8. Anderson Silva vs. Thales Leites
When Anderson Silva’s career is over little attention will be given to a period from 2008-09, when many were labelling Silva as a boring fighter.
After Silva had disposed of the Rich Franklins and Dan Hendersons in the middleweight division, he just kind of coasted for a few years. Fights against Thales Leites, Patrick Cote, and Demian Maia drew ire from Dana White and MMA fans for being boring, with Silva mainly counter-striking and fighting for a decision.
The fight with Leites is considered the worst of the worst during this period of Silva’s title reign. Neither fighter seemed interested in engaging, with Silva making more of an effort to taunt Leites than to attack.
Months later, and after losing another fight, Leites was cut from the UFC. He went from title challenger to fighting for smaller promotions in just 4 months. He has since rejoined the UFC.
