Anderson Silva is not the p4p king and i can prove it

This is a piece i wrote quite a while ago for another site and it got ALOT of responses and i was wondering how the good people here at GMMA would respond.Im sure it will cause a bit of a stir but please this is meant to invoke conversation so please feel free to debate me or throw names in the mix thanks(FKA)









Ok seriously the ufc has gotten away with some pretty bold statements in there time as far as hyping up ppv fights without anyone really questioning them and i'm sorry but i can't stand by and let the ufc get away with crowning there money horse anderson silva p4p king just to add some ppv buys.




I have recently been reading alot of MMA sites different rankings on p4p and its funny because no one who really is really qualified is mentioned.Its basically jones,silva back and forth for number one spot which is ridiculous in itself.

So often in mma ,especially in the ufc fighters are almost instantly dubbed the next p4p contender as soon as they put together a 3 or 4 fight win streak in an impressive manner.

We have had guys like lyoto machida,jose aldo,miguel torres,frankie edgar,etc etc all impressive fighters in there own rights and there own weight classes but they are not even qualified to be p4p candidates its down right funny to me.

Now before all the aforementioned fighters fanboys come crashing down on this blog let me state my case a little more clearly.

First off jose aldo and frankie edgar are both close to being able to be a p4p contender because aldo is naturaly big enough to be a 155er and edgar should really be a 145er but until either one actually moves to another weight class and prove themselves against top guys its just BS.



Ok no back to my main point ANDERSON SILVA

yes anderson silva IS by far the king of the MIDDLEWEIGHT division he has nearly cleared out everyone in his natural weight class and has done so mostly in impressive fashion.Does this earn him the p4p crown alone NO FUCKING WAY.

silva in his own right HAS fought outside his natural 185 but all his ww fights were early in his career against not spectacularly ranked opponents and the same can be said for his stints at 205, so though by my own specifications he qualifies by fighting in multiple weights he doesn't quite make it in the top 3 because he hasnt really beaten anyone worth talking about outside one weight class and he will do it again with bonnar.

My top 3 and really IMO the top 3 that should be talked about as p4p best are as follows





#3 BJ Penn yeah i know i can almost hear the hecklers lol but let me xplain first before you judge.

bj penn challenged for the ufc lw title on several occasions (actually has challenged for a title 11 times) the first of which was after only 3 fights in the ufc and as a pro.He won the belt his third go round over joe stevenson and defended his title 3 times before losing to frankie edgar.The fact that he was able to make it back to title contention multiple times shows he fought the best in the division all the time.

He also went on to beat one of the most dominant ww's of all time in his prime to gain the ww belt yeah im talking about matt hughes.Hughes was on a 6 fight win streak and got steam rolled by the smaller penn,proving bj could roll with the best at multiple weights.

But i want to bring up something alot of people don't talk about and thats the fact that bj penn has also fought at as high as hw taking on such notables as renzo gracie,lyoto machida,rodrigo gracie,and duane ludwig.Yet again proving not only his willingness to fight anyone in any WEIGHT CLASS making him a p4p legend and number 3 on my list.





#2 Randy Couture

This is a name synonomous with the ufc and with mma ,he is a Rings King of kings open weight tournament semi finalist ,3x UFC hw champion(1 time after coming out of retirement and immediately receiving a title shot calling out the champ)2x ufc lhw champion.He has a record 5 ufc title reigns,a record 15 ufc title fights,The first fighter ever to hold 2 belts in 2 weight classes(not at same time),tied for a ufc record for most hw title defenses.

Randy not only branded the ufc and defines the term mixed martial artist, he was the prototype for p4p fighters not only able and willing to compete in multiple weight classes but really the first one to be successful at it multiple times.



#1 Dan Henderson

now before you silva fans call me a blundering idiot because silva beat henderson in their meeting for the 185 title let me reming you that is silvas natural weight and not hendersons most succesful weight class had that fight been at 205 i feel the outcome would be dramatically different.

Dan henderson really has been taking on the best and looking to be a champion his whole career.Never running from a fight and really never scared to fight in any weight class his body would allow, hendo has accomplished everything you look for when you are talking about p4p rankings.

He was Pride mw champion(lhw),and pride ww champion(mw),Not only that but he was THE FIRST AND ONLY FIGHTER EVER TO HOLD TITLES IN 2 DIFFERENT WEIGHT CLASSES SIMULTANEOUSLY!,also he was strikeforce lhw champion,Rings king of kings 1999 open weight tournament winner,challenged for a ufc title 2x(would have been 3 if not for injury before bones jones fight)

He has fought not only in the mw and lhw division but all the way up to heavyweight fighting and defeating big nogg,and being the first and only to ko fedor.

