UFC: Breaking Down the Reasons Why Cung Le Is the Man to Beat Anderson Silva | Bleacher Report

As the saying goes: “You can’t please everyone all the time,” so too comes the certainty that styles make fights, and if Anderson Silva knows anything about the sport, it’s how to spot a fight that could be a barnburner.

While everyone has been screaming about Silva and his belief that fighting Chris Weidman isn’t really the best move for his career, they are being far too hasty in discounting Cung Le, the man Silva and his management said they were interested in for Silva’s next fight.

Truth be told, Cung Le is a very tough fight for Silva and could be the one to defeat the current pound-for-pound king in his supposed realm of greatest advantage: on the feet.

Weidman shouldn’t be discounted and I am not advocating any such thing, but July (the month Weidman has said he wants to fight Silva) is a long time to wait.

Le, on the other hand, is coming off a quick victory over Rich Franklin which in turn means he’s relatively healthy and available—two things Weidman is not.

Perhaps we would do well to try and look at things from Silva’s point of view, if such a thing is possible.

Silva has defeated dangerous fighters with a good (or great, depending on opinion) wrestling core, but he’s never faced a man who can claim with any kind of legitimacy to be his equal in a striking contest.

In facing a man like Le, Silva would be boldly going where he has never gone before; at this point in Silva’s career, after having done so much, it’s no surprise he wants to find the Frazier to his Ali, the Pacquiao to his Mayweather.

We often bemoan fighters for not seeking out serious challenges, but we should give credit to Silva for seeing the one challenge most have not, and in doing so recognizing that such a fight could end up being one of the greatest ever because of the danger.

In Cung Le, Silva could very well find his foil and more because Le is not only his equal in some areas, but his better…

via UFC: Breaking Down the Reasons Why Cung Le Is the Man to Beat Anderson Silva | Bleacher Report.