Thiago Silva Needs a Good Nickname, Preferably One With Some Punch To It

by

Kevin Sampson

Correspondent Written on August 31, 2009

Thiago Silva just finished dispatching Keith Jardine and has proven himself against a top rated opponent. It took him one minute and 35 seconds to do so. In typical Thiago Silva fashion, it took less than one round. All tallied, Thiago Silva averages 229 seconds (3.8 minutes) per match. He's seen round two only once in the UFC.

With a record that is marred only by the loss to the Champion, Lyoto Machida, Thiago Silva has proven that he does one thing very well: He destroys his opponents. Be it punches, kicks, ground and pound or submissions, Thiago Silva finishes fights. Sure he wasn't a match for Lyoto Machida.

MMA fans are going to learn soon enough, nobody in the division today is a match for The Dragon. Losing to Lyoto Machida should be no great embarrassment, as Rich Franklin, BJ Penn, Tito Ortiz, Sokoudjou, Vernon White and Stephan Bonnar can all attest to.

The trouble with Thiago Silva's name is simple: There's way too many Silvas and quite a few Thiagos besides. Thiago Silva needs catchy nickname that can be used to reference him in the same fashion as Rampage Jackson.

Something that is memorable and fits his fighting spirit. His first and last name are about as common in Brazil as names like John Smith, Peter Jackson, Robert Simpson, etc. He needs a nickname that helps people remember him specifically.

Things like "Assassin," "Ninja," and "Samurai" are already taken and over-used. I'm inclined to call him "The Wrecking Machine" for his tendency of overwhelming and devastating opponents. His signature victory mimic of cutting the throat might offer some leads, but what? "The Executioner" or "Head Hunter" or "Guillotine" perhaps?

Maybe something particular to where he hails from like "Sao Paulo Assassin." I've learned that he likes to be referred to as "Killa" which is quaint but certainly anything but memorable, and is already drastically overused by the rap music industry.

It would be nice to have something else to call him by. If I say Thiago, people are initially thinking Alves. If I say Silva, they're thinking Wanderlei or Anderson or one of a long list of others before they're thinking of Thiago Silva.

Make a good suggestion and I'll add it to the poll. If you see another commentor with a good suggestion, please second it to make it official. From the looks of it, I'll have to repost this article with the best suggestions included in the new poll.