The career of one of the greatest of all time in the UFC is coming to an end. Anderson “The Spider” Silva (34-10, 1 NC) is down to the final two fights of his career. Silva is considered to be on the short list for the greatest. In his prime, Silva’s run was incredible as he went 16-0 in the UFC with 11 successful defenses of the middleweight title. Silva lost the title to Chris Weidman, then in the rematch suffered a horrific broken leg. Silva is on a stretch currently where he’s gone (1-6 with 1 NC) in his last eight fights. Most of those fights besides the Cormier and Connonier fights were competitive while they lasted. With two fights left, who should the Spider fight in his last couple of fights?
Uriah Hall
I’m going to start with a fight that we were supposed to see a few years ago. Anderson Silva and Uriah Hall (15-9) were initially scheduled to fight at UFC 198. Silva had to pull out of the fight due to a medical issue. The fight would be a striking lovers dream. Both men have entertaining styles, and both men would want to trade. Hall came out of the Ultimate Fighter years ago being labeled as the next Anderson Silva. People thought the two were on a collision course for the UFC middleweight title. Of course, Hall’s career never took off the way we thought, and Anderson hit the tough stretch mentioned above.
At this stage, I think it would be the perfect matchup for Silva. Now, Uriah Hall is currently scheduled to fight Yoel Romero in August. If Hall gets through Romero, the fight wouldn’t make sense if you’re Hall because he will likely want someone who will get him closer to a title shot. However, if Romero wins, Hall will need an opponent, and Silva would be the perfect choice. A lot of moving parts, but this is a fight that I would love to see.
Shogun Rua
What more could you ask for if you’re a fan of Brazilian MMA. Two absolute legends in the sport going head-to-head near the end of their careers. If this fight were to come together, it’d have to be done in Brazil. I can just imagine the Brazilian crowd with Silva taking on Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (26-11-1). Both men are former UFC champions, and both men would be enshrined in any MMA Hall of Fame.
Rua, who turns 39-years-old later this year, is scheduled to conclude his trilogy with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in July. If Rua gets through that fight victorious, a fight with Silva would make perfect sense. Neither man is going to be making a run for the title at this stage of their careers. Why not pair the two up for a main event that global MMA fans would love to see? Obviously it wouldn’t be the same as it would have been years ago, but for the die-hards, this would be a fight that you’d turn in for.
Robbie Lawler
This one is coming out of left field, but just think about it. How much fun would it be for Silva to take on former UFC welterweight champion, “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (28-14, 1 NC)? The former welterweight king is entering the twilight of his career. After reining over the 170 pound division, Lawler has gone 1-4 in his last five fights. At 38-years-old, you have to wonder what’s next for Lawler. Lawler was completely dominated by Colby Covington in his last fight.
It’s hard to imagine Lawler climbing up the mountain again at this stage. However, we all know that Lawler is not done with his UFC career. Why not have him move back up to 185 pounds to fight Anderson Silva? Both men are former champions, and both men don’t have a clear next step in their careers. This would be another fun one for fight fans everywhere. Anderson does the best when a guy goes right after him, and we know that Lawler will do just that.
Chris Weidman
This would probably be the fight that Anderson Silva would want if you asked him who he’d like to fight (Outside of Conor McGregor). For years, Silva has maintained that he believes that he was better than Chris Weidman (14-5). Weidman knocked Silva out at UFC 162 after Silva was showboating. Silva was controlling the striking and having fun, but he got a little too careless. The two immediately ran the fight back, and Silva was losing this contest. In the second round, Silva looked to be getting into his rhythm before Weidman checked a leg kick that snapped Silva’s leg.
In the eyes of the MMA world, the two fights have a “What if?” about them. What if Anderson took Weidman seriously and didn’t put his hands down in the first fight? What if Silva didn’t break his leg in the second fight? No matter what Weidman says, there are always going to be questions around those two fights. Many won’t give Weidman his proper due for those fights. Obviously Silva is not the same guy anymore, but neither is Weidman who has gone 1-5 in his last six fights getting knocked out in every loss. Weidman has a fight coming up, but regardless of the outcome, why not run it back one final time? Give Weidman the chance to shut the doubters up for good or give Anderson the chance to prove that both fights were flukes.
What does the UFC do?
I really don’t know what Dana White and the UFC are going to do with these last couple of fights. All we know for sure is that they are not going to give Silva a pure wrestler outside of Weidman. They are going to give him someone who will stand and trade. Anderson Silva is one of the reasons I became a massive MMA fan, and it’s going to be bitter-sweet seeing these last couple of fights. No, he’s not the same guy he used to be, but in the hearts of fans everywhere, we will still get goosebumps hearing “Ain’t No Sunshine” by DMX play as Silva makes his walk for the couple of times.
