By Dean Parr- In an inspired piece of matchmaking, Joe Silva has arranged for the undisputed middleweight champion of the world, Anderson ‘the Spider’ Silva to fight the always exciting Ultimate Fighter 1 winner, Forrest Griffin at UFC 101.

This is a very shrewd move by the UFC bigwigs. Silva, who has fought all comers at 185lbs seemingly has nowhere left to go in the division after his decision win over jujitsu specialist Thales Leites, and taking into consideration he cruised through his last two fights with considerable ease, a move up in weight is exactly what Anderson needs. Forrest Griffin is the perfect opponent for him as well, as he is known for his fantastic workrate and heart, and he won’t let Silva set a lackadaisical pace like he has done during his last two contests.

Anderson has received a lot of criticism from the press recently, but personally, I don’t believe this is merited. Silva is like a modern day Jack Johnson – he comes out for the big fights, but he only does what is necessary in the lesser ones, and if his recent performances are to be blamed on anyone, it should be Dana White and Joe Silva for throwing in lesser fighters such as Leites in the cage with Silva, and therefore letting Silva perform at 80% of what he is capable of. However, Griffin poses a very different threat to Silva’s recent victims, as while he isn’t as technically sound as Leites, and his wrestling isn’t as finely tuned as Cote’s, he will have the size advantage on Silva, and Silva won’t be able to toy with Griffin like the aforementioned, because Griffin won’t stop throwing combinations, and will fight the takedown at all costs.

This will be an excellent fight for the fans for sure, but in my humble opinion, Griffin’s style plays perfectly into the hands of Silva. He will walk onto combinations when trying to get his shots in, and if he tries to take it to the ground and ground and pound Silva, Silva’s jujitsu will most likely prevail. Styles make fights, and while Griffin won’t roll over for Anderson, I can see this going much the same way as the Silva/Marquardt fight.

Even if Griffin loses this fight, it is far from the end of the road for him. He will have lost to the best pound for pound fighter in the world, and at 29, he is young enough to come again in MMA. However, if he wins, he would surely become number one contender for the light heavyweight title again (assuming Rampage has had his shot by then), and every fight he could possibly want is open to him.

A win for Silva would surely make him the undisputed pound for pound king, and lots of fights would open up for him at 205lbs. The next logical step for him would be the loser of Evans vs. Machida, and then if he passed that test, he could try to unify the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions. However, a loss would diminish his star aura, and a move back down to middleweight would be most probable, as it would be evident he wouldn‘t make it at light heavy. I must admit I was surprised that he was moved up in weight as opposed to down, because he is going to be a very small light heavyweight (apparently Silva walks around at 210lbs), and there was the obvious Georges St. Pierre clash at welterweight (or a catch weight) to be had. However, this risk could pay off in dividends, and Silva will surely be aware of this.

Silva knows he needs to turn the style on in this fight, and if he still wants an exhibition match against Roy Jones Jr., he can’t afford to lose in the next two years. In contrast though, Forrest knows that he has just been handed a huge opportunity, and if he manages to win this, he will enter the esteemed pound for pound list, an achievement which he will be desperate to accomplish. One thing is for sure though – this is going to be a superb fight for any MMA fan, and this can not be missed.

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