While it exposed his "boxing" again a little it up'ed my respect for him a bunch and it was already huge.
Pummel makes some great points!
Good stuff all around!
And I agree with Goku. I respect him more now.
Yes, it makes me think MORE of him as a fighter.
Do you think Tito would step up and fight Andrei Arlovski if his opponent got injured???
Not too many light heavyweights would take a fight against a heavyweight, especially at the last minute, DOUBLE especially against a striker like Hunt.
Silva stepped up and asked for no quarter against a tough opponent.
I think he lost, but with the 20 kg rule I thought he would pull off the draw at least...
Silva IS and WILL ALWAYS BE THE MAN!!!!
No I still think he is better than alot of fighters. So he got beat. Everyone will lose some point in there life. Hunt beat Silva. It happens. It doesnt make Silva worse it just means Hunt got better.
'That's a good spinjob, but the problem with it is that unless Vanderlei was lying at the time, he's said in interviews that he approaches every fight and fighter the same. There is no special gameplan, there are no adjustments, there are no training changes, ect. dependent upon the opponent'
I'm not spinning anything. "Vanderlei" probably did say that he doesn't change anything for his opponents, but if you've paid attention you'd know that's not true.
If nothing changes- why was he spending time in Canada with the Canadian judo team before his fight with Yoshida?
It's probably more like one of the guys who was standing behind "Vanderlei" at the post fight press conference, decided that sharing "Vanderlei's" routine was probably not something they wanted to do.
Or- you can believe that "Vanderlei" just does the exact same thing regardless of whether he's going to be fighting a 195 lb professional wrestler or a 275lb kickboxer.
The myth that one training regimen works for all opponents is crazy, and if "Vanderlei" actually followed that philosophy, I seriously doubt he would be where he is today, and where he is today is one of the best rounded fighters in the world at his weight.
I respect him more.
Vanderlei is one crazy mofo for taking that fight on such a short notice.
I for one would not have criticized Silva for turning down the offer to fight Hunt.
That said, respect to the man!
Much respect to Silva and Hunt for such a great battle.
Silva is still the best in the world at his weight. I expect him to become an even better fighter as a result of this loss.
Wandy's a stud for even taking the fight on three day's notice against a guy that outweighs him by 60 lbs. Bad calls (if that's what the JD was) are part of the territory, as they are in all sports. He needs to work on his ground game, but I pity the next LHW who faces him; then again I kind of like seeing Wandy's foes brutally KOd.
he'll fight anybody, anytime, regardless of whether it's a bad matchup for him (ie cro crop with the special rules)....and he's got a ton of heart and fights to win. even if he loses, you know he's gonna beat the shit out of his opponent. and to top it off, he seems pretty classy after the fights and doesn't offer any bullshit excuses if he loses.
i don't know how you can NOT have respect for this guy. i respect him more after every fight i watch. he epitomizes pure aggression...the muay thai knees, the head stomps, the soccer kicks to the head. just about every silva fight is exciting.
Did they increase Silva's pay for taking this fight on short notice?
Now, did it change your opinion of Hunt?
No way should the decision have gone to Hunt. But that aside. I think Silva is the man. A 70 pound heavier striker couldn't KO him. Good fight, but Silva rules.
It didnt change my opinion at all, in fact I will never see that as a loss for Vanderlei, with the risk of starting a "vandy was screwed" thread I have to say I rewatched the fight last night in hopes my initial backlash may have been a little premature and was still absolutely dumbfounded how he lost and how Hendo won. I chalked up Hunts entire offense as grazing forearm that pushed Vanderlei over but didnt hurt him, a flurry that dazed him but from which he recovered and went for a sub, The atomic butt drop and maybe a couple random punches and a knee. The rest of the fight was Silva trading, taking him down at will, beating him up on the ground, going for armbar twice, triangle once, multiple stomps. Its just absolutely rediculous to me that they could even question it with a weight difference and a yellowcard, Randy, Bas and everyone else saying it was a clear win for Silva and they didnt agree with the decision. complete bullshit.
My opinion of Silva hasn't changed.
My respect for Pride continues to decline. Enough with the damn weight mis-matches already.
No, it impressed me. Hunt is not in his weight class, he is really two above, Super HW. Also, Wand trained for lighter sub guy. Now, don't get me wrong. Hunt impressed, but Silva showed he is a machine, he did pretty darn good and could have easily won.
I don't know, it was an awesome fight, but I think I should have gotten the split. Shit, even Hunt was surprised.