UFC 208: Anderson Silva Writing Final Chapters

Anderson Silva has already cemented his place in history. His bout with Derek Brunson at UFC 208 is now only about how much more of his storied career he has left.

Anderson Silva has not officially won a fight since 2012. An odd fact considering he was once considered the most untouchable fighter in the UFC, and all of mixed martial arts for that matter.

His place in MMA history has already been established and he is on the short list of fighters who can be called the greatest of all time. His dominance of the field was matched only by his ability to make the elite fighters of the era look ordinary. His record for most title defenses at middleweight still stands, though credit to Demetrious Johnson for being within distance at flyweight.

At UFC 208, he has a fight with the heavy hitting Derek Brunson in a veteran versus up-and-comer matchup. In Brunson, Silva is facing a striker who takes incredible risks in pursuit of the knockout. Most recently, the strategy back-fired as Brunson was stopped in the first round by surging contender Robert Whittaker in November.

Brunson is willing to take a punch to land a punch, but that strategy has traditionally been a one-way ticket to the loss column against the legendary Silva. “The Spider” made it clear on his first day in the UFC what would happen against fighters who charged recklessly against him by obliterating Chris Leben. The question is whether the Silva of 2017 still possesses the speed and timing to stop a fighter like Brunson.

It’s a dangerous fight for the former champion, Brunson is several years younger and eager to notch the biggest victory of his career. A loss will put fuel on the discussion that Silva should retire. If Silva can turn back the young upstart, however, he retains his top-ten ranking and makes the case for another marquee bout that could place him back in title contention.

Dissecting the past several years of Silva’s career to determine where he stands competitively is bewildering. After breaking his leg against Chris Weidman in 2013, Silva was out one year before returning to win a lackluster bout against Nick Diaz. That victory was overturned as Silva was caught for banned substances and the decision was changed to a no contest. After a perplexing saga, Silva was out another year due to a suspension before returning to action in 2016.

In one of the best fights of 2016, Silva lost a close decision to current champion Michael Bisping. As admirable as the performance by “The Count” was, the consensus is that it was a bout that Silva was very capable of winning despite his time away. His fight against Daniel Cormier may as well be discarded as Silva stepped in on two days notice without any training to fill in at UFC 200 for Jon Jones.

At 41-years-old, “The Spider” lacks the aura of invincibility he once had and is visibly a step slower than he used to be during his heyday. Even if circumstances allow Silva to win the title once again at this point in his career, the chances are nonexistent of him going on any significant run. It would seem as if “The Spider” himself has conceded that it is unlikely as he has been training with top Brazilian contender Jacare Souza ahead of UFC 208. Jacare is the consensus next title contender behind Yoel Romero and a victory at UFC 208 virtually guarantees his next fight is for the middleweight title.

Silva is aware that his path to a title likely goes through Jacare and his willingness to work with his countryman looks more like a sign that he is ready to pass the torch to the next Brazilian champion. Even so, Silva’s resume speaks for itself he appears to be as committed as any fighter can be after accomplishing all that he has. “The Spider” claims that he isn’t concerned with proving anything to anyone at this point in his career, but a win over Brunson ensures that his amazing career has at least one more big night ahead.