At UFC 73: "Stacked," UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva took out the tough and experienced Nate Marquardt in less than five minutes. And he somehow made it look effortless.
That's got more to do with the insane talent of "The Spider," however, and not the abilities of Marquardt. Plain and simple, Silva is that good.
As such, our friend over at Brawl Sports, Steve Seivert, has labeled him the new "pound-for-pound king" in the UFC. He's got a solid write-up to back up his claim — go check it out when you have some time.
More important, Seivert points out that Silva could be a mainstay atop the 185-pound heap for a very long time, especially if the landscape remains the same in the division for the near future.
Consider the following from Seivert:
Rich Franklin
Fighting in Cincinnati will double the amount of pressure to win, plus Silva's in his head.Yushin Okami
Okami is bigger and potentially tougher than Silva, but that's what everyone said about Franklin, too.Mike Swick
Silva's overall strength is probably too much for the Houston native.Martin Kampmann
Unconvinced he has the firepower to match "The Spider."Kendall Grove
Too green to hang with Silva.Jason MacDonald
Superb submission skills and is a gifted all-around athlete, but without a strong stand-up game, he would be easier fodder for Silva.
Terry Martin
Martin's tough, but he's not ready for Silva right now.
The basic point that is being conveyed here — whether you agree with the individual assessment of each fighter or not — is that there is perhaps not one fighter on this short list who can dethrone Silva anytime soon.
Of course, upsets can, do and will happen. Furthermore, a majority of the best fighters in the world have at least one loss on their records, including Silva.
Everyone is beatable ... it's just about finding the person who can do it. Is that fighter mentioned above? Maybe.
But there are other fighters not on this list who might give Silva stiffer competition, including free agent Denis Kang, the WEC's Paulo Filho, as well as former UFC fighters Matt Lindland and Trevor Prangley, just to name a few.
There's also the PRIDE FC Welterweight Champion Dan Henderson, but he's chosen, at least for now, to fight at light heavyweight.
Will we ever see these guys in the Octagon against Silva? Perhaps, but even then I'd have a hard time picking against Silva.
He's scary. He might not just be the best pound-for-pound in the UFC, he might be the man no matter where he fights.
Get the latest gear
