Say what you want about the UFC Championship and its unmatched promotion of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). Call it brutal, and barbaric. Call it uncouth. Brand it savagery. Hell, reduce it to a society of animals blood bathing one another – but you can’t possibly deny this company one thing – it remains the only cage within which the art of fighting, short of killing, is finely displayed in its most vicious and yet most profound form.
And who dominates it? Anderson da Silva – the 37 year-old father of 5, from a country we know for its lush beaches and imperial salsa soccer style than its elaborately evolved ancient martial arts form – capoeira – which is a much preserved dynamic fighting technique originating from West & Central Africa. This is Brazil we are talking about.
How do you mess up a film about an exciting fighter from an exhilarating country? Like Water, 2011, cannot be the greatest film on Anderson da Silva. Notwithstanding, it accomplishes some level of excellence that a dissertation-like documentary filmmaking can possibly emulate – Anderson da Silva’s dominance in the MMA – though giving too much weight to his fight against the blood doping, drug testing, testosterone enhancing former Greco-Roman American Champion wrestler, Chael Patrick Sonnen, who also happens to have been a former NCAA Division I All-American wrestler from the University of Oregon.
However, because the Silva-Sonnen fight occupies more than 80 percent of this film, director Pablo Croce probably makes the case for yet the most elaborate documentation of the contrast in fighting styles and fighting philosophies between the two individuals and peradventure, the cultures that shape them.
We are first introduced to da Silva’s unanimous decision win against Demian Maia which was largely criticized not for the lack of performance but for the way and manner in which he humiliated Maia. da Silva mocked Maia the entire bout, verbally taunting him, “come on, hit me in the face, playboy,” while employing quick and precise striking at the same time. His tempo and slipperiness were too much for Maia – an art that couldn’t have been more misconstrued by Dana White himself when he confirmed rather proverbially that it was the most embarrassed he had ever been since becoming UFC president. Embarrassed, of course, for Maia who had hitherto heaped tons of insults on da Silva pre-fight.
But Anderson da Silva’s humility is as striking as his supremacy in the UFC. In the post-fight interview, he apologized and insisted he wasn’t himself – that he would go back and re-evaluate the modesty that has made him so fearsome – he just cannot stoop to other fighter’s level.
And so did he re-brand his art, the traditional Brazilian way – with its firm roots in the origins of the West African martial arts philosophy – humility, modesty and total respect for the opponent. To this end he was immensely criticized again by UFC fans the world over.
But Anderson da Silva stood his ground and refused to swerve off course while Chael Sonnen breathed heavily down his neck with insults, taunts, and gross disrespect for da Silva, per chance, in a bid to instill some fear.
In contrast, the fighting philosophy I aspire to (not necessarily the technique), as an African-American, is one hugely rooted in the same cultural philosophy and mental conditioning as da Silva’s all-encompassing capoeira – a style that also evolved into the Stick Dance in the USA. A similar stick dance, Tahtib, was practiced in ancient Egypt and even survived up until the 19th century in North Africa.
And I couldn’t emphasize it more – that’s one thing in the hurt-business I may be sympathetically biased about – total respect for the opponent. To this end, Anderson da Silva minced no words and lost no temper in giving Chael Patrick Sonnen the respect accorded an opponent in this art form, however violent.
There’s an African Proverb that sums up that energy, “retreating is as good as advancing – you must live to fight, otherwise, you are already dead – the onus in every aspect of surviving violence against you, falls on staying alive!” It’s a mentality that speaks to humility and meekness even yet, in the face of an enemy you know you can utterly crash.
But tyranny with its concomitant appetite for mischief is one word that tied up the end of the documentary on the fight between da Silva and Sonnen. Da Silva came into the fight, a rib broken, while Chael Patrick Sonnen stepped into the cage heavily doped – on God knows what?
According to CompuStrike, in da Silva’s first 11 UFC fights, he was hit only 208 times. Sonnen alone hit him a total of 289 times – a work rate possible against a master tactician the kind that da Silva is, only if you were a total coke head. Apparently, the stakes were a little too high for Sonnen – I wondered what he was dying for? For the pride of hometown?
But in the hurt-business as Floyd Mayweather Jr. would put it, “everything looks easy from outside the ring until you step in it” – especially when you have a testosterone over-dope oozing out of every pore. With about two minutes left in the last round, Silva locked up Chael Sonnen in the famous triangle armbar. His neck about to snap, a humiliated Sonnen gladly submitted at 3:10 of Round 5, to save his own life – not to say da Silver would have broken it.
And so ended the debate on which fighting style, which fighting mentality, which fighting tradition and which fighting philosophy remains the most enthralling and most effective – mayhap, those of the famous Black House in Rio? A House from which many exciting and studious fighters have emerged alongside Anderson da Silva himself!
Perhaps it is not far from the truth that during the 19th Century, Portuguese soldiers would categorically state that, “it took more than one dragoon (more than a whole infantry) to capture a single Quilombo warrior, since they would defend themselves with a strangely moving fighting technique.”
