(‘And don’t let me catch you looking at my little sister again!’)
Good news for those of you who already bought your plane tickets to Abu Dhabi and have spent the last few weeks learning how to say, ‘Stand ‘em up!’ in Arabic. Despite losing Vitor Belfort to a shoulder injury, UFC 112 will still feature Anderson Silva fighting someone in the 185-pound range for a big hunk of shiny metal and leather. As Dana White recently told MMAFighting.com, Silva has not been pulled from the event just because his top challenger is out, and he’ll still be defending his belt (so abandon your hopes for a light heavyweight superfight, or a heavyweight super-superfight).
The question that has yet to be answered is, who will this opportunistic middleweight be?
The smart money is still on Chael Sonnen. He’s the kind of guy who might have just the right tough-to-reckless ratio to agree to the fight on two months’ notice, facial lacerations and shortened training camp be damned. If the fight were in the U.S., getting him medically cleared to fight might be an issue. Since it’s in Abu Dhabi, everything should be cool as long as his entourage doesn’t include a woman who knows how to read.
The flip side is, if Sonnen can’t take the fight and Belfort is out, any middleweight the UFC throws in there is going to look like the poorest of substitutes. Even Nate Marquardt, who would have seemed like a suitable replacement as recently as last Friday, couldn’t rightfully get the shot now without a great deal of howling from the fans.
If only the UFC still had the world’s number two middleweight in their stable, they could really make some wonderful lemonade out of these lemons. But nah, he wasn’t worth it. Right?
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Comments
Fri, 02/12/10 - 09:07
i still think nate should get it, hes a better fighter he just got grinded by sonnen
Fri, 02/12/10 - 09:10
Lhw bout would be more exciting. But who really cares. I'm just a fan.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 09:12
I agree Nate is the best matchup for Silva (other than Vitor). Sure, he got out wrestled, but let's not forget that Sonnen's big weakness is getting submitted, so I don't think he's really as solid a contender as he'd like to make us think.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 09:17
looking at the current rankings... there is really no one for Silva to fight at middleweight Def should be a LHW fight
Fri, 02/12/10 - 09:18
Um, Mousasi just cut ties with M-1, Strikeforce let's their fighters fight in other promotions, and he can fight at pretty much any weight, right?
Fri, 02/12/10 - 09:20
Let's face it: the UFC should have kept Hendo... karma?
Fri, 02/12/10 - 09:22
I know yall are probably sick of hearing it, so I'll say it only once more. Rosimar. Palhares.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 09:26
Don't you think there's too much of a risk that it might end up like the Leites fight?
Fri, 02/12/10 - 09:34
give em Alan Belcher....................................im serious
Fri, 02/12/10 - 09:37
They're planning an exhibition of Silva juggling a soccer ball for all his Brazilian fans.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 09:38
Give him Sexyama. At least we'll be entertained by his entrance and sexyness. Seriously though, Sonnen needs to take this shot! =)
Fri, 02/12/10 - 09:39
Hellz nah! My boy Palhares has got crazy stand up. I see him throwin some canseco over hand rights and wicked kicks. Eventually he'll set up a takedown and break whatever A.S.S. Is stupid enough to give him. Or he'll get ko'd. But probably the first thing I said.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 09:41
I honestly would like to see Akiyama but that simply wouldn't sell tickets...I think the best thing to do marketing-wise is start a feud between Alan Belcher's amazing Johnny Cash tattoo and Anderson Silva/Ed Soares.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 09:45
With all logical and espicially deserving contenders on the side line, here's a thought, why not give Rich Franklin one last shot at glory. It would make it a trilogy for one and I can't think of anyone more deserving, given how many times he's stepped up for the UFC in a tight spot. I know everyone is gonna shout from the rafters on why this doesn't make sense, isn't fair to whoever, how he's not deserving, ect. ect. And yes I realize he go KO'd by Vitor but I would rather see Rich get another shot than Sonnen. I like Sonnen but he's not ready for Silva, and on short notice, come on.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 09:49
Why not Damien Maia? He won his last fight, and his only loss in the UFC came at the hands of Nate Marquardt, who just got beaten by Sonnen, whom he submitted in the first round. Marquardt > Maia > Sonnen > Marquardt > Maia > Sonnen and so on... If Marquardt and Sonnen are possible title contenders, then Maia should be to. Plus Maia didn't get roughed up too badly in his last fight. So my prediction is Damien Maia, but obviously if the UFC had taken my advice and hired Hendo, they wouldn't be in this pickle. Dana just doesn't like Dan because Dan isn't afraid to bully Dana around and make fun of him. Most guys in the UFC suck up to Dana and hug his nuts mad tight, but I used to remember Henderson just making fat jokes at Dana and giving him titty twisters.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 09:50
So Anderson will fight another class B and his overated ass will be safe letting the hype growth more and more... Or the story might be different... AKIYAMA YOSHIHIRO ladies and getlemen!!!
