Monday Morning Reverie: ‘Spider’ Venom
Mike Sloan Oct 22, 2007
Rich Franklin (Pictures) must be wondering what in the
world he has to do to beat the Brazilian bomber known as Anderson Silva.
Franklin was knocked out Saturday a second time at the hands (and feet and knees and elbows) of "The Spider." The Cincinnati native was able to keep his opponent at bay early, but it seemed that the defending UFC middleweight champion had suddenly figured out the American.
Once that happened, Franklin was knocked senseless along the fence
with his left leg bent under his own body. Then he had to refocus
his attention on the second round and get flattened by a bruising
right knee.
Franklin looked as if he had seen a ghost late in the first round, and his tactical strikes disappeared into thin air. Gone were his range-finding jabs and tricky footwork. It seemed that after Silva had walked through Franklin's right hand in the first, "Ace" became mentally murdered, and it was just a matter of time before the smelling salts had to be ushered into the Octagon.
I'm not going to say that Franklin quit or crumbled mentally, but it certainly looked that way. I doubt he will be able to explain why he looked so sharp for the first 120 seconds and then instantly hit that proverbial wall, a headfirst crash that allowed Dr. Silva to capitalize with his surgical striking prowess.
Franklin will bounce back from this defeat if he chooses to. Looking back at the fight, he appeared to doubt his own talent -- and that cost him. As the fight wore on, it was crystal clear which 185-pound combatant was oozing confidence, which was the far superior fighter.
Franklin is a fan-friendly fighter who receives raucous ovations from sold-out crowds every time he fights, and he'll be able to climb back into the Octagon knowing he has a legion of fans who adore him. He's returned from defeat twice now. The question is not whether he can come back but will he?
As for Anderson, he seems like an invincible force at 185 in the UFC. Nobody currently under contract will beat him unless Dan Henderson (Pictures) drops back down to middleweight. It doesn't matter that Ryo Chonan (Pictures) is now a UFC fighter either; Silva will avenge that loss if the rematch happens, and he'll do so emphatically. It's anybody's guess whom Silva will lock horns with next, but it's doubtful that his next outing will be against someone the caliber of Franklin.
While I still think Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures) is the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter, the Russian's time at the top is running thin. Below him is Anderson Silva, a man who has transformed himself into a virtually perfect mixed martial artist, a man who will hold the UFC middleweight title for a long, long time.
Misc. Debris
Tim Sylvia (Pictures), what are we going to do with you?
Sylvia's fight with Brandon Vera (Pictures) was the resounding stinker of October. Is "The Maine-iac" still perplexed why he hasn't become a fan favorite?
I honestly thought Vera won 29-28. Sylvia did nothing in the first two rounds except pin his opponent along the fence and hold him there.
Sure, Vera returned the favor by doing the same thing, but in the first two stanzas he at least landed several hard punches to the mahogany-chinned former UFC champ. Sylvia landed nothing except for his flurries in the third.
I'm still confused how Sylvia won the decision. I'm even more confused why he called out Cheick Kongo (Pictures) afterward and not a fighter on the A list. …
Alan Belcher (Pictures) is slowly becoming a well-rounded (see: dangerous) fighter. Don't be surprised if the Southern boy is standing inside the Octagon for his first UFC title fight sooner than you think. He's that good. …
How classic was it that when the cameraman zoomed in on Vera's broken hand that the telecast quickly shot over to world-renowned tough guy Nick Lachey? Even funnier was when Mike Goldberg became overjoyed and screamed, "Nick Lachey blah blah blah …" Joe Rogan must have been proud. …
Word these days is that Chuck Liddell (Pictures) will be fighting Wanderlei Silva (Pictures) next. Though there wasn't an official announcement at UFC 77, someone very close to one of the fighters inquired if I had several of the other fighter's recent bouts on tape for studying. …
Brock Lesnar (Pictures) is officially a UFC fighter. To the guys who e-mail me with nonsense: No, Randy Couture (Pictures) didn't resign from the UFC because he's afraid to fight Lesnar. That'd be like me being a little timid if my new neighbor showed up with a "Scattergories" tournament trophy.
