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Anderson Silva: Heavy Weight?
Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2009 5:20 pm
by damo[23]
Well, this certainly raised my eye brows a bit when I saw this pop up in front of me. Certainly a move that is both fiscally and challenge based if it were to happen, but also on a some what sentimental level not wanting to fight Machida (which indirectly shows how much Silva, and the UFC, believe that Machida will rule the LHW division much like Anderson, at least for a little while).
A few snippets:
Prior to Silva's flooring Forrest Griffin earlier this month in Philadelphia, SI.com confirmed that Silva's representatives had spoken with Zuffa about the heralded UFC middleweight champion moving up to heavyweight for the first time in his career.
Not only that, they already had an opponent in mind: Frank Mir.
...
It would indeed be impressive for a former world champion at 167 pounds to climb all the way to heavyweight, where blockbusters against Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, or, dare we say it, Brock Lesnar, a fight Silva would accept if the money is right, could materialize.
...
The best bouts might come at light heavyweight -- Silva vs. Rampage; Rashad; Shogun; and down the road, Jon Jones or Gegard Mousasi -- but with Silva and Machida refusing to fight, an extended stay at 205 doesn't make sense. By the sound of things, the talented Brazilians won't compete no matter how much pressure comes down from Dana White and the UFC.
...
"I'm gonna say there's no way they fight," said Soares, who also manages Machida.
What does that leave? Heavyweight.
Grab the whole article here:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/w ... index.htmlCertainly an interesting one, its not like this is unheard of (think of how many weight class's BJ has fought at and against), but in todays MMA game for someone to jump up two weight class's ... its typically the other way around.
However, I can't imagine this being his next fight or anything, and should Machida lose his title, I am sure with the way the LHW plains are laid out, Silva could make a title run without having to go through Machida.
Re: Anderson Silva: Heavy Weight?
Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2009 7:46 pm
by Nemesis21
Wouldn't Silva have to bulk up to 220-225 range ? even then he'd be a small heavyweight. He is most comfortable at 185-205 range, that's 30-40 lbs he'd have to add.
I think his best bet is to either stay at 185, or quit being a bitch and move up to 205 and give us a super fight to watch in him vs Lyoto.
Re: Anderson Silva: Heavy Weight?
Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2009 10:21 pm
by Deelow_23
I just don't see Silva at Heavyweight. He would be way to small and probably lose a considerable amount of his power and speed. But could you imagine Lesnar vs. Silva?
Re: Anderson Silva: Heavy Weight?
Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 1:23 am
by jTF2
I don't want to see him fight anyone in the heavyweight div except for Crocop. Nothing else is compelling. 205 is the **** though.. rampage, machida, rashad, cane, etc.
Re: Anderson Silva: Heavy Weight?
Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 1:28 am
by High 5
I'd hate to see Silva get Mir'd by Lesnar. LHW is definitely the best place for him.
Re: Anderson Silva: Heavy Weight?
Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 1:31 am
by CapeCrusader
No way he goes up to Heavyweight....thats just too much weight to put on without getting fat. LHW is the best bet and will give him so much competition, plus it opens the middleweight to other fighters.
Re: Anderson Silva: Heavy Weight?
Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 10:50 am
by Hilltop
That's a huge leap to make, and I doubt he does it without sacrificing a lot of what makes him so effective to begin with. Outside of Mirko, there are barely any other heavyweights that will not outweigh him by a load. The Light-Heavyweight seems right about perfect for him.
Re: Anderson Silva: Heavy Weight?
Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 1:21 pm
by Headliner
He could fight Cro Cop, and Randy but the other guys are just too big.
But then again, People said Forrest weighs in at around 220 or so after weigh in...and look what he did there.
One thing i'll never do again is doubt Anderson.
Re: Anderson Silva: Heavy Weight?
Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 1:27 pm
by CPT
I've heard Forrest is actually closer to 230, 240 come fight time. There are quite a few guys at HW around that size or smaller.
That being said, I don't think competing at HW is the best idea for Silva.
I think seeing him fight Cro Cop would be pretty cool though. Ditto for Randy, in a different way. And I guess I'd be kind of interested in the fight with Mir, which I'd probably pick him to win.
What I think would be best for him is to just pick a weight class and stick to it. I mean, there's talk of him fighting GSP (who would probably come up to 185, or at least 180, but still), and at the same time, there's talk of him going up to HW. On the one hand, it opens up a bunch of new matchups to jump around between weight classes, but IMO it could prevent him from getting the real top level fights in any division aside from MW.
Re: Anderson Silva: Heavy Weight?
Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 4:36 pm
by Cammo101
I for one have no interest in seeing Silva at HW. LHW is where he fits better and where the bigger fights are.
Re: Anderson Silva: Heavy Weight?
Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 5:46 pm
by Shaazzam
I'm up for watching Silva fight pretty much anyone at any weight. He's an absolute genius with laser sights so I think he can knock out anyone if they try and stand with him.
Re: Anderson Silva: Heavy Weight?
Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 8:30 pm
by Integral_Anomaly
The guy is 6'2 and walks around at 220-225 range, he has to cut weight to get to 205 and even more so to get to middleweight so heavyweight is not a stretch. He may have to put on like 10 to 15 pounds and thats it. There are some nice match ups there (Mir, Cro Cop, Kongo, Velasquez, Carwin), however I think he would get murdered by Lesnar.
Re: Anderson Silva: Heavy Weight?
Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 5:22 am
by Test of Wills
Integral_Anomaly wrote:The guy is 6'2 and walks around at 220-225 range, he has to cut weight to get to 205 and even more so to get to middleweight so heavyweight is not a stretch. He may have to put on like 10 to 15 pounds and thats it. There are some nice match ups there (Mir, Cro Cop, Kongo, Velasquez, Carwin), however I think he would get murdered by Lesnar.
Never ever doubt The Spider!