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Sun Apr 19, 2009 1:04 am EDT

Silva taking on a Floyd Jr. aura after win at UFC 97

By Steve Cofield

They may be the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world but Anderson Silva much like Floyd Mayweather Jr. is becoming a target of ire for some fans. Just like he did against an overmatched opponent at UFC 90, Silva danced and mocked his opponent Thales Leites, instead of finishing him at UFC 97. Silva won easily via unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46 & 48-47) but he didn't win over many of the 20,000-plus in attendance at the Bell Centre. In fact, chants of "bull(expletive)" and "GSP" filled the arena from rounds 2-5. Even worse, watching the best fighter in the UFC "do his thing" wasn't good enough for thousands of fans who headed for the exits before the start of the fifth round.

It was obvious from the get-go that Leites didn't have the game to hang with Silva on the feet and had little interest in trading with "The Spider." He tried often to shoot and then fall on his back to sucker Silva to come into his guard but the UFC middleweight champ wouldn't bite. Instead of smashing Leites on the ground, he put on a show trying to look bored, frustrated and uninterested. In some ways you can't blame him, there isn't a whole lot to threaten him in the 185 pound weight class. He's already made one journey into the 205 pound division and it's probably time to get him back up there against some heavier punchers.

Floyd Jr. and Silva are tremendous fighters with unbelievable speed and defensive skills but they have to realize fans are paying big money to enter these arenas and even more collectively to witness the fights around the world on pay-per-view. This fight was very reminscent of Mayweather's win over jobber Carlos Baldomir back in 2006. He raced out to a 6-0 lead and then coasted. Fans at the MGM that night began hitting the exits in the eighth round.

Give Silva credit, when he received criticism during the UFC 97 postfight press conference about his performance, he feigned ignorance instead of crying like a baby and talking about retirement to call off the wolves like Floyd did during the Baldomir postfight presser.

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168 Comments

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  1. senor sick ill nasty youngball jr.
    1. Posted by senor sick ill nasty youngball jr. Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:25 pm EDT

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    silva's a beast
  2. cloud_s_t
    2. Posted by cloud_s_t Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:27 pm EDT

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    that was by far THE BORINGIST PPV MAIN EVENT THIS YEAR!!!! BY FAR!!!!! shogun vs. the iceman was better imo
  3. senor sick ill nasty youngball jr.
    3. Posted by senor sick ill nasty youngball jr. Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:25 pm EDT

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    first silvas a beast
  4. Sandman
    4. Posted by Sandman Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:37 pm EDT

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    Well, I said Leites was a joke. And, of course, DumbDumb was right. But, really, the whole match was a joke. Is this all the pound for pound king has????? I agree with Canada, GSP would fukkk him up. GSP would get take downs and would do serious damage. GSP would make Anderson look like a joke.
  5. Sandman
    5. Posted by Sandman Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:37 pm EDT

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    The whole card was not worth a two cents
  6. VAL BLOOD
    6. Posted by VAL BLOOD Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:37 pm EDT

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    Yeah that was bs especially for 55 dollars(extra for HD)
  7. Jeremy N
    7. Posted by Jeremy N Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:33 pm EDT

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    Anderson silva has no top game. Or at lest he doesn't exhibit a top game. ur a black bely in jiu jitsu who wont grapple when u can start on top and then complain when the other guy won stand and trade with you? what a joke. GSP would have got on top went to work if he was in the same position. Thats what silva lacks.. top game. problem is he doesnt need it to get wins.
  8. Clint
    8. Posted by Clint Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:27 pm EDT

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    Anderson Silva is pathetic! He runs the entire fight. I am glad I didn’t buy this ppv it was a waste of money. He gets touted as the best pound for pound champ but he fights 2nd tier guys. Leites and Cote are both jokes. Silva has a good wins against Hendo and Franklin but how long ago was that? I can believe Silva couldn’t finish that fight! Fedor is #1 P4P…..All the way!!! Put Silva 3 or 4 after GSP!
    Silva needs to fight top guys....In his last 5 fights only Franklin and Hendo are top notch....That is pathetic for a champ!
  9. THE MAN
    9. Posted by THE MAN Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:53 pm EDT

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    Anderson silva is the boringest fighter ever..i dont care if he keeps winning..his matches bore me
  10. kok_dawg
    10. Posted by kok_dawg Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:53 pm EDT

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    they need to give silva a legit opponent. a real challenge, plain and simple.
  11. Jeremy N
    11. Posted by Jeremy N Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:33 pm EDT

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    Silva needs to get top game. GSP would have worked against anybody who pulled guard on him. and ur cable sucks val... hd is the same for me... but u gotta have an hd package to order hd ppv... still a better deal tho
  12. Robert C
    12. Posted by Robert C Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:45 pm EDT

