The Saddest Ending In Sports

I didn't expect that to happen.

There were so many ways I could have seen Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman's rematch going, but that definitely wasn't one of them.

I have long been a detractor of Anderson Silva as I thought that any good wrestler with some semblance of submission defense should be able to take him out as long as they stuck with a good game plan. I was wrong, because it didn't take a good game plan; it took a perfect game plan. Anderson Silva is so dangerous on his feet that every second that a person spends standing up is a second where they have a high risk of being knocked out. I wrote about his greatness before this fight and how excited I was for this fight, but now I am left with nothing but this empty feeling.

I'll admit I didn't see it at first. I thought that I missed him getting clipped, and then when I saw him holding his leg, I knew it was bad. Then I heard his screams. God, those screams. It was as disturbing as a child's scream, and this is not meant to compare Silva to a child, but to recognize that somebody that tough to be in that much pain is just sickening.

Then I saw the replay. And my worst thoughts were confirmed. His leg snapped in half. After that happened, nothing else mattered. Even Weidman knew, he gave a quick raise of the arms, but then went to check on Silva before being shooed away so the medical staff could take care of him.

The UFC crowd is not known for their sympathy, but everyone knew that this was terrible. As Weidman had his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, there were no cheers, there were no boos, there was just ambient noise that seemed neither positive or negative, it just was.

No matter what happens from here, he's the greatest fighter we have ever seen, and it's going to take an incredible comeback from Georges St. Pierre or an incredible run from Jon Jones for anyone to challenge that position in the near future. The man was made to fight and reached his highest potential. So very few in any occupation can say that.

This is an unfair scenario for Anderson Silva. This shouldn't have been how his career ended. He was so great for so long. I got angry watching him, because everything he did looked so easy that it made me sick. I could make up a game specifically designed to my strengths and still not be as great as he was at mixed martial arts. Even last night, I had that feeling of inevitability that Silva was going to start picking apart Weidman after surviving that first round. He never stopped being great. Instead, greatness was taken away from him.

I have been trying to figure out the right way to end this, but I'm at a loss for words. I guess that's fitting; Anderson Silva's career was made by leaving fans speechless.

Anderson Silva And The Art Of Showboating

When it comes to sports, I have a bias towards wrestlers. I loved Robert Quinn coming out of college, because he was a state champion high school wrestler. I loved Ray Lewis for the same reasons. I don't even know what level Deron Williams wrestled at before switching to basketball full-time, but I remember an announcer mentioning it while he was at Illinois, and I still support him, even though he has been rapidly declining. Never is this more true than in the UFC. In my mind, you need to have a wrestling background to be great, because without wrestling, you have no control of where the fight ends up.

I have always underrated Anderson Silva because of this. To be fair, he has gotten a ton better at wrestling, going from childlike to a poor wrestler. He's not going to shoot for takedowns, but his sprawl and underhook defense has gotten a ton better, and really, that's the only aspects of wrestling that Silva is going to need.

It's fair to say that my underrating Anderson Silva was a huge whiff on my sports predictions. It isn't the first, and won't be the last, but even though I have been wrong, it has been a blast watching him fight. Watching him strike from his feet is poetry in motion. It's so ridiculously smooth. There is nothing in this world that I can do as smoothly as he strikes, and that includes seducing the ladies. Win or lose this weekend, Silva's career is winding down, and we should appreciate all of the opportunities we have left, even if he is no longer in peak form.

My only proof that he may not be in peak form is that he is 38 years-old. Outside of that, there isn't much video evidence to suggest he has lost a step. Yes, he lost his last fight, but he got caught while doing what Silva does, believing in his skills to the point where he feels comfortable making his opponent look bad.

We have all been taught that showboating is bad. In most cases, it is. The showboating itself is not bad, but so few athletes can be so great that they are able to back it up. Anderson Silva is one of those amazing athletes who actually benefits from showboating. He demoralizes his opponents and kills all confidence with his showboating. Outside of the first Chael Sonnen fight, he has made his opponents believe that he was better than them in every other fight he has been in. He stands there with his hands down and easily dodges all strikes that come his way. At this point, his opponent feels helpless, and it is amazing how the energy can drain from an opponent who doesn't know what to do. Anderson Silva is the water; his opponents are the helpless swimmer. The harder they work, the more dire their situation becomes.

