Zuffa purchases Strikeforce

[singh_shady]

I think you're completely wrong. Anderson didn't get his shot as a happy accident of circumstance. The UFC knew what it had on its hands.

skflives, prior to knocking out Leben, Silva's most memorable moment was being caught in a flying scissor heel hook...

[skflives]

I think you're completely wrong. Anderson didn't get his shot as a happy accident of circumstance. The UFC knew what it had on its hands.

skflives, prior to knocking out Leben, Silva's most memorable moment was being caught in a flying scissor heel hook...

Anderson Silva can knock out 5 guys in one fight and that flying scissor heel hook would still be his most memorable moment to me.

At the time this PPV was completely overlooked, Shamrock vs Tito was on Spike the week before (massive fight, most viewed ever) and GSP/Hughes, Tito/Chuck were on the horizon..

So not only was Anderson Silva's title shot for his second UFC fight a happy accident but it was also a happy accident that he was headlining a PPV for that same fight. But its ok, it was one of the meaningless PPV cards and not one of their important ones.

[singh_shady]

I think you're completely wrong. Anderson didn't get his shot as a happy accident of circumstance. The UFC knew what it had on its hands.

skflives, prior to knocking out Leben, Silva's most memorable moment was being caught in a flying scissor heel hook...

Anderson Silva can knock out 5 guys in one fight and that flying scissor heel hook would still be his most memorable moment to me.

Destroying Leben and Rich, finishing Hendo, catching Irwin's kick and KOing him, making a complete fool of Forrest, catching Sonnen in the triangle, front kicking Vitor's head off.. Silva's career is made up of legendary, highlight reel moments. Most fighter's could only dream of having one moment like that and Silva delivers one almost every other fight..

If he had a few or even one of these moments in PRIDE you would at least have an argument but when your most memorable moment coming into an organization is in defeat, no, you're not a true star. Silva was always a skilled fighter, but didn't blossom until he came to the UFC.

[cowboyronnie]

I think you're completely wrong. Anderson didn't get his shot as a happy accident of circumstance. The UFC knew what it had on its hands.

The UFC knew. That doesn't say anything about his public profile. He was not a star.

Just go away.

[skflives]

You just go away. He got a title shot in his second fight in the UFC AND it headlined a PPV. That isn't something average joe blow fighters do.

[Cammo101]

You just go away. He got a title shot in his second fight in the UFC AND it headlined a PPV. That isn't something average joe blow fighters do.

I think part of the problem here is that you are using today's standard to judge something that happened when the landscape of MMA was very different. When Silva got that title shot in his second UFC fight, the divisions were nowhere near as stacked as they are now. It was not unheard of for guys to get a title shot in their first or second fight. This was right after the first TUF and the divisions were still weak. For example, Frank Trigg fought for the title in his UFC debut. The current UFC is so stacked and has some many great fighters in each division that something like this would never happen. That was not thew case in the pre-TUF days.

I think the UFC knew what they had to some degree with Silva the minute he walked into the octogon. But, he was largely untapped talent at that point and he was very far from being a name star. When Silva came to the UFC, he was largely an unknown.

[SDM]

Leben was on a roll prior to the Silva fight- six straight wins, never been finished, only loss to Joe D by decision. Then Silva knocks him out in less than a minute. I'll guess that Silva got the title shot because of how dominant the performance was against a guy seen as a real test, kind of like Jones-Bader.

[CPT]

You just go away. He got a title shot in his second fight in the UFC AND it headlined a PPV. That isn't something average joe blow fighters do.

I think part of the problem here is that you are using today's standard to judge something that happened when the landscape of MMA was very different. When Silva got that title shot in his second UFC fight, the divisions were nowhere near as stacked as they are now. It was not unheard of for guys to get a title shot in their first or second fight. This was right after the first TUF and the divisions were still weak. For example, Frank Trigg fought for the title in his UFC debut. The current UFC is so stacked and has some many great fighters in each division that something like this would never happen. That was not thew case in the pre-TUF days.

I think the UFC knew what they had to some degree with Silva the minute he walked into the octogon. But, he was largely untapped talent at that point and he was very far from being a name star. When Silva came to the UFC, he was largely an unknown.

Wait, are you trying to imply Frank Trigg ISN'T a huge star?

I guess we were all just blinded by Tim Sylvia and couldn't see him.