The Quilombo, if I may add, were escaped Africans who developed capoeira from a survival tool to a martial art focused on war in order to constantly defend themselves against the Portuguese colonial troops in Brazil. This is the long tradition Anderson da Silva comes from, a Quilombo Warrior at heart, at his best, in every respect. He won’t go away – and he just can’t die!
He’s Like Water! He is everywhere – ever present and calm – but his humility cannot be mistaken for cowardice. Probably, it takes someone like Sonnen to rattle and unleash the giant beasts in da Silva – it takes a constant insolence towards him to cause the calmest Ocean that he is, rise up, roaring and gushing down your doorstep.
Here is, really, part of the tale of a man who has mastered an African Art form, in all its beauty, modesty, superior technique and overpowering bravery – Anderson da Silva indeed is Like Water.
Director: Pablo Croce
Writers: Lyoto Machida, Ed Soares
Stars: Anderson Silva, Jose Aldo and Junior Dos Santos
While I read this blog often, I seldom leave comments. However, considering the subject matter of this particular post, I would feel derelict in my duties if I did not this time.
First, the non-film part of this post. Silva’s performance against Maia was quite perplexing. While he was very effective and active in the first 3 rounds of the fight, he was pretty bad in the last 2. Now, there are other fighters who have been criticized for “running around”, for ex, Silva’s training Lyoto Machida, who is also featured in the film. The difference with Machida is that he fights by circling his opponent, going in and getting a few punches or kicks, and then getting out to circle again. Silva at one point was actually getting behind referee. My problem with that whole fight was that I didn’t understand why he was doing that. Prior to that, he was completely dominating his opponent, beating like a step-child, like a rented mule… I just wanted to know why he stopped. Was he tired (they were fighting for the first time in Abu Dhabi)? Was he hurt? Would have been nice to have known what happened.
But it’s true what you said. As far as I’m concerned, while I understand the satisfaction that comes with watching a back-and-forth, end-to-end action kind of fight, as long as the fighter obeys the rules or gets punished for transgressions (Silva was docked a point for running around), then it’s all good.
Also, the Silva trash talk during the fight was particularly badly received in Brazil it seems. Supposedly (I’m not that familiar with Brazil so I’m “supposing” from what I read), a “playboy” is a rich boy who doesn’t really know anything about life. That’s apparently a no-no in the fight world.
Now on the movie. Thought it was pretty good. I don’t think it was a bad idea to simply concentrate on the Sonnen fight. Maybe they did it because of time or budget constraints but I think they came in with the idea that they were going to be able to have a good sense of the man and the fighter from just a small period of time. And you do get a good sense of him: that he’s loved fighting ever since he was a kid but the UFC and his MMA career don’t really compare to his family (which includes his gym). You also understand the frustration that he feels when it comes to the promotion side of the sport, the business side of the sport. There’s a clear difference in their mentality between Sonnen and Silva when it comes to that. Silva looked tired and sad to be away from his family, answered what I think he described as not so smart and repetitive questions (saying that often the questions are the same, only the reporter changes). Sonnen, on the other hand was getting out a lot of trash, particularly that Silva just isn’t business savvy enough and a dummy for not promoting the sport. Sonnen unfortunately seems unable or unwilling (or may be playing dumb) to accept that Silva just isn’t interested in doing that.
The one thing I was disappointed in was the fact that there was very little discussion (virtually none) about what happened in the Maia fight. Like I said before, why? He talks in general terms about not fighting the way that others want him to, since after all every fighter is a few losses – and often only one loss – away from getting fired. But everyone who watched that fight (or any fight for that matter) understood that. It also didn’t seem like the question was asked. That was certainly very disappointing for most MMA followers.
All of this to say, greatest MMA fighter to date, a good movie and a long comment.
it woulda been nice to have know what happened in the Maia fight for sure. that’s what i’m interested in for shizzle. I mean i still can’t get to the bottom of it:::we need da Silva to talk.
@Ano. I agree with you! Greatest MMA fighter of all time. I like like your long comment.
I didn’t particularly think the Maia fight was important… why people were pissed off with Silva about that is still a little too harsh for me.
Secondly, I don’t think Silva is stupid to not advertise his fight the way Sonnen did. I think, da Silva sees the art of fighting rather religiously and he has certain rituals abt it – one of them is not the capitalist thinking abt every aspect of live.
I know they already settled the score after the 2nd fight. I agree with Silva’s attitude. His job is a fighter and it’s the UFC’s job to sell the fight. I actually think that the way he carried it out was even more effective than going out there and doing a Chael Sonnen. He said in the teleconference he’d break all of Sonnen’s teeth and break his arms and legs. If he had been talking crap like Sonnen the entire time, this would’ve meant nothing. It’s like the movie Godfather. The leader of the Mafia is a softspoken man, but everybody listens because of the position and power he holds. In my opinion, I don’t think that Silva needed to sell the fight.