What Does The Future Hold For The UFC Middleweight Division? ‘It’s Not The End Of The World’ According To Ed Soares

Following Chris Weidman’s destruction of Anderson Silva at UFC 162, the MMA landscape looks a whole lot different. The moment the knockout happened I thought I had fallen to sleep and dreamt about the fight. I’m not a huge Anderson Silva fan, never have been, but I appreciate great talent when I see it. Regardless of his cocky/arrogant antics, I truly believe that he is the greatest fighter alive.

In a sport where everything can be lost in a split second, you can’t judge fighters solely on records. A loss in a fight can be attributed to something as minute as a split second lapse in concentration, a missed movement or even being out planned. That being said, there is a new champion now, he beat Silva fair and square.Chris Weidman 118846 right70

So what does the future hold for the newly crowned king, and his 185lb. challengers? The answers is unclear while Silva considers whether he will fight for the title again. I know he said that he will never compete for the title again, but you and I know that a legend like Silva won’t lie down that easily. Silva finally has a reason to fight.

For years now he has been absolutely dominating every single opponent that he has faced. And lets be honest, unless you are this guy, you never actually thought that Silva was going to be tested by any of his former foes. People are saying that Silva has nothing to prove following his loss, but I feel the exact opposite is glaringly true.

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Silva absolutely has something to prove now. He has to prove that he still has the hunger, the drive to be a champion. If he will admit it or not, that loss against Weidman will have left a mark mentally. His post fight composure can be attributed to the base principle of all martial arts- honor, respect and dignity. I don’t feel like Silva disrespected opponents during his time as champion. It was part of his enigma and it helped him win.

“I think he went out there and was taunting him and doing certain things Anderson does once in awhile. There’s a possibility he may have taken it too far this time. And unfortunately he wasn’t able to walk away with the W.”

“You move left when you should have moved right, and your night can end,” Soares said. “Unfortunately, Anderson has a tendency to walk on that tightrope of taking risks. It’s part of the reason people like to watch him fight is because he takes those type of risks. Unfortunately, Saturday night, didn’t go his way.”

Anderson Silva’s manager Ed Soares appeared on the MMA Hour, to talk about the fight against Weidman and Silva’s future.

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We’re going to have to sit back and let the dust settle,” Soares said. “What other fight make sense other than the rematch? Right now that’s the last thing on our minds. What I want to see from Anderson is I want to see him sit with his family. Hang out with the people who unconditionally care about him, whether he’s the champ or not the champ, winning or losing, getting knocked out or getting knocked out. He just needs to be around the people who unconditionally care about him, get his thoughts together, and figure out what his next step is.”

Ed Soares1“It’s not the end of the world,” Soares said. “The sun came up today. It’s a beautiful day today. We’re healthy, our kids are good, are families are good. … Everything else, you just roll with the punches.” Wise words from Soares, but nothing very conclusive. My honest opinion is that Silva can beat any fighter on a good day, including Chris Weidman. People who write Anderson off after his first loss in seven years obviously don’t follow MMA enough. Truth be told, even if you don’t like Silva, you know he would beat Weidman in a rematch. So many pundits and fans wrote Muhammed Ali off, during his struggles with the law, after his loss to Frazier. Look how that turned out.

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I realise that this isn’t boxing, or the 1960’s, but it’s a good comparison. Silva is the greatest fighter on the planet, and has been for a long time. Even with the loss, can you tell me with a straight face that Chris Weidman is the GOAT?

Providing The Spider has the right mindset, he is a force to be reckoned with. My belief is that Silva will come back highly motivated and by 2014, will have re captured the belt. Check out the full episode of the MMA Hour, courtesy of MMAFighting.com and stay tuned to Lowkick!