Not only has dan henderson been around since the beginning of mma he has seemingly always been in the talk of a title picture in one weight class or another and whether or not he is succesful he is always able to make his way back to title contention.He has always takin on the top ranked fighters in every weight class and has always come through with astounding victories not only proving his willingness but his ability to compete and be champion in any weight class you call upon him to be in making him forever the TRUE P4P KING.

lol just realized i wrote this right before the silva bonnar fight thats what pissed me off enough to write this is watching the hype for that shit circus lmao.

No mention of Fedor or is this purely UFC?

this is just ufc and fighters still actively fighting god know i would be the first one proclaiming fedor #1 lol what do you think?

also my qualifications are you have to have fought in multiple weight classes other wise your not p4p anything just a king of a certain weight class.

Only critique I'd add is Anderson did beat Mach Sakurai and Carlos Newton at WW, those are good. His 205 wins are certainly horribly laughable and contribute nothing.

If we're talking multiple weight classes then I'd personally have it 

1. Hendo

2. BJ Penn

3. Anderson

Randy and now Bibiano Fernandes as honorable mentions I suppose. Eddie Alvarez is just on the fringe honorable mention.

agreed he beat sakurai and newton but he hasnt dropped to ww since the beginning of his career while the others have switched multiple times and really the guys he fought at lhw are my biggest issue a bunch of perfectly suited punching bags lol but great thoughts brotha.puff puff pass

overeem has been in multiple classes and semi sucecsful but i dont think he comes close i also like ikuhisa minowa but again not quite on the level but definantely qualify for a mention.

also i know randy couture is sort of a dirty word here lol but his title reigns in multiple weights retiring and coming back to win the title and fighting succesfully for a long period holding alot of ufc records and fought in actual openweight tournaments which is a huge factor in my eyes.its one thing to drop or jump up a weight its another to fight an openweight come as u are tourney where guys weight 2 or 3 weight classes difference.

Based on UFC career's alone, i'd have to go with Penn and Couture.

For UFC fighters period, it's hard to argue against Anderson.

If anything is a dirty word around here, I think it's the term P4P. The true definition of it is really muddled and can possibly be interpreted in many different ways.

P4P for you seems to be someone that has actually fought outside of their natural weight classes. P4P to me, is hypothetically stripping all fighters of weight differential and just grading and comparing them on pure ability, regardless of where they fight.

wekka wrote: P4P to me, is hypothetically stripping all fighters of weight differential and just grading and comparing them on pure ability, regardless of where they fight.

Yup that´s P4P. Let´s say all fighters were natural mw fighters, then who would win on pure skills without weight advantage. That´s one of the reasons to why I rank Fedor higher than weight cutters like GSP, Anderson and Bones. Fedor won his fights on pure talent and skills.

P4P GOAT Rankings:

1. Fedor
2. Anderson Silva
3. The Rest

I know everyone has there own opinion on p4p as it basically is a made up weight class there really should just be an openweightclass that would solve everything.

But IMO I feel by just stripping of Weight class just grading on skill it leaves too many variables and what ifs

To me p4p is a Guy who literally through his career fought in and beat the top guys in multiple weight classes no what ifs legit stats.

I hate hearing oh well Silva would beat Jones or Jones would beat Cain velasquez just because you perform well at one weight doesn't mean it automatically transfers over to any weight class.

People can talk about what Anderson might or might not do or who he might or might not beat hypothetically but Dan Henderson already has held belts in multiple divisions moved all the way up to heavy to fight the goat.

That's just why I'm a fan of my style of p4p rankings cuz its based just a wee bit more in reality instead of all hypothetical.

fka wrote:I know everyone has there own opinion on p4p as it basically is a made up weight class there really should just be an openweightclass that would solve everything.

But IMO I feel by just stripping of Weight class just grading on skill it leaves too many variables and what ifs

To me p4p is a Guy who literally through his career fought in and beat the top guys in multiple weight classes no what ifs legit stats.

I hate hearing oh well Silva would beat Jones or Jones would beat Cain velasquez just because you perform well at one weight doesn't mean it automatically transfers over to any weight class.

People can talk about what Anderson might or might not do or who he might or might not beat hypothetically but Dan Henderson already has held belts in multiple divisions moved all the way up to heavy to fight the goat.

That's just why I'm a fan of my style of p4p rankings cuz its based just a wee bit more in reality instead of all hypothetical.

Hendo definitely accomplished a lot in his career.  Holding PRIDE MW and LHW titles at the same time, holding SF LHW title, KOing Fedor.  He is up there near the top on the P4P list for sure.