Have belt will travel – What’s next for Anderson Silva

UFC Middleweight Champion and pound for pound greatest Anderson Silva again dispatched the man who “had the greatest shot at beating him” and in doing so ran his UFC record to a perfect 14-0.  Let that marinate for a moment.  Anderson Silva is 14-0 inside the UFC Octagon, an achievement that will likely never again be met.  So now that he’s cleaned out the division, what’s next?

To be the greatest in the world at any given sport, or profession is unbelievable.  To be the greatest is a difficult claim to prove, unless you’re Anderson Silva.  Anyone who would complain that Anderson Silva isn’t the best pound for pound fighter in MMA, just isn’t being rational.

Anderson Silva has shown an ability to just toy with and then destroy the top level talent in the UFC.  He put his hands down, begging Okami to throw and then countered and floored him with a jab.  He can seemingly pull the trigger and end any fight at will, and at this point, staying in Middleweight alone doesn’t make sense.

Anderson will likely next face the winner of the UFC 136 match between Chael Sonnen and Brian Stann.  We’ll either see a rematch with Sonnen, which would be solid box office or a fight between two explosive punchers in Stann and Silva, which likely would end with Brian Stann counting lights.

The obvious choice is for Anderson Silva to move up to Light Heavyweight.  Potential fights with Rampage Jackson, Shogun Rua, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans and Jon Jones would be huge draws, and could break PPV records.  However, there is one other interesting aspect, Anderson could attempt to be the first fighter to hold and defend titles in two separate weight classes.

He’s cleared out Middleweight, so why not move up to 205 for a couple fights, and when a contender emerges at 185, he can go back down and defend his belt.  I believe Anderson could go up and claim that belt, all the while defending his current Middleweight championship.  It’s a move that would solidify his spot as number one pound for pound, and would leave the largest legacy in the sport.

The question is how much longer does Anderson Silva wish to continue to fight?  If he wants one or two more, than by all means, stay at 185; maybe focus on a rematch with Sonnen and then a potential single super-fight against Jon Jones or GSP.  The fight with Jones seems much easier, as Anderson has fought before at 205 and it would be a serious clash.

Anderson’s legacy is safe; he’s the pound for pound best in the world.  He’s an undefeated 14-0 inside the UFC which is an amazing feat in its own right, but consider he’s been fighting the best of the best as defending champion for ten of those fights.

As fans all we can do is sit back and watch as it all plays out, but it would be amazing to see Silva try and clean out the Light Heavyweight division as well.

Tags: Anderson Silva, Brian Stann, Chael Sonnen, Georges St. Pierre, Jon Jones, Lyoto Machida, MMA, Rampage Jackson, Rashad Evans, UFC

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