Before his fight with Dan Henderson, many people were left wondering if Anderson Silva had the ability to defeat one of the best Middleweights in the world. If he could, Silva would no doubt be up there with some of the best in the division’s history, a feat which would be more than deserved for the UFC Middleweight Champion. After defeating thirty seven year old Henderson with a rear naked choke, and by adding another very good fighter to his list of knockouts, Silva has almost certainly become unstoppable.

After reading an article written in February by Dan Wetzel for Yahoo Sports and based on what I’ve seen, I am more convinced than ever that Silva could be unstoppable. That is some praise, but for me, there is nobody out there right now who could stop this guy. For sure, the likes of Yushin Okami, Rich Franklin and even Dan Henderson could argue that point. After all, Okami has beaten Silva in the past, albeit by a controversial illegal kick by “The Spider”.

Wetzel’s article, which talks in depth about Anderson Silva’s dramatic rise in the UFC, compares the Middleweight to former boxing Heavyweight Champion Mike Tyson. No doubt, both athletes have certainly notched up a number of knockouts and on their game; both have dominated their respective divisions.

The fight between Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis is one that had many boxing fans hooked for a number of years and was a huge box office success around the world. Tyson, after defeating Lou Savarese in Glasgow, told in a post match interview how he wanted to “eat your children” a direct reference to Lewis and his family in the build up for their much anticipated fight. It was the typical good guy versus bad guy storyline that had the world hooked.

Silva, for me, may even be more dominating than Tyson was in his prime. That is unbelievably scary. The fact that Silva is absolutely destroying the best Middleweights in the world and with relevant ease is something quite spectacular. Take former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin, a fighter who has lost only three fights in his career, two of which where against Silva and the other against the MMA undefeated Lyoto Machida. Franklin, who sits third in MMAWeekly.com’s Middleweight Rankings, has been knocked out both times by Silva and more impressively, the fights have not gone past round two. The fact that Silva can boast these facts is a clear indication that he will dominate the division for years.

With Michael Bisping moving down from Light-Heavyweight to Middleweight, many are expecting the man from England to challenge Silva eventually. Bisping himself, has stated numerous times with The Sun website, that he could be the man to step up and stop the “The Spider”.

“I think I can challenge for the middleweight title but it’s a very deep division with a lot of new guys coming in.” said Bisping.

“I think I have a strength and a size advantage over a lot of the other guys in there and I feel I can go all the way. “ He said.

Wise words from the Brit. Whether he can go all the way is still debatable but certainly not out of question. A fight between Bisping and Silva would do huge business at the box office and I feel Bisping, on his very best day, might be the man to take Silva to the judges. While that is huge optimism from yours truly, even Bisping himself is playing down an immediate fight with Silva.

“I definitely feel I’m a contender already but I know I have to establish myself in that weight class and prove myself by winning some fights.” said Bisping.

“I want to be the first Englishman to have a UFC world title belt”

Clearly, it would take a strong man to bet against the Brit achieving such a historic feat. With a MMA record of 15-1, Bisping is prime for a title shot, perhaps even against “The Spider” in the next eighteen months. With the drawing power of a potential Tyson/Lewis fight in Bisping/Silva, I for one would be extremely excited for such a fight.

Of course, it would never match a Tyson/Lewis fight. Silva is too nice of a guy to play the Tyson role and Bisping still need to do huge things in the Middleweight division to even get in the ring with Silva. Let us not forget that Bisping is fighting an extremely good submission fighter in Charles McCarthy this weekend. If he should overcome the man fighting out of Miami, Florida, then Bisping will be well on his way.

Until then, Silva will continue to dominate and dominate very impressively. With a fight against Yushin Okami certainly expected and a possible rematch with Dan Henderson next year, Silva can look forward to a few more challenges for the UFC Middleweight title. Whether they defeat him is another question. In fact, just getting him to the judges will be a victory in itself. Silva is an unbelievable fighter and no question, his opponents are coming to terms quickly that the man from Brazil really means business. He might be quiet during his press conferences but he certainly makes up for it in the cage. Silva is a monster and his untouchable presence is going to continue to reign for years to come.

Martin Smith