set new records for consecutive wins and title defenses. Many considered him the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter, and for a time, the greatest mixed martial arts fighter to ever live. He’s now 43-years-old and a lamb being sent for slaughter.

This July will mark six years since Chris Weidman upended the middleweight status quo and knocked out Anderson Silva. There was a thought that night that Silva lost because he fooled around, but Silva only fooled around because he found no other openings. It had worked for him before; he had the reflexes to evade his opponents’ attacks, and he had the speed to counter them. Weidman was the first fighter to catch him, but it was no fluke. In a rematch five months later, Silva presented little evidence that he’d made any progress in solving Weidman’s puzzle.

Since those Weidman fights in 2013, Silva has won twice, had one of those wins taken away, and the other win should have gone to his opponent. It would be one thing to say that that is the Anderson Silva that will compete on Saturday, but that might be overstating it. The last we saw of Anderson Silva was two years ago. Then, he was good enough to be competitive against a contender in Derek Brunson, but that was about it. It was a significant slide from the world’s pound-for-pound best fighter mesmerized fans and opponents, but not too shabby for a 41-year-old.

Silva returns two months from his 44th birthday. He won’t return against a superstar like Brunson. Even all-time greats coming back from two years off don’t get tune-up fights. Rather, he’ll fight a surging athlete on the brink of superstardom that crushed Brunson in his last outing. It probably isn’t going to go well.

Silva’s opponent is Israel Adesanya, and it’s no wonder why the UFC pushed for this fight in specific. Adesanya is the most exciting striker to enter the UFC middleweight division since Silva, and Silva is the fighter he’s most often compared to. To add to the story, Silva was one of Adesanya’s inspirations to start fighting. But the real reason these two are fighting is to give Adesanya a big win before he challenges for the middleweight championship.

This is how it goes in combat sports. BJ Penn fought Yair Rodriguez. Ken Shamrock fought Tito Ortiz. Muhammad Ali fought Larry Holmes. You become one of the greats, you stay too long, a promoter wants to create a new great, and then you become a launching pad. Anderson Silva has become the launching pad. In a sense, it’s a cruel compliment.

Israel Adesanya has competed only four times in the UFC, but there’s no question he deserves to be in this position. He debuted with hype behind him last February in Australia, and he lived up to it by taking out Rob Wilkinson in the second round. The UFC was immediately high on Adesanya and put him in a main card fight on Fox two months later. This time Adesanya wasn’t quite as impressive, but nonetheless he achieved victory. Then the UFC put him in another big spot in the main event of an Ultimate Fighter finale against Brad Tavares. Tavares, a solid middleweight that had won four in a row, was no match for Adesanya. Adesanya went all five rounds and totally dominated the fight. Before the fight, he was a prospect. Afterward, it was clear he was ready now.

Next was a big test. Adesanya had never taken the wrestler test—an inevitable test for a talented striker that many have failed. He faced the test against Derek Brunson—not the best wrestler in the world, but an NCAA Division II wrestler and the best wrestler that Adesanya had ever faced in the cage. You could say that Adesanya passed the test with flying colors. He defended every takedown Brunson attempted and then stopped him before the end of the first round.

Between Adesanya’s diverse attack, his striking IQ, and his speed, Silva is in for the challenge of his career.

There is a chance, however remote, that Silva could pull off the upset. Adesanya hasn’t had many looks at the highest level, perhaps there are holes we haven’t seen exploited. Anything can happen with five-ounce gloves.

If that happens, Silva would probably be on his way to a title shot. He would be a significant underdog there too, but just the fact of him making it back there would be a remarkable feat.

Most likely, Adesanya will prove to be far too much for Silva. He’ll win, raise his profile, and move on to fight the winner of Saturday’s main event—a middleweight title fight between Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum. That will be a fight to watch.

Dan Plunkett has covered MMA for 411Mania since 2008. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @Dan_Plunkett.