Has Anderson Silva finally “Passed the Torch?”
Anderson Silva has blessed our screens for nearly 13 years and it would be hard to say there have been many dull moments during his career. Landing over 90% strike accuracy on his UFC debut against the durable Chris Leben in June 2006 he continued his dominance in the Middleweight Division eventually winning the title which he held on to for over 6 and a half years!
In February 2018, we witnessed another dominant force enter the Middleweight Division. Israel Adesanya showed immediately he was going to be a serious contender displaying incredible skill and athleticism. Others also thought, “This guy reminds me of somebody?”
Adesanya has been labelled “Anderson Silva 2.0” by some fans but do they have a point?
Adesanya has had five fights so far in the UFC and has won 4 Performance of the Night Awards which is mirroring how Anderson started his UFC career. Anderson went on to win many many more bonuses and I am confident Adesanya will be following this trend.
Recently we saw the bout pushed up to the Main Event as Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker had to withdraw from his title fight last-minute. Luckily the co-main event was greatly anticipated by many, especially when felt we were looking at Anderson Silva coming against his former, younger self. Many thought Israel Adesanya would take this fight hands down finishing the Veteran early on. Silva again showed us he is still able to stand toe to toe with the best as he took Adesanya all 3 rounds during which he landed some well times shots but came short in the end losing by unanimous decision.
It truly saddens me to say since Silva had his devasting injury back in December 2013 when he broke, well completely shattered his leg against Chris Weidman, he has only gone on to win 1 in 5 which is very unlike the Silva we are used too. Israel has now faced his toughest opponent to date and is proving that the hype is real. He is showing amazing potential to follow in the path we watched Silva endure and I am personally very eager to see him compete again soon.
Article By: Chris Allen
