Frank Trigg’s Fight Breakdown: Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson, Part II
<!-- Print the time the article was posted --><!-- EMF updated style to include date + time -->Posted by Frank Trigg on February 28, 2008 at 7:11 pm ET
<!-- The article content -->By Frank Trigg/MMAjunkie.com
I hope it’s been another good week for you all. Thanks for all the comments over the past couple of articles, including
Part 1 of this series.
Here is the disclaimer: these are the sole written opinion(s) of Frank Trigg and
not of MMAjunkie.com or its other writers. These words were developed and put to paper by me and transcribed by Dustin Tooker. These ideas come from 11 years as a pro MMA fighter, eight of which I’ve been ranked in the top 10. Please yell at me, Frank Trigg, if you have a grievance and not MMAjunkie.com.
I had to beg Dann (“The Junkie”) and get him drunk on several occasions to get him to finally say yes to this job as a columnist. Now, like a bad boomerang, I keep hitting him in the back of the head when he tries to throw me away.
With that said, let’s move on to Silva vs. Henderson, Part II.
Bruce Buffer again: “In this corner, standing 6-foot-2, weighing in at 185 lbs., he has a record of 20-4. He has a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and is a Muay Thai specialist. He is the current Cage Rage world middleweight champion and former Shooto middleweight champion. He is undisputed middleweight champion of the UFC, ANNNDRESONNN DA SPIDER SILLLLLLVAAA!“
(I love the way he introduces a fight. Still, one of my best memories as a fighter is having Buffer call my name like that.)
Anderson has dismantled Rich Franklin not once but twice. For those of you that have not seen it, watch it. By far, it’s worth the UFC on Demand price. Silva has also KO’d Chris Leben and submitted Travis Lutter with strikes and a triangle choke while in the UFC. He was generation 2 coming out of Chute Boxe in Curitiba, Brazil, where he was born. (Wanderlei Silvia is generation 7, and the Rua brothers are generation 9 — just to give you a reference.) He started and trains with the Muay Thai Dream team.
Silva has beaten the likes of Mach Sakuari, Alex Steibling, Luiz Azerado and Carlos Newton while all were in the best years of their careers. He had two very weird losses (at least in my mind). One was to Yushin Okami by disqualification. Silva was on his back and up-kicked his opponent in the head, but Okami was on his knees at the time. He also suffered a submission loss via rare heel hook to Ryo Chonan in his PRIDE days.
I wanted to give you guys an unbiased opinion of Silva, so I asked my friend
Steve Cofield of ESPN Radio Las Vegas/FOXSports.com if I could use this. Cofield and I disagree on everything, and I spend a lot of time on his show. He is usually wrong. (Because I said so; that’s why.)
The term well-rounded is thrown around way too loosely in the world of MMA. And often misapplied.
Anderson Silva isn’t given enough credit for the completeness of his game. Silva’s stand-up is amazing because he can kill you from inside and out. He’s very tall for 185. You can’t try to beat him from the outside because his kicks are so dangerous and he throws most of them with huge power.
So cut down the distance and get inside, right? That’s generally a mistake. His hands are great. Silva is about as close to a pro boxer as you’ll find in MMA with the speed and tightness of his hands. He throws vicious elbows. Tony Fryklund was knocked out by one. But his best weapon inside is the Thai clinch followed by the knees; ask Rich Franklin how it felt. Silva looks weak, but he can toss around 185 (lb.) fighters like rag dolls. Dan Henderson is one of the strongest guys you’ll find in the weight class. We’ll see if Silva can execute with as much power versus Henderson.
MMA fighters with a wrestling background will tell you that Silva is easy to take down. That may be the case, but you can’t do it and then lay and pray. Silva’s guard is very active, and we saw that he can pull out a submission when the opening presents itself like he did against Travis Lutter. Yushin Okami got Silva down but was outpaced once down there.
Nice, wasn’t it? Hearing from a true professional writer — an old boxing fan that has seen the light of MMA. Cofield still loves boxing for the sport it is, but he loves MMA just the same.
This is what I see. Out with the unbiased; in with the very biased.
Anderson has no takedown defense, but who needs it when you can box like he can? For some reason everybody stays away from his clinch but stays in his punching range. Elbows? True, he KO’s people from the weirdest angles with them damn things. He is the only reason to have elbows in an MMA fight. His don’t cut; they maim.
However, Silva has never been attacked in the manner Henderson attacks — tight, inside, in-your-face, dirty-boxing style — which makes it hard to throw elbows.
Some say, “Stay away from his dirty boxing.” Are you nuts?! Get inside his dirty boxing, especially if you competed as a two-time Olympian in Greco Roman wrestling! If you stay away from Silva’s inside, you will get kicked to the fifth row with your jock still in the ring. If you get inside his kicks but remain in punching range, you will be kneed till your nose is on your back and punched till you see your ancestors. On the ground Silva’s guard is so active it makes B.J. Penn look slow.
A true Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt with length and flexibility is dangerous when you’re focused on submission wrestling. But make it an MMA fight, and you’ve got problems once you get him to the ground. If Silva can keep Henderson in his guard, it will be an experience to see who has better game: Henderson’s ground and pound, or Silva’s active guard? Which is better on that night? Which one can push tier style will be the real question.
Silva has never been attacked on his feet with a haymaker like Henderson’s, but it is easy to see and defend. The motion on the feet is Silva’s true best skill, and he will use it the whole time trying to get Henderson to play catch-up. If Henderson chases, a TKO might be in his future.
Long and lean, quick and agile. That’s Silva.
Is all of this enough to keep the title?
