Opinion — Stop the madness! Why are only 9 of 31 Fighters picking Anderson Silva over Weidman?

Can I jump in here for a minute? Has the entire MMA world gone completely insane? We are fast approaching the big 4^th of July event in the UFC featuring Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman and quite frankly, I have no idea what’s happening. Apparently, I fell asleep one night and woke up with brain damage—because for some reason I was under the impression Silva is the greatest fighter in history.

Apparently I’m wrong because when I look at “experts” and fellow fighters predicting this fight, it looks like Anderson doesn’t have a chance. Dana White claims that EVERY fighter he’s spoken to is picking Weidman. Additionally, we’ve been hearing from a couple dozen other fighters about this fight—and they are telling very similar stories.

In a survey from the UFC, they asked 31 fighters who would win. Nine picked the champion (17 picked Weidman and 5 more were undecided). NINE! What is going on here? Anderson Silva; the guy who hasn’t lost (legitimately) since 2004.  The guy who does whatever he wants, whenever he wants inside the octagon. The guy who’s 16-0 in the UFC. And only 9 actual fighters picked him to beat Chris Weidman.

Sure, Weidman is an incredible fighter. He also possesses many of the same characteristics that many people feel is the only way to beat Silva. Of course the only frame of reference for that is the first Chael Sonnen fight. Weidman is younger, bigger (I think), stronger (I think) and more athletic than Sonnen, so I get the optimism.

But Sonnen fought a perfect fight for about four and a half rounds—PERFECT. I don’t see Silva getting submitted or knocked out, so Weidman will have to achieve that same level of perfection for five full rounds—25 straight minutes.  Can he do it? I suppose. But it’s unlikely.

I won’t completely rule out a Weidman victory this weekend. But until someone—anyone—proves to me that Anderson Silva  is human, I’ll hold off before jumping on anyone’s bandwagon. Sorry, Weidman, but if someone made me bet my own money, there’s NO WAY I can bet against The Spider.