Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva is widely considered one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time. Joe Rogan, who called many of the Brazilian legend's fights, believes that's partly because of one clever trick he employed in the Octagon.
The UFC commentator delved into the MMA legend's strategy on a recent edition of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast.
“Anderson was not just really good but also really smart," he told his guest Chad Daniels. "He just knew when he could hit you and knew when you could hit him, and he would take his time... As the fight went on, if he made the fight boring, it was also a strategy, because then you would be anxious and you would maybe do something to pick up the pace and he would crack you.
“He was just so smart that he didn’t care if people were booing, and then the UFC would get mad at it," Rogan added. “In that time period [when he was dominant], he didn’t give a [expletive] when people were booing, and the UFC would get mad at him.
“I was always of the mind that he was doing the 100 per cent correct thing. He’s the best fighter, and to fight the best, you gotta know when to attack and when not to attack, and sometimes you don’t attack at all.
“For him to engage in a style that’s not his style, that’s stupid. The smart thing is to fight to the best of your ability, and unfortunately, some of those fights were not fun."
Rogan pointed to Silva's 2009 decision victory over Thales Leites — which was widely panned by fans — as an example of how this strategy worked.
While the strategy tended to lead to some boring fights, Rogan acknowledged that Silva is also behind some of the most memorable finishes in UFC history.
“You also get the Vitor Belfort fight from the same guy," he said. "You get the [Yushin] Okami fight, the Forrest Griffin fight. You get all those insane knockouts — those highlight reel knockouts. He was a monster, man. In his prime, he was a monster."
“[He's] one of the greatest of all time, for sure. He’s in the conversation."
Silva ruled over the UFC middleweight division from 2006 to 2013. He won the title with a knockout of Rich Franklin, and after defending the belt 10 times, he ultimately lost it with a knockout defeat to Chris Weidman.
According to Rogan, the loss to Weidman was a result of Silva breaking from his usual strategy.
"He got knocked out by Chris Weidman because he was doing something stupid," the UFC commentator said. "That’s literally what his demise was, was [he didn’t do the thing] that made him so invincible through his whole career. He would stay composed. No matter what happened, he’d stay composed. He always knew when to attack when not to attack. He was just a genius."
