Blame Anderson Silva for Stalling Against Daniel Cormier

I have seen a ridiculous amount of stupid shit posted on the internet regarding Daniel Cormier's performance at UFC 200. Well, it's a ridiculous amount for what happened, but basically a normal amount for an MMA event. Everybody is shitting on Daniel Cormier for taking it to the ground, but it's Anderson Silva's fault that there wasn't more action.

First off, let me just say hats off to Anderson Silva for taking the fight on two days' notice and going in there against one of the best fighters in the world at a weight class above where he normally fights. That doesn't just take guts; it takes an arrogance that very few outside of Silva possess, and I'm saying that in the most positive way possible. But he signed up for a fight. He didn't sign the contract with it in writing that Daniel Cormier had to fight a fun fight and help give him chances to win.

Fighting is actually based off a super simple premise. If you want action, you have to create space. If you want to shut down action, you have to eliminate space. Anderson Silva did everything he could in this fight to eliminate space and shut down action. He locked up Cormier's upper body and leg locked one of his legs, so there was really no opportunity for Cormier to do anything of signifance, and he still managed to fire off constant punches so he at least could do something. Still, despite Anderson Silva doing nothing to work towards submissions or try to stand up, the crowd willed the referee into standing up the fight multiple times.

If fans wanted to boo a guy for stalling on top, it should have been directed at Brock Lesnar who was just looking to maintain his position as opposed to looking for a finish in his fight against Mark Hunt. In the first round, he got full mount and did not try to posture up but instead stayed tight and threw tight punches as opposed to unleashing on him. And in round three, he easily could have moved to full mount, but he took the safe option of keeping Hunt pinned down. And there is nothing wrong with that. It was the smart decision. It also helps that Brock Lesnar is such a freak that he still threw some pretty mean blows in that tight space.

Fans booing Daniel Cormier showed how clueless they are. So what if Anderson Silva doesn't get to show off his standup skills? He barely even attempted to fight off a takedown. He didn't deserve to stand up in that fight. Anderson Silva made a gutsy decision and took a fight against an elite fighter on two days' notice, and he deserves respect for that, but he doesn't deserve a win to be gifted to him for being gutsy. Those he has to earn, and last night against Daniel Cormier, he didn't do anything to deserve it.