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    I started out thinking, "OK, these guys are very technical, gotta feel each other out"....then started thinking, "OK, Silva is just clowing around, he is going to pull a Babe Ruth, but instead of pointing up and out, he will point down and then drop Leites.".....Then in the 5th round I was thinking, "Silva is sticking up for Brazil by not taking Thales out, What a Crock".
    I ended up highly disappointed in the spider. He heard the boos, had already had his one gimme fight against Cote...and yet still didn't go for the KO.
    I watched the first and second Rich Franklin fights the other night. The Spider just went for the kill each time and got it. I saw so many chances tonight that he could have done the same thing, but he didn't. So many times, I was expecting knees when Thales' face was right in front of Silva's knees....NOTHING.
    Dana needs to tell the Spider that GSP would kick his ass and that Anderson will not get a shot at GSP fighting like that.
    I can kind of understand Silva's thinking...why go to the ground and possibly lose...but come on. At least try to clinch and use the knees and put the guy down on on your feet.
    Still think the Spider would take GSP, but my faith in that has lessened.
  13. Jimmy D
    13. Posted by Jimmy D Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:35 pm EDT

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    Anyone who discounts Anderson Silva because of his last two fights is crazy. He knows he is the better fighter, but doesn't risk getting hurt in a title defense so he cant stay healthy and move up. If you watched the fight you could tell Silva went in to 'Finish Him' mode after Thales tried an up kick during one of the many times he was on the ground and it pissed Silva off quick.
  14. AvEnGeRx
    14. Posted by AvEnGeRx Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:18 pm EDT

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    Silva looked like he was fighting a turtle who was upside down WTF? Thats a main event?
  15. mitch
    15. Posted by mitch Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:46 pm EDT

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    shame.
  16. Jimmy D
    16. Posted by Jimmy D Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:35 pm EDT

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    I don't know why the UFC dropped that mediocre at best undercard fight between Shogun/Liddell and Silva's match. Our bar was electric when Chuck lost but the break killed all the momentum.
  17. B H
    17. Posted by B H Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:43 pm EDT

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    Until the UFC puts a real opponent in the cage with Silva, these boring fights will keep happening. Problem is there's no 185 pounders that can beat Silva. Bring on GSP for Sept/Oct fight and after that move him up to 205. 205 should give him some competition and problems.
  18. rwl060
    18. Posted by rwl060 Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:57 pm EDT

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    I kept dreaming that somehow the fight would turn into GSP vs. Silva. The former would provide a stiff challenge. Seriously ... Leites had nothing, but GSP can take anyone down, and he can do so repeatedly. Silva would have limited opportunity to dance, trust me.
  19. Dubya b
    19. Posted by Dubya b Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:12 pm EDT

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    Silva is the bomb! His last two opponents got weak knees stepping in the octagon.
    GSP? HAW! HAW! HAW!
  20. Jimmy D
    20. Posted by Jimmy D Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:35 pm EDT

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    If I was Dana I would just let Silva move up full time, while holding a 6 month tournament to find a contender to than challenge Silva for the title. Of course if I was Dana I'd be I'd be in a champagne lounge, got posting on a message board right now. I really think the break before the fight had a lot to do with the crowd reaction's reaction. If I was there in the arena I would have been bored, and then would have had to watch Anderson Silva be bored for 22:30 minutes.
  21. MMAniac
    21. Posted by MMAniac Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:34 pm EDT

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    That was pretty weak, if I wanted to watch 25 mins of nothing happening I'd watch half a boxing match. At least most of the other fights were decent. Leites should be dropped from the promotion to send a message.
  22. Sandman
    22. Posted by Sandman Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:37 pm EDT

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    Silva is NOT the bomb! He fights 2nd tier fighers and does not even finish. GSP fights top shelf material and fukkks guys up. If GSP's opponents got weak knees, he would have finished them in seconds. Silva should not even be considered top 5 in the pound for pound debate. How could the guy go from being an aggressive finisher to a dancing, prancing, clown???
  23. DCL
    23. Posted by DCL Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:35 pm EDT

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    I agree real nutcracker that this main event was garbage. But I don't just blame Leities. I think posters are right when they say that Anderson Silva should engage on the rope. If he dosen't engage and beat Leities at Leities strongest point, than its no different than thales refusing to engage with Silva's Muy Thai. GSP definitly would have engaged with Leities when he pulled guard, because he is a fighting champ...
  24. TheTruth
    24. Posted by TheTruth Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:27 pm EDT

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    The blame falls almost completely on White and the UFC matchmakers. They're the ones who put this fight out there knowing it would be a dud. Silva clearly isn't willing to risk anything against lesser foes with nothing for him to gain.

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