Antonio Silva & the MMA Stock Report
By Ben Bieker
Gains:
Antonio Silva had the biggest night of his career. While Fedor lost in his last fight he didn’t lose like this. When he lost to Werdum, he was caught in a submission by a submission whiz. In this fight, he was battered, beat, and demoralized. Because of this Antonio has put himself as a top prospect in the Heavyweight tournament, and secured himself a fight career for years to come. He also proved himself to be a different fighter than the one that lost to Werdum. If he does happen to face him in the semifinals he may have a chance of beating him. It couldn’t be better for Strikeforce to have the two men that beat The Last Emperor convincingly to face off against each other, but Werdum will have to beat Overeem to do so.
There will be more on the line from this fight for weeks to come too. If Fedor does retire then it would mean Antonio was the man to do that. To have that on your resume is gold. While the UFC was skeptical of picking up Fedor into their fold, if they did not try to go after Antonio when his contract is up they would have to be stupid. This puts much power into Antonio’s hands, and if he plays his cards right he is guaranteed to make a lot of money for years to come off this one win.
Sergei Kharitonov promised to deliver in this fight, and deliver he did. Before the fight he talked about how he had not been one hundred percent for the last few years, but he said he would be when he came into this fight. For the first few minutes he didn’t look like he was doing so well, and then it happened. He caught Arlovski, backed him up, and finished him. Arlovski, while in a recent slump, is a good fighter, and even though his chin had failed him he looked good before the finish in this fight. Sergei proved his hands are dangerous in this fight and it will be interesting to see how he matches up against his future opponents in the tournament.
Beyond this fight this win means a lot. For Sergei he proved many of the doubters wrong. He proved he still has a lot left in the fight game, and that he could win this tournament. He says he is out to win, and he just might. It will be interesting to see him fight Josh Barnett or Brett Rodgers, as either of those fighters will make a good fight with Sergei.
Shane Del Rosario beat out Chad Griggs for this spot just based on the caliber of his opponent. Shane took out Lavar Johnson, who is a really good fighter. Lavar could have easily beat Shane, but it was his ability that didn’t let it happen. Shane showed that he has decent standup by taking on Lavar on the feet, and a competent ground game by finishing it their. My only hope is he does not sit out on the shelf too long while he waits for a spot to open up in the tournament. That would be a bad mistake for Strikeforce to make because Shane showed to be a good, interesting fighter who could prove worthwhile for the organization if built up properly.
Losses:
Andrei Arlovski just needs to quit. He did not deliver in what could be easily the biggest performance of his career. He needed a win in this fight. In his previous three he had been knocked out twice, and he just got out struck by Antonio Silva. I thought this was meaning a return to form from the former UFC champion, but it was not to be. He got knocked out again. There is only so much damage one man can take, and just like Chuck Liddell it may be time to hang up the gloves while there is still a chance. He still has a lot to offer the sport, but it may not be as a fighter anymore. He will always be remembered for the fights he had in the octagon, but a fighter does not want to be remembered for the last few fights Andrei has had.
Fedor Emelianenko was looking good in the first round, and while it was dominant he didn’t lose it. In the next round the size just got to him. He was beat down, and it was so bad the fight had to be stopped. As big of win as it was for Antonio it was just as big of loss for Fedor. He had been contemplating retirement for a while, and it seems like it may have set in after this fight. I am not sure that is the best choice to make though. Retirement decisions should be made right after a fight, especially after a loss. It has been seen with fighters like Randy Couture that when they decide to retire after a fight that they usually come back.
For me Fedor should not retire. He is not in the same spot as Arlovski where he has lost multiple fights consecutively. He has had two defeats after going undefeated for 10 years. That is a big difference. Fedor has two options to try after this most recent defeat. Maybe he needs to change up his training as his game has been figured out, and it would be better for him to train differently so he can make the adjustments he needs to make to his game. The better option would be to drop down to 205. He has shown to be too small for the Heavyweight division.
While some will point out he took on many goliaths in his day in Pride. That was a different era. He fought guys that were big, but did not have much skill like Hong Man Choi. The difference between Hong and a fighter like Werdum or Antonio is huge. For a fighter to have a near 30 lb. weight advantage and have the skill to back it up makes odds insurmountable. The same dilemma that Frank Mir had Fedor now has. He has to decide what to do next, but retirement should not be an option.
Ray Sefo is just old. At 39 years old and having many years in the fighting business, he is just too old to make a go at an MMA career. He had an excellent career in K-1 and still does decent there. The problem is when you mix boxing, kick boxing, BJJ, and wrestling into it, it is too much for Ray. He could still fight the odd K-1 fight if he wants to keep active, but he will not make much of an MMA career. He, like Arlovski, still has a lot to offer to the sport. As the striking coach at Extreme Couture he could help lead the next generation of MMA fighter in striking, and still make a sizable donation in advice to the sport of MMA.
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