Was Anderson Silva Too Old or Too Injured Against Chael Sonnen at UFC 117?
Sergio Non asks the old question: The 35-year-old Silva might be feeling his age. He was caught by punches that he has dodges in the past, and his counterstrikes seemed to be slower than usual. Quickness and speed are the first things to go for most athletes, especially by the time they hit their mid-30s. Randy Couture and Bernard Hopkins are rarities in combat sports — most fighters peak physically before 35, particularly below the heavyweight division. Silva afterward said he was suffering from ribs injured in training, but even that suggests that he’s getting older. He didn’t seem to suffer any serious wounds during his time with Chute Boxe Academy, which was renowed for the brutality of its training. But as the aches and pains of regular sparring and practice become harder to take with age, the vulnerability to injury increases and the ability to recover decreases. Our own Jonathan Snowden worried about this before the fight: I worry about a fighter like Anderson Silva. He reminds