Hit me up at www.myspace.com/sherdogsloan
Franklin was knocked out Saturday a second time at the hands (and feet and knees and elbows) of "The Spider." The Cincinnati native was able to keep his opponent at bay early, but it seemed that the defending UFC middleweight champion had suddenly figured out the American.
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Franklin looked as if he had seen a ghost late in the first round, and his tactical strikes disappeared into thin air. Gone were his range-finding jabs and tricky footwork. It seemed that after Silva had walked through Franklin's right hand in the first, "Ace" became mentally murdered, and it was just a matter of time before the smelling salts had to be ushered into the Octagon.
Of course it's easy for me to try and dissect what transpired on
Saturday night in the main event of the so-so UFC 77 card. I was
kicking back with some friends and family, throwing back some
Heinekens and letting Silva and Franklin do all the work for
me.
I'm not going to say that Franklin quit or crumbled mentally, but it certainly looked that way. I doubt he will be able to explain why he looked so sharp for the first 120 seconds and then instantly hit that proverbial wall, a headfirst crash that allowed Dr. Silva to capitalize with his surgical striking prowess.
Franklin will bounce back from this defeat if he chooses to. Looking back at the fight, he appeared to doubt his own talent -- and that cost him. As the fight wore on, it was crystal clear which 185-pound combatant was oozing confidence, which was the far superior fighter.
Franklin is a fan-friendly fighter who receives raucous ovations from sold-out crowds every time he fights, and he'll be able to climb back into the Octagon knowing he has a legion of fans who adore him. He's returned from defeat twice now. The question is not whether he can come back but will he?
As for Anderson, he seems like an invincible force at 185 in the UFC. Nobody currently under contract will beat him unless Dan Henderson (Pictures) drops back down to middleweight. It doesn't matter that Ryo Chonan (Pictures) is now a UFC fighter either; Silva will avenge that loss if the rematch happens, and he'll do so emphatically. It's anybody's guess whom Silva will lock horns with next, but it's doubtful that his next outing will be against someone the caliber of Franklin.
While I still think Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures) is the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter, the Russian's time at the top is running thin. Below him is Anderson Silva, a man who has transformed himself into a virtually perfect mixed martial artist, a man who will hold the UFC middleweight title for a long, long time.
Misc. Debris
Tim Sylvia (Pictures), what are we going to do with you?
Sylvia's fight with Brandon Vera (Pictures) was the resounding stinker of October. Is "The Maine-iac" still perplexed why he hasn't become a fan favorite?
I honestly thought Vera won 29-28. Sylvia did nothing in the first two rounds except pin his opponent along the fence and hold him there.
Sure, Vera returned the favor by doing the same thing, but in the first two stanzas he at least landed several hard punches to the mahogany-chinned former UFC champ. Sylvia landed nothing except for his flurries in the third.
I'm still confused how Sylvia won the decision. I'm even more confused why he called out Cheick Kongo (Pictures) afterward and not a fighter on the A list. …
Alan Belcher (Pictures) is slowly becoming a well-rounded (see: dangerous) fighter. Don't be surprised if the Southern boy is standing inside the Octagon for his first UFC title fight sooner than you think. He's that good. …
How classic was it that when the cameraman zoomed in on Vera's broken hand that the telecast quickly shot over to world-renowned tough guy Nick Lachey? Even funnier was when Mike Goldberg became overjoyed and screamed, "Nick Lachey blah blah blah …" Joe Rogan must have been proud. …
Word these days is that Chuck Liddell (Pictures) will be fighting Wanderlei Silva (Pictures) next. Though there wasn't an official announcement at UFC 77, someone very close to one of the fighters inquired if I had several of the other fighter's recent bouts on tape for studying. …
Brock Lesnar (Pictures) is officially a UFC fighter. To the guys who e-mail me with nonsense: No, Randy Couture (Pictures) didn't resign from the UFC because he's afraid to fight Lesnar. That'd be like me being a little timid if my new neighbor showed up with a "Scattergories" tournament trophy.
Hit me up at www.myspace.com/sherdogsloan
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