I was excited to see the other day that Martin Kampmann is expected to make a return to the Octagon. The kickboxing specialist impressed me with his win over the more powerful Drew McFredries. He showed he could not only take a beating, but also that he is well rounded. One has to assume it takes a decent amount of skill to handle a Militich fighter on the ground the way he handled McFredries.
Unfortunately—and this happens every time—my excitement was soon smothered by the ominous sense that no one will ever challenge Anderson Silva.
That’s not to say that I don’t like Silva. Not only do I think he is an exciting fighter—he brings it every time, no matter what game plan his opponent tries—his sportsmanship is second to none. I just want to see interesting match ups, challenging fights and to be able to argue with someone about who will hold the middleweight title after his next defense. There is no one, at least not in the UFC, that stands much more than a puncher’s chance against Silva.
What I can’t decide on is whether this is because Silva is so god-damned good, or that the division is just too light on talent.
If you want to argue that the division is too light on talent, than you would have to argue that it is a worldwide shortage. According to Sherdog.com (an ESPN.com affiliate no less) five of the top six fighters in the division are either in the WEC or the UFC. The only non-UFC fighter is Robbie Lawler, who showed promise in the UFC, but ultimately never even reached a title shot. Most of the others have been crushed by Silva (Franklin, Marquardt, Okami), and Filho showed that he is horrible on his feet.
If you want to argue that he is just so god-damned good, you need look no further than a direct comparison between Henderson’s fights with both Silva and Rampage. While I completely disagree with Henderson’s opinion that he did enough to beat Rampage, it would be hard to deny that he put up a decent fight. His fight against Silva, on the other hand, seemed to be going in his favor, until Silva turned it on with the straight kicks.
I’d like to see Denis Kang come to the UFC. I know he isn’t on anyone’s radar really, but his overhand right and overall strength and speed seem like, at the very least, an entertaining match up for Silva.
Here is hoping someone gives Silva a scare soon.