Don't fool yourselves. Chris Weidman has looked like an absolute monster in all of his fights, but by the second round with Silva, he looked beat. He was putting his head down and charging in for shots like the world's slowest bull. Silva dismissed him, as he should have, because all visual evidence was pointing to him being done. That all changed when one of Silva's dips mistimed into a left hook from Weidman, and all of a sudden, Silva was human again.

Michael Jordan stuck his tongue out, shrugged his shoulders, and shot free throws with his eyes closed. He didn't do this because it helped his game; he did it because he could. And mentally, his opponents were defeated before the end of the first quarter. Silva is that sort of athlete. He has such a myth around himself that his opponents are fighting a mental battle before they enter the cage. The showboating just puts the nail in their mental coffin.

As I said before, Weidman has been a beast in all of his previous fights, and the one time he didn't look like a beast, against Silva, he still knocked his opponent out. If he comes in with proper cardio and has his wrestling working, it's going to take something special for Silva to win. At the same time, I can't shake the feeling that we are going to see that classic Anderson Silva performance of easily rolling away from shots while effortlessly peppering his opponents with pinpoint striking.

I don't know what is going to happen on Saturday, but I know it's going to be special. If I had to make a pick, I'm going with Weidman. I have underestimated Silva throughout his entire UFC career (I thought Rich Franklin would win BOTH times), so why stop now? But this time, I will admit, there is a little piece of me hoping that I'm wrong, because getting another opportunity to see that sort of greatness is something I don't want to miss out on.

Chris Weidman Will Beat Anderson Silva

The title says it all, but I will expand a little on my thoughts. Not only will Chris Weidman beat Anderson Silva this Saturday, it is not even going to be much of a fight. Anderson Silva is incredibly dangerous, but Weidman is literally the worst possible matchup for Silva.

1. Silva Hates Wrestlers.
We can all agree that Silva struggled the most with Chael Sonnen, especially in their first fight. Weidman is currently a better MMA wrestler than Sonnen. He dominated Mark Munoz with his wrestling, and Munoz was a NCAA National Champion. He is that good.

2. Silva's Ground Game
So Silva is facing a better wrestler than Sonnen; he's still dangerous off his back. Silva is somewhat dangerous, but his submissions are slightly overrated. He's pretty methodical in his setups, and he always tries to attack one side. Weidman not only has great submission defense, his submission offense is pretty damn impressive as well.

3. All It Takes Is One Mistake.
This is true. Silva is an incredible striker. It's amazing to watch him, but if he expects Weidman to go for a spinning back fist like it's a good idea, he's got another thing coming. In the first fight against Sonnen, he not only got dominated by wrestling, but he got oustruck by Sonnen too, because he consistently put pressure on him. Sonnen dominated the first round of the second fight against Silva, and he could have been fine had he not slipped on his spinning back fist attempt. But that's the thing with spinning back fists. They're great when they work, but they can also make people look really stupid. Expect Weidman to use more traditional striking techniques to set up his takedowns.

4. Weidman By Decision?
No. Silva is not going to last five rounds with this guy. My heart is telling me one thing, while my brain is telling me another, but I'll go with my heart and say 2nd round TKO (my brain has Silva lasting until the third). Yes, Silva's an incredible striker, but Weidman is his kryptonite. Dan Henderson could have beaten Silva had he stuck with a gameplan of taking Silva down. Sonnen was two minutes away, but he was tired and got lazy with submission defense. In the second fight, he went big and was sent home. I don't see any of those three pitfalls affecting Weidman, and that is why he is going to give Anderson Silva the beating of a lifetime.

Other UFC 162 Predictions:
Frankie Edgar over Charles Oliveira - Going with the wrestler.
Tim Kennedy over Roger Gracie - Should be able to outstrike Gracie.
Mark Munoz over Tim Boetsch - Not a big fan of either guy, but I'll continue my theme of going with the wrestler.
Cub Swanson over Dennis Siver - Cub is too dynamic in all aspects of fighting.
Andrew Craig over Chris Leben - I pretty much always pick against Leben.
Norman Parke vs. Kazuki Tokudome - I predict these two will fight. That's all I know.
Gabriel Gonzaga over Dave Herman - The UFC really hates Dave Herman, because they just keep putting him up against guys who are really tough fighters.
Edson Barboza over Rafaello Oliveira - Bad night for the Oliveiras.
Seth Baczynski over Brian Melancon - Just cuz.
Mike Pierce over David Mitchell - Mitchell saved his UFC Contract last fight; he won't be so lucky this time.