Application of Tactics #1: Anderson Silva

Ok; so let me put my mouth where my article is. I have a great appreciation for mixed martial arts; it is real, it is raw and these athletes follow the spartan tradition more than any other sport.

Now the current Ultimate Fighting Championship Middleweight Champion is a Brazilian fighter named Anderson Silva. I respect his skill and his heart, and I would probably need a gun to make it a fair fight with him. I believe he can be beaten, and he has in the past. But he is very good warrior and an extremely skilled striker, he likes to defeat his opponents by pushing from his toes and throw his long arms into the face of some other extremely talented men. Here is his bio:
http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Anderson-Silva-1356

I understand Anderson won't fight too many more times, so it may not happen but here is how you beat him.
Here are his strengths: he is tall and has long arms and like I mentioned a lot of skill. He can find your face from behind your arms even when you know the punch is coming. And he picks the tools from a large toolbox to pick opponents apart. He varies his tactics and he defends for the first minute to determine the best way to beat his opponent. He is in shape and will not give up easily. He uses his jiu jitsu for defence mainly but can submit people when pressed. He has a well-deserved aura of invincibility but anyone can be beaten. I believe his mental game (something people don't mention often) is really what sets Anderson Silva apart from the rest. I think he follows Sun Tzu's art of warfare by being ready for anything and varying his tactics to meet his end. I believe this is his hidden talent.

Now people have tried to beat him at his strength: to stand in front of him and trade and then go to plan B at which time he has figured out which way to destabilize his opponent and then pick them apart.

Here is Anderson Silva's worst opponent: a faster stronger wrestler with large thigh muscles to hold control and who is extremely quick at takedowns. The UFC tried this with Dan Henderson, whose shorter arms and lower striking skill did not pay off, but when Dan executed the game plan I am proposing he had the best of Anderson Silva. But Dan gave up and tried to strike and then got rocked and submitted. Travis Lutter also had the right game plan, but he was exhausted and got caught as well.

You can still beat him by knockout; but you need to get inside his game plan and out think him. He will move back and counter punch - another strength - if he thinks you are driving for a takedown. To beat Anderson Silva you need to get inside his arms and legs and drive take down after takedown to wear him down and get him thinking wrestling when the punch comes in. You need to press against him at all times where his longer limbs can't move to hit you. His main goal is to finish by knock out every time so you can use this to your advantage and make him try for that knockout when you put him off balance and mount him. He can be beaten then in the mount by knock out or after many takedowns get him to counter a fake takedown and leave his chin open for knockout blow.

So this tactics example demonstrates how to pick apart the truth of your opponent and use his/her strengths to your advantage. The hard thing about being a champion is everyone has seen what you used to get to the top. A challenger can be unpredictable. And the truth is there for people who seek and accept it.

Of course, there is a large gap between planning and execution, at the end of the planning - you gotta do it.

Thales Leites has a chance to execute this weekend at UFC 97.