Former EliteXC champ, Antonio Silva, takes on ex-Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight kingpin, Andrei Arlovski, this Saturday night (Sept. 13, 2014) at the Ginasio Nilson Nelson in Brasilia, Brazil.
It has been a rough couple years for "Bigfoot." Though he upset Alistair Overeem via knockout -- which seems to be all the rage these days -- he was also dusted by Cain Velasquez for the second time in just about a minute and a half.
Then, he battled with Mark Hunt to a draw, producing a "fight of the year" candidate.
Sadly, Silva and his longstanding medical condition required testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), the very controversial drug treatment recently banned from mixed martial arts (MMA). Unlike some fighters who simply abused the rules, it seemed that Silva legitimately needed the drug that caused him to fail his post-fight test. Regardless, he's now facing a former champion for the second time and needs to perform.
Does he have the skills to defeat Arlovski once again?
Let's take a closer look.
Striking
"Bigfoot" is not a particularly complex striker, but he's tall with a good reach and hits hard. Though Silva's size is often an advantage, it can harm him defensively.
Silva is a black belt in Shotokan karate, which shows through when the big man kicks. For any gamblers reading, it's an extremely safe bet that Silva will open the bout with a leg kick. It helps Silva find his range, although his predictability was countered by a Cain Velasquez takedown in their first fight.
In his last fight with Hunt, "Bigfoot" displayed the most advanced kickboxing attack he ever has. Not only did the Brazilian brutalize Hunt's thigh and calf with low kicks, he repeatedly pushed "Super Samoan" back with roundhouse kicks to the head and body.
Another technique that Silva used well against Hunt was the teep kick. Silva repeatedly halted Hunt's attempts to close the distance with a sharp kick up into his mid-section. Then, Silva built off the technique, following up the teep with a straight right hand.
Outside of his last bout with Hunt, Silva has primarily relied upon his boxing to do damage. Silva likes to fully utilize his reach by throwing straight punches, often one at a time until he finds his range. As he gets comfortable, Silva will attack with basic combinations like the jab-straight and 1-2-3.
In addition, Silva has a strong uppercut. "Bigfoot" often looks to time his opponent's attempts to duck under his punches, which makes the uppercut especially volatile. However, against Velasquez, Silva attempted to land a lead right uppercut with no setup, which was promptly countered.
That's not a technique for anyone but the fastest fighters to attempt, and it showed.
Silva's no subtle counter striker, but his reach enables him to repulse his opponent's aggression. If his opponent is chasing him, Silva will retreat at first before planting his feet and firing a straight right hand. Silva effectively used this technique to drop Werdum when "Vai Cavalo" was pushing forward.
"Bigfoot" is not the sharpest defensive fighter, although part of the issue simply cannot be helped. Silva's got a huge head, and there's nothing that can be done about that. In addition, his thick frame simply can't move as quickly as a medium-sized heavyweight, such as Velasquez.
The other issue is Silva's style of defense. Silva often attempts to simply ball up and absorb strikes. That's generally not a good strategy in MMA -- the small gloves leave openings -- but it's even worse at heavyweight, where even partially blocked strikes have the potential to finish the fight.
Wrestling
As a black belt in Judo, many of Silva's takedowns come from inside the clinch, where Silva's physical strength is especially useful. Plus, it saves "Bigfoot" the trouble of changing levels, which can be difficult for the taller fighter. In the clinch, Silva frequently attempts inside trips or overpowers his opponent to the mat.
When Silva does shoot, he ensures his opponent is pinned to the fence first, as Silva doesn't really have the explosiveness for takedowns in the center of the cage. However, once Silva locks his hands around his opponent's waist, there's little his foe can do to stop Silva from yanking him off the cage and onto the ground. To set up the takedown against the fence, Silva will often throw a dangerous flurry of hooks.
If Silva is forced to shoot in the open, it can get a bit ugly. He doesn't set up the shot with punches and often wrestles from his knees. Though that's not the worst trait -- it still isn't good -- when his opponent is pinned to the fence, it's even more harmful when his opponent can fully sprawl out. Luckily, Silva's immense strength sometimes allows him to still finish the shot.
Silva may be the most devastating ground striker in the UFC. Firstly, he's probably the largest man currently employed by the world's premier fight organization, which means his top pressure and punching power is ridiculous. Worst still, Silva is not content to work from the guard and has the jiu-jitsu to pass into mount against the majority of heavyweights.
Once Silva secures the mount, things are about to get bad for his opponent quickly. Silva postures up immediately and begins dropping his lunchbox-sized fists quickly. The Brazilian is not picky on how his strikes land; he'll throw hammer fists, looping hooks, and flurries of downward punches, often while controlling his opponent's neck with his non-punching arm.
Silva's takedown defense is above average. Elite fighters have the agility or technical wrestling skill to maneuver around his defense, but anyone outside of that will likely be stuffed by Silva's powerful grappling. Plus, Silva's length often forces fighters out of wrestling range.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ)
Silva is a jiu-jitsu black belt with a potent top game. Though he usually uses his grappling to pass the guard and then do incredible damage with his monster hands, he will occasionally look for the submission.
One of Silva's preferred jiu-jitsu techniques is the anaconda choke, which he uses from the turtle position. As Silva controls his opponent's head and arm, Silva will thread his inside arm -- the one starts by his opponent's neck and exits at his foes arm pit -- and use his outside arm to lock in a rear naked choke grip.
This is an excellent technique for Silva. His long arms ensure that he can usually lock up that grip, which prevents his opponent from standing. Then, he can gator roll, which puts him on top and often in a dominant position. Even though he has yet to finish the choke, it has allowed him to threaten, control, and then advance position.
As mentioned above, Silva's guard passing is very strong. He often stands above his opponent and waits for his foe to attempt to kick him off. When his opponent does that, Silva will throw his legs to the side and run around the guard. Even if that doesn't completely succeed, Silva usually winds up in half guard. From there, he can drive his knee forward to cut through the guard, which takes advantage of his immense top pressure.
Defensively, Silva is quite solid. Against the best grappler in the division, Fabricio Werdum, Silva survived a number of bad positions and always worked his way back to his feet. Though his size advantage helped, that's a big accomplishment.
Just ask "Big Nog."
Best chance for success
Though Andrei Arlovski is a dangerous opponent, Silva has some major advantages in this bout. He has to be wary of the counter, but Silva can push "Pitbull" back without the threat of the takedown.
Something that must always be on his opponent's mind.
In addition, Arlovski had serious problems with pulling the trigger in his fight with Brendan Schaub. If he shells up like that against "Bigfoot," then the Brazilian can (and probably will) surge forward and engage in the clinch without worry. That's Silva's wheelhouse, in which he can both out-strike Arlovski and threaten with takedowns.
While on the feet, I'd like to see Silva continue using his kicking game. It seems that Arlovski abandoned his once-potent leg kicks, whereas Silva just began showing their potential. Silva is massive and kicks like a mule; he should really take advantage against an opponent unlikely to threaten with a takedown.
There you have it.
Will Silva be successful in his return from the suspension, or will Arlovski prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he's a top 15 fighter?