Saturday, December 21, 2013

Anderson Silva, Please Retire

[I wrote this post months ago but never got around to posting it. Anderson Silva's fight is next week, and I'm so nervous about the fight I don't even know if I'll be able to watch it...]

Anderson Silva,

You've always been my favorite fighter, and you're the reason I'm into MMA. You could actually say that we got into the UFC together, as I started watching MMA around the time that you had your first UFC fight against Chris Leben. The streak of knockouts under 2 minutes allowed me to witness ingenious striking as I've never seen it before. You were as close to invincible as I've ever seen anyone until you fought Chael Sonnen, but as a true champion, you still eked out the victory.

I've never taken any sports loss as hard as I took your loss against Chris Weidman. Not even the Eagles losing the Super Bowl or Michigan losing the NCAA Basketball Championship game. I watched the fight at Bdubs in Ann Arbor, after Jenny and Steven's wedding, dragging along a couple of friends with me, only to have my night ruined. And not just my night, my love for MMA came to a screeching halt. I haven't been able to watch anything about the UFC, as every reminder of your loss triggers the mental picture of you lying on the ground knocked out, and it makes me want to cry. I didn't even watch the post-fight press conference, and it wasn't until my friends told me that there's going to be a rematch did I even find out about that.

And so, Anderson, here's my plea - hang up those gloves. You're 38. You have nothing left to prove. You're the Greatest of All Time. Please don't end your career being knocked out like Liddell or Wandy. Sure, you'll probably earn thousands from these fights, but for young and new MMA fans, all they'll know about Anderson 'the Spider' Silva is that he's this guy that used to be good but is knocked out a lot. They won't know about your underrated chin, your uncuttable face, and your unhittable head.

A lot of people have criticized you for playing with Weidman and for not taking him seriously, but I've watched all of your UFC fights multiple times, and I know that just isn't the case. Just as certain as your "feeling out" first minute of the first round is the mental games that you play with your opponents. Your mental game has been a hugely underrated aspect of your fighting, and your head movement has always been good enough to allow you to counterattack and knock guys out, even with your hands down. Where were all of the critics when you knocked out Forrest and Okami after dropping your hands and playing with them? It's been known within the MMA community that "When Anderson's hands drop, you drop." But the critics will be critics. They don't know the hard work you put into preparation, evidence that you take no one lightly, just that you approach them differently in the Octagon.

So I know that you weren't playing with Chris. You were doing what you normally do, trying to cause a mistake and to counter it. But you got caught. By a powerful guy. You got caught. I don't think you got caught because you were playing around too much. You got caught because you're 38 and just don't have those kind of reflexes anymore. There's no shame in getting old, and Father Time always catches even the best of athletes. But please, Anderson, I beg of you to retire and preserve your legacy. Quit while you're on top. I know you've tried before, and Dana White wants to continue using you to earn money. But quit. Anderson, you've given the sport all there is to give. It's time to hang'em up.

I'll continue mourning your loss until you beat Chris in your rematch. But after that, please retire. I don't think I can take any more of this. And when you retire, I'll mourn your retirement. I've always loved you and will keep on loving you, but please don't make me go through this again. My heart can't take any more of it.

Sincerely,
Your Biggest Fan

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