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Meet Thiago Silva
By Zach Arnold | April 29, 2007
He’s fighting at UFC 71 against James Irvin. This video is Jordan Breen-approved.
Topics: Japan, MMA, Media, UFC, Zach Arnold | 6 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback | Share This
What’s all the hype about this guy for? Besdies for that last kick, he throws very lazy kicks with his chin straight up in the air, and would probably be beat by Machida, Bisping, Evans, and the other middle ranks of the division….
“What’s all the hype about this guy for? Besdies for that last kick, he throws very lazy kicks with his chin straight up in the air, and would probably be beat by Machida, Bisping, Evans, and the other middle ranks of the division….”
Natural fighting ability, stuff you can’t really teach. That’s why the hype.
Machida, Evans, and even Bisping are further along in their development as fighters. But Silva is big, strong, still only 24, has natural functional strength and KO power, and still has tons and tons of untapped potential.
That’s why I think the James Irvin fight is good for him. Despite making his connex to Chute Boxe obvious with his flailing striking, he’s moreso a Macaco-trained guy. He’s surprisingly very good on the ground, good ground and pound, moves well and has solid positioning. Irvin isn’t great by any means, but is also big and has powerful stand up. So either it’ll force Silva to either 1) utilize some standing technique offensively and defensively, 2) take the fight to the ground and realize that’s where he’s best at this point, or 3) lose.
Also, as an addendum, Silva would definitely be beat by Rashad at this point, because his takedown defense isn’t that great, though he’s pretty good at scrambling and getting back to his feet. Lyoto is obviously too refined. He would have a good chance at beating Bisping though, due to the fact that he’s bigger and stronger than Bisping is, and Bisping is very hittable and very hurtable. Even still, Bisping’s edge in technique may give him a win there. Nonetheless, Silva’s young and has a lot of stuff you can’t teach, and has a network of quality guys to learn under, so he’s worthy of some attention.
“He’s just a skater boy, I said see ya later boy, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh”
The Dude see’s little in that guy. He’s not going anywhere and will actually make Irvin look like a champ.
F_D
I don’t think I’ve seen him before, but these are my reactions from this clip (a.k.a. analysis by an MMA newbie):
His hands drop when he kicks; I think an opponent can even see the hands dropping before the hip moves, thus telegraphing the kicks a bit too much. If he can work on this, the kicks are good; he doesn’t pull the hip back much before the kick comes, so they’re pretty fast (not Pramuk-fast, but still). He also drops his other hand when punching sometimes, which I think was a bigger mistake than how he holds his chin. He’s very open to counter-punches, and also eats a few here. An opponent with a little more power would hurt him a lot. He needs to know his distance a little bit better.
It seems like he (like many young fighters) has a bit of a tough-man “I’m immortal” approach, applying the classic blocking-punches-with-the-face technique. A part of the Chute Boxe style, I guess. With most fighters in this category, getting beat up real bad either makes them overly cautious or makes them improve the defense. I hope this kid fallers in the latter category, because while I’m not yet as excited as Jordan, he clearly has potential.