UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva remained undefeated in the Octagon Saturday night, moving up to light heavyweight and destroying former champ Forrest Griffin, hardly even breaking a sweat before beating Griffin by first-round TKO.
After they felt each other out for the first couple of minutes, Silva landed a powerful right punch that leveled Griffin. He let Griffin up and leveled him again, then did it a third time before the referee stopped the fight.
Griffin tried to push the pace of the fight with head kicks and punches, but Silva showed off incredibly quick head movement and never gave Griffin an easy target to hit. Griffin was visibly frustrated as the fight wore on, and after Silva knocked him down with a hard punch for the third time in the first round, Griffin simply lay on the ground with his arms spread out, looking like he knew he was beaten.
Griffin did not appear to be seriously hurt. But he was obviously very upset with his showing, as he stormed out of the Octagon and ran to the locker room just seconds after the fight ended.
Silva indicated afterward that he's happy to either continue defending his belt at middleweight, or to move up to light heavyweight and keep fighting bigger opponents.
"These guys at 205 are much bigger than me," Silva said. "Whoever the best is, that's who I want to fight."
The best may be Silva. With Saturday night's showing, he can make a strong case that he's the greatest fighter in all of MMA.
UFC 101 Photos
B.j Penn, right, and Kenny Florian in the first round of their mixed martial art match, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/H. Rumph Jr)
AP
UFC lightweight champion B.j Penn, left, and Kenny Florian fight in the second round of their mixed martial art match, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009, in Philadelphia. Penn won. (AP Photo/H. Rumph Jr)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PHILADELPHIA - AUGUST 08: (L-R) Lightweight champion BJ Penn battles Kenny Florian during their lightweight championship title bout at UFC 101: Declaration at the Wachovia Center on August 8, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** BJ Penn;Kenny Florian
Getty Images
PHILADELPHIA - AUGUST 08: (Top) Lightweight champion BJ Penn battles Kenny Florian during their lightweight championship title bout at UFC 101: Declaration at the Wachovia Center on August 8, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** BJ Penn;Kenny Florian
Getty Images
UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, right connects with Forrest Griffin in the first round of their mixed martial art match, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009, in Philadelphia. Silva won. (AP Photo/H. Rumph Jr)
AP
PHILADELPHIA - AUGUST 08: Lightweight champion BJ Penn (R) battles Kenny Florian during their lightweight championship title bout at UFC 101: Declaration at the Wachovia Center on August 8, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** BJ Penn;Kenny Florian
Getty Images
PHILADELPHIA - AUGUST 08: Lightweight champion BJ Penn (R) battles Kenny Florian during their lightweight championship title bout at UFC 101: Declaration at the Wachovia Center on August 8, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** BJ Penn;Kenny Florian
Getty Images
PHILADELPHIA - AUGUST 08: Lightweight champion BJ Penn (R) battles Kenny Florian during their lightweight championship title bout at UFC 101: Declaration at the Wachovia Center on August 8, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** BJ Penn;Kenny Florian
Getty Images
PHILADELPHIA - AUGUST 08: (L-R) Lightweight champion BJ Penn battles Kenny Florian during their lightweight championship title bout at UFC 101: Declaration at the Wachovia Center on August 8, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** BJ Penn;Kenny Florian
Getty Images
PHILADELPHIA - AUGUST 08: (L-R) Kenny Florian battles lightweight champion BJ Penn during their lightweight championship title bout at UFC 101: Declaration at the Wachovia Center on August 8, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** BJ Penn;Kenny Florian
Getty Images
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