Issue 103

July 2013

The simplest way I can describe Anderson Silva and more specifically his fighting ability is that he’s cat-like. He’s there and you think you’re hitting him, and then he’s not there. He’s moving with ease. 

JAVIER MENDEZ

The founder and head coach at American Kickboxing Academy talks Anderson Silva

It’s rare to see that in an MMA fighter. You see that in boxing, with the Floyd Mayweathers of the world, but in MMA we haven’t seen it that much. He’s actually the first of his kind in mixed martial arts that can actually make it look effortless, as some have done over the course of history in boxing.

Anderson creates that effect by putting his face out there for you to hit it, but as soon as you commit to hit it, he’s moving away from the punch with ease, and then he comes back with a fast counter.

That style just messes up his opponents mentally. And also, it throws their timing too, because they don’t know what to hit, because they’re not hitting anything.

The fight with Stephan Bonnar was the perfect example of what I’m talking about. Silva made Bonnar look so ridiculous that Stephan lost his confidence going into that fight. You saw his confidence until he started throwing his first punches and Anderson was avoiding them like they were nothing. And then he started playing with him, making it look really easy.

So, his style also takes a fighter’s courage away from him, if that’s the right word to describe it. I highlight these aspects to my fighters: his cat-like reflexes and his timing. 

You know, Cung Le had it, too. Cung trained at AKA and he was able to see a punch coming, and move out of the way, and come right back at you. He appeared easy to hit, too. But it’s an illusion. 

This is a rare gift in not only MMA but any combat sport. When you are in there with them, other fighters realize they’re in there with a great athlete, not just a great fighter.

Great, great timing, and reflexes are unbeatable. I can’t say Anderson Silva would have made it in boxing, but I can definitely say he’s made it work for him in mixed martial arts, like the great ones in boxing make it work for them.

Some people may ask if his hands are as good as his feet, or his feet as good as his hands… For me, they are equal. He is adept at both and can knock you out with his hands or his feet. Real physical gifts.

Obviously, the biggest puzzle with Anderson is the mental side. And the proof of that was in his first fight with Chael Sonnen. He was losing that fight, he was losing pretty much in every aspect for almost the entire fight. Losing the stand-up and everything, and so to come back like he did at the very end, that’s the mental strength of a great fighter, not just a normal fighter or a good fighter. 

Only great fighters can do that. That was a special fight from Anderson that night in Oakland, California (UFC 117, August 2010). Watch it again. He was being beaten up, but he was never beaten. That is the mind-set of true greatness.