All the hype for the UFC is focused around UFC 196 next weekend with Conor McGregor moving up TWO weight classes to fight Nate Diaz, who is stepping in for the injured Rafael dos Anjos. And somewhat lost in that hype is that the former UFC 185-lb kingpin Silva is fighting on FIGHT PASS against Michael Bisping. Think about that...FIGHT PASS.
I get why they're doing it, and that's what is so sad about the whole thing. Fight Pass is their online platform similar to WWE Network where you pay monthly for access to exclusive fight cards and their library of fights from years past. For a hardcore fan it's not a bad deal shelling out $7.99 - $9.99 depending on your commitment level. Yet they need to grow the user base, so putting a big name like Silva as a headliner on the platform isn't a bad deal. And they almost need to b/c he's a fading star, a star that may have gone out after getting popped for PED's after his now NC vs. Nick Diaz in February 2015.
The fight itself was lackluster, following consecutive losses to Chris Weidman, the first of which he was famously KO's followed by the gruesome leg injury in their rematch. And in the latter, we saw Weidman winning the exchanges up to that point. Against Diaz last February, Silva was hit 77 times. That was over five rounds, sure, but it was more than his previous five fights COMBINED. For a guy that built his reputation on movement, avoidance, and counter punching, to see him hit so frequently after those back-to-back losses signals, to me, that he's lost his greatest strengths. And that makes him ordinary.
So they sell the name and his matchup vs. Bisping based on legacy, yet as Bisping has continued to point out this week, that legacy is forever tainted based on last year's failed drug test. His refusal to admit wrongdoing coupled with the bogus, ridiculous excuse of taking something from a blue vial for a limp dick, make it even worse. It's unbecoming of a former champion, an ambassador for the sport, and a man who at one time was the most dominant, respected champion the UFC had seen. And when Bisping, a man who has played the role of heel (quite well) his entire career, comes out the more likable of the two, you know you have a problem.
I won't watch the fight this weekend - in part because I don't have Fight Pass nor want to pay for it, but also because I have little respect for Silva. Had he admitted taking the PED's and made an attempt to move forward I might feel differently. But he hasn't and I don't. I'll keep an eye on Twitter and hope Bisping wins the fight, jumpstarting one final attempt at a run for a title shot, something that has escaped him his entire UFC career.
But regardless, I really won't care. There's a new king in town, and that man is Conor McGregor. His next fight is March 5, and that's the fight I want to see. I'll gladly cough up the money for that PPV and continue to hope Mystic Mac never gives me reason to feel the way I do about Silva.
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