(Who doesn’t love a sweaty staring contest?)
When it was initially announced that Vitor Belfort was getting the next crack at UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva, everyone from Ed Soares to Belfort himself acknowledged that this was at least partially bullshit. The good news is that, with Anderson Silva still sidelined due to a lingering injury, Belfort looks like he’ll get his chance to prove he deserves the shot in a top contender bout with Nate Marquardt. Think of it as a rare instance of an injury pullout by a UFC champ resulting in a fight that probably makes more sense than the original title contest. When you think about how often this type of thing has been happening to the UFC of late, it only makes sense that sooner or later it would have to turn out to be a blessing in disguise. That’s just the law of averages at work.
Meanwhile, let’s take a step back and look at the current state of the UFC championship belts:
155 lbs: B.J. Penn puts the lightweight title up for grabs next weekend against Diego Sanchez. If Penn retains the title, don’t look for him to turn around and defend it again any time in the next six months.
170 lbs: Georges St. Pierre goes up against Dan Hardy in March in what seems very likely to be a championship squash match.
185 lbs: Anderson Silva is still hurting and his return is uncertain. The good news is that, by the time he can come back, a #1 contender will be clearly established.
205 lbs: Lyoto Machida and "Shogun" Rua will go at it one more time in May. Unless something bad happens to one of them, which seems all too likely given the UFC’s current streak of bad luck.
265 lbs: Brock Lesnar is a very, very sick man. Don’t believe this ‘back in six months’ stuff just yet. The big man is going to need some time, and we shouldn’t expect to see him before summer.
Basically, what we’re probably looking at in 2010 is two title fights in the first five months. That’s not great news when it comes to scraping together pay-per-view headliners. Better start working on those grudges, boys.
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commentsHugging them would be gay.
You better shut up before I hug YOUR nuts.
Excellent ideas guys. After Palhares demolished every middle weight in a gp everybody would realize and respect him for the top P4P fighter that he is.
I'm ready for all you d bags to jump off this Silva band wagon.
The ufcs middle weight division is weak. I won't be impressed until I see him beat the likes of a mayhem miller or cung Le. Now there's a fight I'd pay to see.
They shouldn't organize whole cards around them, but just add them in with the normal card formula. It would make watching and getting to know some of the lesser known "no name" guys a lot more interesting. And it would make the winner into an instant name and draw.
Vitor has NO chance against Silva!
Silva's much to smart and patient to fall for Vitors one trick!
But its true that Vitor/Silva has to be the bigger money maker.
No we don't....... I want Hendo back immeadiately!
With Georges sidelined and then making an example out of Hardy, Henderson out of the picture, Anderson injured, this is great news.
Big Vitor fan here, and I like Marquard as well. This is just as good as any title fight coming up.
I still think that Marquardt and Sonnen is a retarded fight, and a step backwards for Nate. Vitor knows he should fight someone else at 185 before a title shot as well, so, its a perfect match, everyone knows it, but it seems that nothing is official yet.
All three fighters (Sonnen, Marquardt, and Belfort) have no confirmed information that any of the already scheduled fights have changed. With the exception of Vitor is currently without an opponent. Yet. The only change I can find is the switching of dates for Marquardt/Sonnen. But give it a few days and we'll see.
Its all politics.
"Basically, what we're probably looking at in 2010 is two title fights in the first five months."
um.... given their paucity of title matches, I would not be surprised at all to see BJ defend the title sometime in early spring. Look at that second line you wrote.
Lighter weight classes
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