Anderson Silva is widely regarded as the best mixed martial arts fighter in the world. Frank Trigg is not. But Trigg told me today that he believes he could beat Silva.
"I never thought of myself as a Top 10 guy in any weight class -- ever," Trigg said. "But I think I match up very well against Anderson Silva. I think my style, my technique, matches up against Anderson Silva better than, say, Dan Henderson or Travis Lutter. Conversely, I think Dan Henderosn would be very difficult for me to match up against. A guy like Rich Franklin is a guy that I can beat."
Trigg, who will fight for Strikeforce on Friday night, told me he thinks he has the right style to fight Silva, and when I asked him what his game plan would be in that fight, he gave me a detailed analysis.
"Everyone's so scared of his length and his reach that they stay way the hell outside," Trigg said. "They're idiots. That makes no sense. You have to be on the inside. You have to be a Mike Tyson-style boxer against him. He's too elusive to hit in the face. He just has too much movement. You have to work his body. You have to pick him apart. You have to out-point him."
I wondered whether going to the inside wouldn't be problematic because Silva is so effective with the Muay Thai clinch, but Trigg said Silva isn't as effective on the inside.
"He can't hurt you when you're inside because his punching power is from his length and he has to be outside to kick," Trigg said. "You have to take Anderson Silva down and hold him down. You almost have to fight him like B.J. Penn fought Sean Sherk: Constant movement, peppering him with quick shots."
Trigg added, "It's not difficult to see how to beat Anderson Silva. What's difficult is putting yourself to the task and understanding that the game plan isn't going to be perfect, and when something bad happens, overcoming that bad thing."
Ultimately, Trigg said, his confidence is one of his biggest strengths.
"If you don't think you would win, why the hell are you showing up?" Trigg said. "Yeah, I think I could win."
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
These comments by Frank are in really poor taste, not to mention that they don't make sense. If the Spider has a weakness it is putting him on his back and try to ground and pound him, but with the amount of standups in a potential 5 round fight you are going to get KOed before getting to a decision. He defends himself well on the ground (as he did against Lutter and Henderson) especially when he impliments the body triangle.
Trigg can't even beat Matt Hughes after kicking him in the nuts, and he got beaten down by Robbie Lawler (that was brutal). His skills are average and his cardio sucks.
It is easy to call out the best middleweight in the world when you're not in the top 20 and there is no chance of the fight ever happening. Hell, I can beat Anderson too!
"You have to be on the inside. You have to be a Mike Tyson-style boxer against him."
I think Trigg forgot what often happens when Tyson used to get closer to his opponents. He had to eat some shots. That strategy did not work well for Tyson again Lennox Lewis. Lewis hits really hard and kept Tyson at the end of his jabs . . . not power punches.
Hmmm . . . get inside to nullify Anderson's reach and eliminate his kicks?? Did Trigg forget Silva's knees and elbows? Or should he watch the crazy Tony Fryklund KO?
Ok, just like Eric and Trigg, I can beat Anderson Silva.
Well good luck to Patrick Cote, I really hope he makes the match competitive or better yet, SHOCKS EVERYONE.
Frank's comments and assessment of Anderson's weakness is just false. Get on the inside? He isn't as powerful there? I think his clinch and some knees are pretty damn powerful, but if you don't believe me ask Rich Franklin's nose.
Um.. these comments are a little extrem but u have to remember that Frank Trigg is a top 10 ranked Middleweight in most pro ranking sites. Eric u have no idea what ur talking about when u say he is a average fighter with no cardio. Former D1 Wrestler with good submissions and strikes, no way even close to average!
Name 1 top 10 fighter that Trigg has beaten ... ? He has been in with soft competition through much of his career, and everytime he has stepped up (GSP, Hughes, Lawler, Condit, Sakurai) he was stopped! Sounds like an avaerage fighter to me.
he's totally right.
but,
lindland would be the guy to do it
here's an observation:
spider was losing when in cote's guard
all that happene
was cote held silva's wrists. when his arms were free silva got nasty elbows
to the top of his head - they do actually hurt plus a nother one or 2 he'd have
trouble seeing - SO THE OFFER TO HELP COTE UP WAS A CLEVER WAY OF NOT SHOWING
HIS FEAR OF LOSING ON THE GROUND.
NAME ONE FIGHTER FEDOR COULDNT GET TO THE
GROUND - I'M JUST SAYING THERES A WEAKNESS THERE
OK
BACK TO ANDER NUT HUGGING
YOU GO...
Three of the five guys u mentioned are ranked in the top 10 in 170. With Lawlor being ranked in the top 5 sometimes at 185. He changed to 185 becuase 170 was so loaded to say becuase he has lost to 4 top 10 ranked fighters he is average is ridiculous! Key word u are using is average! 18-6 Pro record 2-3 UFC record with the tree being to the 1 and 2 best welterweights in the world isnt "Average. On top of that he is 18-0 against everybody else including top ten ranked Pride champ Misaki. But u wouldnt know that because all u know is UFC and the ultimate fighter, huh? DA!
Misaki ... ? That's the top 10 guy you came up with ...
"all u know is the UFC"? Personally, Pride will always be my favorite organization. I've seen thousands of fights, and know more about MMA than you could possibly imagine. Learn a little before you speak next time.
M-1, Affliction, Dream, Sengoku, Deep - I'm an equal opportunity MMA viewer. Aleksander Emelianenko, Takanori Gomi ... 2 of my favorite fighters.
Not Bad! Looks like u do know something. But still he did beat Misaki. He is no where near average and at 185 is a very good to great caliber fighter. u name the gameplan to beat him and u get a guy like Linland, Hendo, and him. If u remember in that hendo-Silva fight Hendo was winning until he decided to stand with the king. This guy who wrote this column better show how he knows so much about Frank Trigg!