Silva is bad ass, no doubt, but here are a few fighters who I think might have a shot at beating him.
Vitor - If he used the same strategy as he did during his first fight, I think he would win again.
Nog - I think Nog could take Silva down and submit him.
Couture - Coutoure could probably take him down and win by G&P
Horn - I think it would be a close fight, could go either way
Ken Shamrock - This would certainly be a tough fight for Silva, could go either way, but I think shamrock would have a definite advantage if it goes to the ground.
Chuck Liddell - Definitely would be a tough fight, could go either way
Couture would have to win a decision by complete control, because I don't think he could actually hurt Silva enough on the ground to stop him. Noguiera would definately beat him, I think Silva will find this out sooner or later if he moves up. Horn is an interesting choice, I have not really seen his fights, would love to. have you seen alot of his? Why do you think he could win?
Shamrock?????
Agree that Couture would have to gnp but would not hurt him.
Ken Shamrock ? I seriously doubt he would last more than a few minutes.
Chuck Liddell, this would be a great fight could go either way.
Nog, I think Nog would have difficulty with the takedowns. Also I think Silva would be tough to submit, if anybody could do it though it would be Nog.
Vitor, no way. Silva is nowhere near the fighter he was back then.
Horn, tough to say as I have only seen a handfull of his fights.
Ken Shamrock would get crushed.
why the hell is Ken Shamrock listed?
Of those that you named, I would only pick Nog...
therocksays list is pretty good except for Ken Shamrock. Maybe he meant Frank Shamrock?
Gary Hughes
There are fighters that can beat silva by GnP, Tito - Couture.....
But the only two that could beat him by actual fighting are Liddell and Igor Vonchanin at 205.
"LMFAO @ Shamrock, Shamrock is no different then the cans Silva fights in Pride. "
Actually he is better than almost every person Silva has fought at Pride outside the rigged GP.
Yuki Kondo and Silva knows it which is why he is
decided to not fight him this time and have a little
more time to train.
There are a lot of guys who could beat Silva, but I think on balance he would beat them more than they would beat him. I'm not sure I would put money on either of the Nogueira's; has Silva ever even been close to being subbed? He's no slouch on the ground.
Guys I'd give best odds of beating Silva in a Pride ring with Pride refs: Rampage, possibly Chuck, maybe Rogerio Nogueira.
For those who question Shamrock as one of my choices, this is why I picked him. the guy has a solid chin, so Silva would have a pretty tough time KO'ing him. If it goes to the ground (and more than likely it would) Ken has some mad submission skills. Did you see those heelhooks he put on Don Frey? Just about any other fighter would have tapped. Granted, Silva has never tapped, but I don't know if he could withstand heelhooks like those. That was sick.
Arona, Tito and Randy could all sqeek out a descition, but none of the three would dare fight with Silva.
Shamrock would lose even if the started from the knees.
I want to see how well Vitors Jiu-Jitsu matches up with Silvas too.
Most fighters would not have got caught in those heelhooks
Silva definitely is a bad ass but those fighters mentioned above definitely has the chance to beat him but could also go either way. A healthy Ken Shamrock cannot be count out either. Especially if they fight in Pride where weight class are often ignored. Ken could come in with out cutting weight and just be as big as he feel he should be.
"There are a lot of guys who could beat Silva, but I think on balance he would beat them more than they would beat him."
Based upon what criteria? Silva has a lot of knockouts, but I've clearly seen how Silva can be beaten, and why he gets beaten when he does actually lose.
Standing, he is susceptible to body kicks.
His shoot defense is tremendous, but a good fake has him sprawling early with his face wide open most of the time... take for example his sprawl/throw bombs technique.
Here is who I believe could beat Vanderlei, and why.
Dan Henderson - because he's incredible. All around, he has Silva beat on my card in every aspect other than his sheer visciousness, and that's only because his ground stylings are more variable and dynamic.
Chuck Liddell - His stand-up has only been bested by few, and although we may draw comparisons based upon Randy and Quinton beating him so badly, it's hard to assess based on those two matches. Chuck could take him standing with body kicks and clinch knees, and eventually finish him off in ground and pound mode, or on his feet. I really think so.
Randy Couture - No questions about it, he owns Vanderlei in every aspect of the game, maybe even stand-up after seeing what he did to Chuck. He'd outwrestle Vanderlei, outpound Vanderlei on the floor, and probably could hold him down in a compromising position long enough for a stoppage win.
Tito Ortiz - Has once, would again. I wouldn't mind seeing Tito in Pride one day, and seeing this match happen again, in a ring. Vanderlei may have a black belt now, but he'd still get ground and pounded. Let's say Tito did what Vanderlei did, and used his inefficiency on the ground as motivation to tool up and improve... a rematch some years down the line could be fierce. Cage or no cage, Tito would win.
Matt Lindland - I've never seen anything but outright domination of the opposition from this man, so I'm here to tell you that should he ever get the chance to shine as such, this is the second coming of Randy. And for that reason, he'd kill Vanderlei much like Randy would. Black Belt in Jiu Jitsu or not, Matt and Randy are both incredibly accomplished collegiate athletes. They don't give belts in college. They give degrees and championships. He has both.
Quinton Jackson - Give it some time... let Quinton improve some... it'll happen. Quinton is Vanderlei's type of fighter, just more Americanized and ghetto. He possesses the formulation of skills that could dethrone Vanderlei based strictly upon their principle. Imagine him with a decoration in Jiu Jitsu. Ouch.
Add Ortiz and Rampage to that list.
any of the great mma wrestlers, ans mirko- who now has a takedown defense
Arona, Ortiz, Liddell, Couture, Belfort. All 5 have a chance, but I would say that Silva wouldn't lose to them a majority of the time.
Henderson is too small for Silva now, the guy keeps on growing (no doubt to the use of certain supplements) and now walks over 20lbs heavier than Henderson does. Jackson needs to "keep improving", but Silva is about Jackson's age, as you put it, but since Silva is improving too, I dunno. Ortiz's camp isn't the submission threat (despite being very good at subs) that they should be, so that means that Silva just needs to guard against GNP.
Can Ortiz do it again? I dunno, Jackson had trouble controlling Silva and he its harder than Ortiz, but Tito has better ground control IMO, so he might still be able to do it. Liddell would get beat most of the time IMO (I use to think otherwise), but he is a great fighter too. Belfort and Couture are tough to call. Arona? I see him losing, but he somehow always seems to get the W.