Hey guys,
As many of you know - I just don't care about UFC on FX 8 - so I'm moving right ahead with all the awesome matches happening at UFC 160!
Today I'm examining Bigfoot Silva. It's a little brutal but it's just the stuff that is holding him back.
Hope you don't mind clicking the link and as always all feedback is welcomed!
Cheers,
Jack
Antonio Silva, more commonly known as Bigfoot Silva, is a mountain of a man with a thunderous punch and a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
While Silva holds wins over two of the most impressive names in heavyweight MMA - FedorEmelianenko and Alistair Overeem - he is one of the most obviously flawed fighters in MMA today. While Silva can punch he can't box for love nor money, and while he has one of the scariest top games in MMA, he is an exceptionally poor wrestler.
Lumbering Striking
The first major flaw in Silva's game is the ponderous way in which he begins every fight. In almost every bout Bigfoot plods towards his opponent and simply stands there as if he is considering the options available to him - but then almost always leads with a right low kick without any set up.
Silva measures Cormier.
Then leads with a right low kick. This being the third occasion he has tried this, Cormier catches Bigfoot's kick.
And dumps Silva to the mat.
The right leg kick is the strike which travels the furthest distance to reach the target - it is easy to see coming even when faster men perform it. Where utilizing this technique without set up worked well at Glory 8's 65kg tournament, it will not work in heavyweight MMA. I am sure we all remember how Bigfoot came out and immediately sacrificed his puncher's chance by giving Cain Velasquez his leg.
It was almost as if Velasquez knew what Silva was going to do...
Despite having incredibly heavy hands Bigfoot is often too slow and ponderous to land them. He will simply stand in front of his opponent, waiting for an opening that either isn't there or that he is too slow to exploit. Bigfoot stands so flat footed and upright that he is incredibly vulnerable to arcing right hands and his slow hands, reaching hands make him vulnerable to hooks around his guard.
In truth Silva never looks all that bad when he's going after opponents with punches - almost all of the shots that have hurt him have come as he attempts to defend himself. Silva, like Urijah Faber, simply spends too much of a match waiting to strike and not actually striking.
Continues at: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1640212-ufc-160-antonio-bigfoot-silva-perfectly-flawed
