Praise for a fighter’s stand-up ability doesn’t come much higher than when it comes from Anderson Silva.
Silva is the proud owner of some of the most devastatingly stunning knockouts in the history of mixed martial arts.
This crazy elbow to Tony Frylund impressed the UFC enough to sign the Brazilian up to a contract and Silva quickly set off on his voyage of almost unfathomable striking.
We saw ‘The Spider’ show off previously underutilised knees to finish his early opposition before the reigning middleweight champion jumped up to 205lbs to toy with Forrest Griffin on the feet.
Shortly after, this happened.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGD0qxRSmjU
Silva is typically found in the top three on any fight fan’s list of greatest of all time fighters, while his striking technique exceeds that of his rivals for that honour, largely agreed to be Georges St-Pierre and Jon Jones.
The highlight reel of Silva alone is enough to solidify his status as the most technically sound striker in UFC history but he believes that a new name now holds that honour.
As he prepares for a clash with Derek Brunson this weekend, Silva was asked about McGregor’s prowess and offered an endorsement that shouldn’t be taken lightly, as highlighted by Sirius XM’s Luke Thomas.
Anderson Silva said Conor McGregor is the best technical striker in all of the UFC.
— Luke Thomas🏋️♀️ (@lthomasnews) February 8, 2017
Silva also admitted that he was impressed by the Irishman’s promotional skills which was something that the former long-time 185lbs kingpin lacked in his day.
And given the money that would accompany a bout opposite McGregor, who can blame Silva for trying to put himself in the conversation for a catchweight clash with the biggest draw in MMA history?
“Now that I’m old, I’m beginning to challenge everyone,” Silva recently told GloboTV, as transcribed by BJPenn.com. “Oh, I want to beat this dwarf… what’s the boy’s name again? McGregor.
“It is not provocation. It’s just that I forget, I’m old. Old men know what it’s like. I have this urge to test myself against him. I think he’s a guy who has an unusual ability. I do not know if he would reach a weight of 81, 82 kg, which is the weight I can get to, but it’s a guy I’d like to test myself before I end my career. I think it would be a great fight for the world of fights and UFC history.”
