What's Next for Anderson Silva?

Anderson "The Spider" Silva awaits final word on his next fight & Pro Fighting Fans offers a few suggestions

The troublesome thing about the UFC is that there is no set schedule, no bracket to pass through, no real apparent rhyme or reason in the matchmaking process. When a fighter goes into a fight, one can only speculate who he will fight based on the outcome of the fight. The matchmaking process can determine if a fighter will challenge for a title down the road or if the fighter is struggling to save his job in the UFC.

Anderson Silva is at a unique crossroads in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship; Silva has won 11 consecutive matches in the UFC and in his last 3 title defenses (against Demian Maia, Thales Leites, and Patrick Cote), Silva has put forward lackluster performances while earning victories. He has beaten nearly every viable option the UFC has at 185 lbs. The fact of the matter is this: there is no obvious answer for the next in line for a match with Silva. Silva has 2 fights remaining on his current contract with the UFC so Joe Silva, matchmaker for the UFC, has at least two important decisions to make regarding the Spider.

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The way I see it, the UFC has 3 possible solutions to the Silva situation:

1) Bring in a new fighter to challenge Anderson Silva

This is a tough position to be in, but possibly the most likely outcome for Silva’s next opponent. It has been rumored that Chael Sonnen’s rise through the division, capped off by his decision victory over Nate Marquardt has put him into position to battle Silva. Sonnen is a hard-nosed fighter and would likely make for a tough opponent for the Spider. Many reputable sources (Including ProFighting-Fans.com) have reported that Dana White would like to land Jake Shields, Strikeforce’s Middleweight champion. One would think that since Shields recently defeated former UFC star Dan Henderson, this catapults him to the front of the line in the UFC. There is no telling what amount of money it would take to get Shields to step into the Octagon, but with the performance he put on against Hendo, we can assume he would give Silva a good fight. Other non-UFC competitors that may be brought into the discussion are Bellator middleweight champ Hector Lombard and the dangerous Gegard Mousasi, a Strikeforce light heavyweight who has fought previously at 185 lbs.

2) Set up a rematch with one of Silva’s previous opponents

Silva has literally cleaned out the division in the UFC. He has beaten all challengers including Rich Franklin, Nate Marquardt, Thales Leites, Patrick Cote, and Demian Maia. We know a rematch with Frankin is unlikely because Silva has twice defeated Franklin and Rich is now in the light heavyweight division, presumably to finish out his career. The most likely rematches would either be with Maia or Marquardt. Perhaps the UFC would offer Maia another chance to display his skills if Silva were to give him a genuine fight instead of a clinic on evasion. Maia’s top-notch jiu jitsu could stand to give Silva some trouble, but the glaring hole in Maia’s game is his striking and takedown abilities. In their first fight, Anderson stayed at a distance and pumped jabs at Maia while Maia tried to connect on strikes and takedowns and failed. Marquardt is a more all-around fighter than Maia, but he lost recently to Chael Sonnen, so he will take a step backwards in the line of contenders.

3) Set up a so-called “Superfight” between Silva and another champion

Anderson Silva is no stranger to fighting at light heavyweight while retaining his middleweight belt, having done so against James Irvin and former champ Forrest Griffin. The argument could be made that if Silva defeats Sonnen, he would have wiped out the Middleweight division and he would need to look elsewhere for a challenging opponent. One possible scenario would be for Silva to move up to 205 lbs. yet again and take on some elite competitors there. The problem with this strategy is that Silva is friends and training partners with Lyoto Machida and the two have said that they will not fight each other. Other possible contenders in the light heavyweight division could be the winner of the upcoming Rampage Jackson/Rashad Evans fight, or Shogun Rua if he defeats Machida in their upcoming rematch for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Another fighter that could possibly contend with Anderson Silva is Georges St. Pierre. GSP is a large welterweight fighter and could probably put on the weight to make for an interesting matchup at 185 lbs against Silva.

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After taking a look at three possible outcomes, I feel that the best possible solution for the UFC would be to sign Jake Shields and have him immediately step in to the cage against Anderson Silva. Not only would this help the UFC by crippling Strikeforce, but it would give Silva a chance to test his skills against a top-level fighter that he has never fought previously. It seems that people are not nearly as interested in rematches and the likelihood of two champions like Silva and GSP squaring of is not very great, even though the fight may go down in history as one of the best ever. Time will tell what Joe Silva and Dana White will propose to Anderson Silva, but one thing is for sure: Silva will undoubtedly try to put on a show no matter who he faces next. His last fight was quite disappointing to UFC president Dana White, and as Tito Ortiz can tell you, you do not want to be in Dana’s doghouse.

By Curt Heinrichs
ProFighting-fans.com MMA Staff Writer