Anderson Silva

Somewhere in my obsessive MMA surfing I came across this tidbit. It appears that (according to Rashad Evans camp) UFC 77 will be the venue for Rashad Evans vs Tito Ortiz - the rematch.

Tito and Rashad fought to a snoozefest draw at UFC 73. Tito would have won the match except that he had a point taken away for holding the fence in the second round (something that he did more than once and was warned about). Rashad won the last 30 seconds of the fight after Tito gassed and was given the third round as a reward.

Also on the UFC 77 card is Anderson Silva vs Rich Franklin - the rematch. Rich Franklin got his face busted up in their first meeting as Anderson Silva put on a Muay Thai clinic landing knees from the clinch.

It looks like Nate "The Great" Marquart is finally going to get a title shot. Nate will be taking on currrent UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva on July 7th in Las Vegas. This fight is "tentative", which means it'll happen unless something gets set up with either Pride Champoin Dan Henderson, or former middleweight champioin Rich Franklin.

No matter what, we'll keep you posted.

I just read a post fight interview with Travis Lutter and he talks about not making weight. Given the way he conducted himself in the interview, I will give him another chance. He basically said that he knew a couple of hours before the weigh in that he wouldn't make weight. He says he has done the same routing a bunch of times and this is the first time he's come up short (welcome to getting older Travis).

He said about 1 1/2 hours before the bout he stopped sweating altogether (even in the Sauna). At that point he knew he wouldn't make weight, but kept trying. The only reason he lost 1/2 pound more between the first and second weigh ins was a trip to the bathroom.

He is consulting with a nutritionist and figures he will keep his weight closer to 185, if the UFC lets him fight again.

UFC 67 - Official Weights

Non-Title Middleweight Bout - Three Rounds
Travis Lutter (186.5*) vs Anderson Silva (185)

Eddie Sanchez (229) vs Mirko Cro Cop (223)
Marvin Eastman (203) vs Quinton Jackson (205)
John Halverson (155) vs Roger Huerta (156)
Patrick Cote (185) vs Scott Smith (185)

Preliminary Bouts
Terry Martin (186**) vs Jorge Rivera (185)
Frank Edgar (154) vs Tyson Griffin (156)
Sam Hoger (206) vs Lyoto Machida (203)
Diego Saraiva (155) vs Dustin Hazelett (156)

Un freakin believable. How could you miss making weight. I understand that most of these guys need to cut a lot of weight to make their chosen weight class, but not making weight for a title fight, c'mon. Anyway, the fight between Lutter and Silva will no longer be a title match. Lutter will pay 10% of his purse, 5% to Silva and 5% to the Nevada State Athletic Commision.

I just couldn't resist "stealing" this animated gif from Anderson Silva's myspace page

Most UFC fans had their first introduction to Anderson "The Spider" Silva when he knocked out Chris Leben on UFC's Ultimate Fight Night in June of 2006. Chris Leben was, and is, considered a durable striker with a great chin. Leben came straight at Silva and paid the price when Silva landed a couple of crisp punches, followed by a devestating knee to Leben's head.

The victory was so devestating and so one sided that UFC president Dana White immediately gave Silva a shot at Rich Franklin's middleweight belt. I think most UFC fans thought that even with a decisive victory over Leben that Franklin's experience and strength would be enough to counter Silva's obvious striking ability.

Most UFC fans would have been incorrect. Silva's work from the clinch was unbelievable. He litterally held the back of Franklin's head for 2 minutes while he repeatedly knee'd Franklin to the body. When Franklin went to protect his now bruised torso, Silva went to the head landing a couple of hard knees. It was those knees which broke Franklin's nose and won Silva the fight.

So, now Anderson Silva must face Ultimate Fighter season 4 winner Travis Lutter on February 3rd, 2007. Even though he took out the champion and a highly regarded contender, some people still have their doubts. Unlike many UFC fans, I also have followed the Pride organization for many years. The first time I took notice of Anderson Silva was when he brought Carlos Newton to the ground with a flying knee, not unlike the one given to Leben. At the time, Carlos Newton was thought to be one of the best fighters in the world. That was 2003.

Anderson Silva is no newcomer to Mixed Martial Arts, he is a seasoned veteran. He's beaten people standing up and on the ground. He is deceptively strong and the only word to describe his striking is "amazing". I once saw him knock out an opponent with an uppercut elbow. Just try that yourself and ask yourself this, how do you get close enough to a guy to throw that and how do you throw it hard enough to knock the other guy out. Amazing!

On the other hand Travis Lutter is an excellent submission specialist, but who has he submitted? He certainly defeated Patrick Cote easily in the Ultimate Fighter Final. But other than that, his victories don't come over top notch guys. You could argue that his victory over Marvin Eastman, who is facing Rampage Jackson on the same card, was against a top notch guy. However, I would argue that Marvin Eastman also hasn't won a big fight in a while. At least not against UFC level competition.

I believe that Anderson Silva will come out of this one with a victory. He has holes in his game, but it might take a newly motivated Rich Franklin to exploit them. I don't think Travis Lutter is ready.

Below is the highlight with Anderson Silva knocking a guy out with an elbow. While standing!

I've only seen Travis Lutter fight a few times, but I wonder if his outstanding ground game will be enough to take down Anderson Silva