The Spider's leg is healing, and he's been providing updates recently on his return to training. Who's next? The return to training for Anderson Silva brings up an important question: having lost twice in a row to Chris Weidman, who could Silva face next? The GSP and Jon Jones fights still sound interesting. What about a lower level contender? Could you even go the opposite route, and drop him into another match with Weidman after the last one ended in an unfortunate leg break? Here's your Top 10 candidates for Anderson Silva's next fight.
10. Chris Weidman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUfGaAGzQFs Remember when Anderson Silva was invincible, and Chris Weidman was thought to have been rushed into a title shot too soon? While Weidman had his supporters, did any of us expect Weidman to win? Up to his first loss to Weidman in July 2013, the only person who had come close to dethroning Anderson Silva had been Chael Sonnen, who dominated the champ with solid wrestling pressure for four and a half rounds in their first meeting at UFC 117. Then Silva made once of the greatest comebacks of all time in the octagon, and walked out still holding his belt. Certainly no one expected Weidman to knock Silva out at UFC 162. And when it happened, the excuses came: Silva had been clowning. He hadn't taken Weidman seriously. It was a lucky punch. Some of that was true - Silva had taken his clowning to a new level, and it cost him. Even a lucky punch takes skill to set up and land however. People were still overlooking Weidman. In their rematch, in December 2013 at the UFC's year end show, Silva was actually the favourite, and Weidman ranked the underdog, despite holding the belt. Then history repeated itself - not a punch, but a broken leg suffered by Silva as Weidman checked a kick. The fans would have the same criticism: it was a stroke of luck, a fluke injury, Weidman still hadn't really beaten Silva. And again, it was only half-true. It takes skill to learn to check kicks, and timing. Despite that there are lots of fans who would love to see Silva-Weidman 3. In reality, however, Silva should probably take another fight or two first, and Weidman should prove himself against another challenger.
Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.
