Another title defense, another lackluster performance from UFC Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva.

Considered by many to be the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world, it was a safe bet to believe that Silva would decisively beat his talented, but overmatched opponent, Demian Maia. While Silva did walk out of the Octagon with his belt on Saturday, he left behind the support of the crowd, including that of UFC President, Dana White.

Putting aside Silva’s theatrics for a moment, the most glaring question is why he began this new strategy in the first place. During his bouts in the Light Heavyweight division, Silva has aggressively attacked and defeated the likes of Forrest Griffin and James Irvin. Previous match ups in his own weight class are highlighted by lopsided beatdowns of Rich Franklin, Chris Leben and Nate Marquardt amongst others.

Then things changed.

Beginning with the Patrick Cote bout at UFC 90 and carrying over to his fight against Thales Leites at UFC 97, Silva began to adopt an almost cartoonish combat style. Aggressiveness was replaced with overly dramatic bobbing and weaving. His famed Muay Thai clinch switched to stomps to his opponent’s knees. Pin point striking became combinations of singular punches followed by dance moves. To say it was befuddling would be an understatement.

Initially, fans attributed the Cote bout to Silva just having an off night. People blamed Leites for not wanting to fight during their main event. Now, after yet another round of hijinks, fans are starting to grow disenchanted with Silva. Perhaps we should’ve attributed the blame to him from the beginning.

After each sub par outing, Silva apologized to the crowd and then promised to do better the next time. Yet he has come out time and time again, fighting the same exact way. No one is making him impersonate the stances of Lyoto Machida and Rickson Gracie. Nor does anyone ask him to start doing capoeira mid-fight like he did on Saturday. These are his choices.

Silva has stated in the past that he wants to put on a show for the people, but when did that come to mean a five round decision filled with relatively little fighting? Shouldn’t the growing sound of booing and, in terms of UFC 112, the crowd starting to chant his opponent’s name compel Silva to realize that his “show” isn’t so entertaining after all?

Part of the reason for the backlash is due to the fact that MMA fans know Silva is better than this. Standing in the center of the Octagon pointing to the mat while trying to get your opponent to slug it out with you is not the best strategy. It takes two people to fight. If Maia didn’t want to stand in the pocket and trade, then it was Silva’s job to go in and induce a striking battle if that is what he wanted. Case in point, if Maia truly wanted to showcase his jiu jitsu abilities, it was his job to get Silva to the ground not belittle the champ to get into his guard.

In rounds four and five of Saturday’s main event, Maia did exchange punches with Silva. Bloody and battered, Maia even put together combinations that landed on the champion. Unfortunately, by that time, Silva had grown tired and chose to playfully hide behind referee Dan Miragliotta and then run laps around the Octagon. Silva got Maia to do what he wanted and yet he failed to engage.

Now the question remains, what will make Silva snap out of this? Is he just bored out there? Does he not feel challenged anymore so he simply messes around for 25 minutes? Perhaps a permanent move up to Light Heavyweight is what he needs. Maybe the proposed super fights with George St. Pierre or Brock Lesnar will do the trick. It’s safe to say that either of those combatants will not hesitate in bringing the fight to Silva. However, before any of those moves should be made, as the champion of the division, Silva’s first priority should be defending the belt at 185 pounds. At this point, there is one more opponent at Middleweight that just might challenge him enough: Chael Sonnen.

While Sonnen isn’t the most exciting fighter to grace MMA, he does possess excellent wrestling skills along with the strength to keep Silva’s back to the mat. Unlike previous competitors, Sonnen is not afraid to take a shot in order to complete a takedown. He may not be the sexiest pick, but Sonnen could be enough to remind Silva that his antics won’t always work. A fight between to the two would most likely be a decision, only this time Silva would have to work for it. If he does dispose of Sonnen as he has the others, then potentially relinquishing the title followed by a permanent change in weight divisions may be needed.

Whether it’s super fights or Sonnen, something has to change soon or the UFC will find themselves with a dominant champion that people have grown tired of watching. Now that White has reached his boiling point, maybe Silva will stop making excuses and start acting like he gives a damn.