There is some irony in the way that the MMA scene has unfolded over the past few years. It was not that long ago that one of the two largest organizations in the sport was based in the East. Pride FC was a hit in Japan, selling out massive arenas and earning a substantial amount of popularity among sports fans in Asia and other parts of the world. Although many followers of the sport viewed the UFC as the overall number one promotion, there was little doubt that PRIDE was home to the sport’s deepest pool of heavyweight talent. Fedor Emelianenko became entrenched as the number one heavyweight on the planet ( a designation that he would hold for an amazing amount of time). Also, thanks to B.J. Penn competing in higher divisions, Takanori Gomi had claimed the world’s top spot at 155 pounds. As the running narrative that is MMA has progressed, however, the balance of power has shifted even more to the West. Not only is the Western Hemisphere home to the most successful MMA promotions in existence, it is also home to an overwhelming depth of MMA talent. Fighters from this neck of the woods (especially Brazil and the United States) claim the top spot in all seven major weight classes in the sport. But the dominance goes even deeper than that. When one looks at the top 10 world rankings in every division they find the following:

*NOTE* Rankings are based on Sherdog rankings from earlier this month

Heavyweight: Only 2 Eastern fighters (Emelianenko and Overeem)

Light Heavyweight: No Eastern fighters

Middleweight: Only 2 Eastern fighters (Okami and Bisping)

Welterweight: Only 3 Eastern fighters (Kampmann, Hardy and Daley)

Lightweight: Only 2 Eastern fighters (Aoki and Kawajiri)

Featherweight: Only 2 Eastern fighters (Hioki- Number and Omigawa)

Bantamweight: Only 3 Eastern fighters (Mizugaki, Pickett and Ueda)

So, in the grand scheme of things does this mean much? Maybe not. Trends in sports tend to be cyclical and the balance of power in MMA will shift in many directions over time. One of my favorite things about MMA is the international aspect of the sport. There are world class fighters from all over the place and that will become even more evident as time goes by. However, fighters in the East would be well served to keep this trend in mind in the coming years. If one or more of them could capture a major world championship, it could help tremendously with the perception of the sport (and it’s popularity) in their home nations. This sport has grown like wildfire over the past five years and even if it never grows any bigger than it is now it has solidified itself as a player in the battle for the entertainment dollars of young fight fans all over the world.

There may not be a greater misconception among casual MMA fans today than the notion that Anderson "The Spider" Silva is "boring." In a world where "What have you done lately" is almost all anyone can think about, Silva entered the cage against Chael Sonnen last summer with a lot to prove. His earlier shutout decision title defense against submission grappling expert Demian Maia had left many wishing that Silva had pressed more for the finish. In the Sonnen fight, Silva demonstrated vulnerability for the first time since he had reached his prime as a fighter. His comeback for the win in that defense is now the stuff of legend and, although "The Spider" is now past his prime, MMA fans the world over anxiously anticipated his defense this past Saturday against Vitor Belfort. They were not disappointed. The ending to that fight (like so many others) came suddenly and violently. Still, in the days after that display by the nearly 36-year-old middleweight (an especially advanced age for that weight class), fans I’ve talked to usually preface discussion of the champion with a comment indicating that they’re not really a fan of his. As an avid fan of both MMA and boxing, I thought it would be interesting to break down the numbers and compare Silva’s run against a boxing title reign that fans typically glorify: The heavyweight reign of Mike Tyson. Mind you, I don’t subscribe to the idea that Tyson was as great as some of his peers. In fact, I can point to several American boxers in the past 25 years that have better resumes. Still, there is an enchantment about Tyson for whatever reason. He seemed particularly menacing and was an iconic figure in pop culture for quite awhile. Even non-boxing fans were in awe of his concussive punching power. So what do the numbers say? Here’s a comparison:

From the time Mike Tyson won his world championship to the time he lost it:

10-1 (8 finishes; 80% rate)  (2 finishes in first round; 20% rate)   (4 finishes in first two rounds; 40% rate)

From the time Anderson Silva won his world championship until present:

12-0 (10 finishes; 83% rate)  (5 finishes in first round; 42% rate)  (8 finishes in first two rounds; 67% rate)

I’m not exactly sure why Silva isn’t admired more by MMA fans. I will admit that, in his only two UFC fights to go the distance, he did himself no favors in the eyes of fans by not taking risks and pushing for a finish (especially considering how much more talented he was than his opponents). However, I would argue that those two shutout performances should be overshadowed by an incredible body of work that saw him both dominate and finish the heavy majority of his opponents. Could his lack of popularity be due to the fact that Silva isn’t fluent in English? I suspect that for many that could be part of the reason for their reluctance to list him among their favorite fighters. If Tyson could be described as expressing his bad-assery as a scowl, Anderson Silva has expressed his as a confident smirk. Perhaps he came across as too nonchalant for audiences. Whatever the reason, he has never enjoyed the popularity in his own sport that one would expect from such a dominant figure. Here is a guy that has not gotten into trouble outside of the cage and has far more often than not exhibited a fan friendly style of fighting within it. He has a diverse skillset with significant accomplishments in multiple disciplines. He has won by shutout decisions, first round dominations and come from behind submissions. Like all things, one day his reign will come to an end. Occasional boring decision or not……non-English speaking or not…….I, for one, have greatly admired it and enjoyed watching it. Besides, a knockout front kick to the throat sounds the same in any language.