- Pic Courtesy of Sherdog.com – Click for Source
To understand the true disparity between Anderson Silva and his opponent at UFC 153 in Stephan Bonnar, don’t waste time pulling out the old stat book to pour over obscure figures. Simply put, Bonnar has never fought in the main event of the UFC. Silva has been fighting in the main event since 2006 when he became the champ and since then the undisputed pound for pound greatest fighter of all time.
Bonnar hasn’t even fought a bigger name than the man he fought in his first official UFC appearance against Forrest Griffin when he lost a decision in the UFC’s first Ultimate Fighter Finale (TUF). Ironically since then, Silva destroyed Griffin years later when he was easily closer to his prime than when he fought Bonnar.
Besides all that, Silva has knocked out four more people than the number of opponents Bonnar has fought in his entire career, of which are 19 to Bonnar’s 3 measly technical knockouts. The most ridiculous part of the whole equation is that Bonnar is at the end of his career since the moment he retired which technically began after his last fight of almost a year ago where he picked a decision victory against Kyle Kingsbury at UFC 139.
Now he will be taking a fight on one month notice from his retired state, against the best fighter in the world, who happens to be in his prime or at least hasn’t slowed down at all up to this point.
Yet people, including Bonnar himself, are coining this fight as the true Rocky Balboa underdog story in mixed martial arts history. None of what I’ve said so far is meant to bash Bonnar. On the contrary, he is a very well rounded and respected opponent for most mid-level talent in the UFC. So in this vein of logic, here are my top five reasons Bonnar is going to have a harder time against Silva than Rocky did against Apollo Creed.
1. Rocky only had to worry about getting punched.
Anderson Silva has knocked people out with knees, elbows, feet, and of course his fists. He’s extremely unpredictable and can finish a fight with many different strikes as well as an arsenal of submissions and chokes as well. These are all things that Bonnar seems to ignore with reckless abandon in many of his past fights throughout his career.
2. Apollo Creed never embarrassed his opponents the way Anderson Silva has.
Just ask former light heavy weight champ Forrest Griffin! Silva stood in front of Griffin with his hands down while dodging his opponent’s punches with the least amount of telegraphed effort necessary to avoid being hit. The way Silva toys with his opponent before blasting them in to unconsciousness is a dangerous warning to any professional athlete in the sport of MMA.
What’s worse is that Bonnar is the least talented of the entire group that have been clowned by Silva in the past, and the statistics show this to be true, in the sense that Bonnar has not been as dominant or fought as high a quality of opponents as the grown men who have been completely handled by Silva.
3. Even in make believe, Rocky was given more time than a single month to train for his fight.
Bonnar may be fighting in one month but that doesn’t mean he has all that time to punch cows in a meat packing plant to his heart’s content (pardon the silly Rocky reference). He’s going to have to sit through media events of all different kinds up until the moment he steps in to the cage. Is it safe to say at least he knows better to drink beer beforehand? Because eating healthy may be the only thing he can do for the entire month, uninterrupted that is, before the actual fight occurs.
Therefore his all go no quit style that has defined his career and gained him an advantage through shear heart and force of will is going to be compromised. Oh and by the way, he has never fought five rounds in the octagon. Yet Silva has been fighting for five rounds most of his career since at least 2006 when he became the UFC champ. Silva has even been asking for a quick turnaround lately so it’s almost safe to assume he has been staying in relatively descent fighting shape since his last title defense against Chael Sonnen at UFC 148 on July of this year.
4. Rocky fought in his hometown while Bonnar must go fight in Silva’s.
Everything else aside, Bonnar is going to have to hear the infamous, “ You are going to die,” chant that has been a fun little game played by Brazilians as they taunt their countryman’s opponents. Fighting a Brazilian in Brazil doesn’t bode well for any opponent, yet when Anderson Silva is that man; it’s got to mean something much worse for you. Essentially, Silva won’t be caught sleeping in this one.
5. Bonnar has stated in interviews that he would like to think his situation is a mix between Rocky 1 and 4. Unfortunately he’s correct, and yet Rocky only had to go through one movie at a time.
As a 14-1 underdog, Stephan Bonnar is easily the biggest underdog in a fight in mixed martial arts history. He has giant stones for agreeing to step in to the cage with Anderson Silva, which may have finally cemented his nickname as a true testament to his exploits throughout his career. He’s is a great fighter and true ambassador of the sport. Hats off to ‘The American Psycho,’ and dare I say it, good luck.
Watch the video below if you want to hear how daunted Stephan Bonnar is at the task set before him.
VIDEO COURTESY OF mmaheat.com and Karyn Bryant..
By Gabe Keith ~ Senior Writer
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