If Silva Won’t Fight Machida, Why Go to 205?

As with many UFC events, as soon as the final hand was raised for the night, the talk turned to what would happen next for the fighters involved.  For Anderson Silva, that meant answering an ever-increasing amount of demand for a fight against UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Lyoto Machida.  Unfortunately, as just about everyone has heard by now, they consider one another friends and apparently do not want to fight one another.  However, Silva is considering dropping his middleweight title and moving up a division permanently, so what gives?

In other words, we have gotten to the point with this “Anderson Silva bouncing up to light heavyweight when he’s bored” thing where it is time for Silva to decide what he wants to do, and everyone knows it, from Dana White, to the fans, to “The Spider” himself.  Apparently, Silva’s manager, Ed Soares, even brought up the idea of having Silva move to the division for good, leaving his middleweight title vacant, which White was actually receptive to.  As he stated, they would simply put the middleweight title “up for grabs” (this would surely make a lot of middleweights happy, while Rich Franklin may wonder about his ridiculously poor timing).

However, what Silva should realize is that this idea will absolutely come with a condition: that he face the champion of the division, Lyoto Machida.  Still, at the post-fight press conference, Silva was adamant about not wanting to face Machida, even as White continued to suggest that it would definitely be a possibility.  From White’s point of view (and from the point of view of many fans, by now), there really is no point to having Silva regularly move up in weight to crush a talented light heavyweight and reduce the pool of contenders, while not wanting to actually stand on top of that division. 

It was one thing when Silva was removing James Irvin from consciousness, but once you start making the Forrest Griffins of the division look downright sorry, you aren’t really helping business a whole lot.  I suppose that for the remaining fights of Silva’s contract, UFC matchmaker Joe Silva could just keep giving Anderson fighters who challenged for the light heavyweight title and failed, or fighters who are good but aren’t in title contention.  However, this kind of thing will just increase the anticipation for what would be a huge fight with Machida.  With all the disappointment among hardcore fans regarding the fact that Fedor versus…well, any UFC heavyweight is not happening for a while (if ever), why would you want to create anticipation for yet another super-fight that you won’t be able to make happen?

It’s very clear that Silva does not have any interest in facing the competition that awaits him at middleweight.  Against Griffin, Silva looked energized and excited to fight for the first time since before the Patrick Cote fight, where Silva first showed obvious signs of boredom.  At this point, Silva is like the gifted kid in the classroom that is bored with going at the same pace of his classmates, and is in desperate need of a bigger challenge.  It’s not as if this objective doesn’t fit in with the desires of the UFC and its fans, either.  An Anderson Silva who feels threatened is more exciting to watch, and generates better pay-per-view buys when he headlines. 

And honestly, I am very much in favor of a move to simply leave the division that you have already dominated in favor of a bigger challenge.  At least, I feel that way after seeing Silva destroy Griffin last Saturday night.  I would much rather see it go this way than have Silva trying to defend two belts (as BJ Penn wanted to do if he were to be successful against Georges St. Pierre), or continue to see him sporadically jump up to fight a random top-10 light heavyweight every two or three fights.  Sure, Silva has not faced Demian Maia, Yushin Okami, Vitor Belfort, or Yoshihiro Akiyama, but there will always be new additions or up-and-coming fighters that he has not faced, whether it’s one fight or five fights from now.  The key is that while there are talented fighters that Silva hasn’t faced in the middleweight division, the light heavyweight division is unquestionably home to more talented fighters who pose a bigger threat to Silva, not the least of which is Machida himself.

Which brings us back to the entire point…Silva must be willing to fight for the belt if he moves permanently to 205 pounds.  If he does not, he is not doing anyone any good, save for fans who simply want to see him fight as if he has more than a passing interest in the outcome of the bout.  For those who want meaningful fights and a title-holder that means something, Silva would do more to discredit the division than to improve it.

Let’s say that Silva moves up and he starts taking out guys left and right.  Meanwhile, his buddy Machida is doing the same thing.  So, now what?  What happens is that a certain percentage of the fans and media will start to consider Machida, who is a ridiculously talented competitor and deserving champion, to be a “paper champ” of sorts.  After all, if you are not legitimately considered to be the best competitor in your division, what business do you have carrying the belt to the cage with you?  Like it or not, as soon as Silva declares himself a light heavyweight, there will be people who believe that he should be the champion, and that the only reason Machida is on top is that his friend won’t face him.

I don’t think that friends should be forced to fight one another, of course.  I understand the importance of a solid training camp and good partners, and how having to fight one another can undermine those things.  However, if you are the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world and you want to change divisions, you have to be willing to face the champion.  Otherwise, you’re not doing yourself or anyone else any real good, are you?

by Jon Hartley for Fightmania.com

Tags: Anderson Silva, Dana White, Demian Maia, Forrest Griffin, Georges St. Pierre, Lyoto Machida, Patrick Cote, Rich Franklin, UFC, Vitor Belfort, Yoshihiro Akiyama