Fri, 02/12/10 - 09:50
It doesn't matter, does it? After all, according to CP, Anderson will duck the next contender, too.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 09:51
I love how this article bitterly eludes to the release of Henderson but c'mon, an injured Belfort and defeated Marquardt is something nobody had the foresight for. PLUS, Hendo would of been cremated AGAIN anyways. So no, it wasn't worth it to keeping Hendo around with a brand new bloated contract, only to lose again and then what?
Fri, 02/12/10 - 09:55
WHY IS NO ONE TALKING ABOUT MOUSASI?????????????
Fri, 02/12/10 - 10:00
Wait.. I just had an idea. Wanderlei effin' Silva! Screw bisping. What's the downside?
Fri, 02/12/10 - 10:01
To say that Nate should get the fight over Sonnen is ridiculous! Nate didn't just get out wrestled he got his ASS beat for 15 minutes! Sonnen is the number one contender (like him or not) and the most game imo. But if he can't fight then I say put Maia in for the slaughter he only has one loss and is coming off a win that he took little to no dmage in. And who knows maybe he wouldn't roll around on the floor a la Leites?
Fri, 02/12/10 - 10:01
Well, let's talk about Hendo being "cremated" shall we? Hendo had Silva in a place he hadn't been in before and if I remember correctly, Hendo took round 1 fairly decisively. Round 2, he looked gassed and got RNC'd. Hardly a cremation. Griffin, Leben, Franklin, Irvin, etc. - They were cremated.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 10:03
Isn't Robbie Lawlor currently a free-agent? Why not sign him? Although he might not be able to walk after that beating he took on his legs from Manhoef
Fri, 02/12/10 - 10:03
Call me crazy but... Wanderlei Silva just dropped to middleweight, and is fighting the very beatable Michael Bisping... Winner of that fight (assuming it isn't a three round barn burner) gets the shot? I know, Spider vrs. Axe Murderer is about four years too late to be awesome, but didn't we say that about Rua vrs. Machida? And how'd that fight turn out?
Fri, 02/12/10 - 10:07
Hendo had Silva in a place he hadn't been in before? Where on the ground? Just because Hendo was able to take down Silva does not mean that he was any more successful in his fight then anyone else. He did ZERO damage, then got RNC'd in the next round... I don't think that you can commend Dan for his performence.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 10:07
Dalton no one is talking about him because you have to have a UFC contract to fight in the UFC...crazy how that works.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 10:08
Hendo would be a great idea except he is not employed by Zuffa anymore. Hell let James "Lights Out" Toney have his chance he's been begging for LMAO
Fri, 02/12/10 - 10:11
^^Ok Toney, you want more money? How's $10,000 to show, $15 million to win. Ever hear of Anderson Silva?
Fri, 02/12/10 - 10:12
I just have to say that I laughed when LargeMidget said that Maia didn't get roughed up too badly in his last fight. If getting knocked out isn't too badly, then yeah.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 10:13
Lysol I would actually like to see that, but it could be a tight time-line if Wanderlei gets issued any type of medical suspension. I honestly think their best bet is (if Chael can't fight due to horrible his horrible political timing/lack of training time) then pull Anderson from the card. I am as big of a Damien Maia fan as anyone but Anderson would destroy him faster than Marquardt did.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 10:15
Maia is medically suspended til August 6th, so he's not even an option.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 10:16
peckawood Maia just won his last fight against Miller, I would be more of an elitist prick about it but it was one of the worst cards I've ever seen so you not knowing about it is excusable.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 10:17
@ lysol We said the same thing almost.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 10:17
Hey Peckawood don't mean to wake you up but Maia won his last fight by decision over Dan Miller.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 10:21
There is one one man in the history of the world who was beating Silva's ass before a freak injury ended the bout. I think we all know who it is, let him have his rematch. I think Silva would destroy him just to prove something.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 10:21
Randy is going to drop to 185 and claim the 185 crown!!!
Fri, 02/12/10 - 10:23
UFC 112 "TOTAL DISGRACE" SILVA vs TONEY!
Fri, 02/12/10 - 10:24
totally agree with the Dr... Hendo is one of the few who could challenge Anderson. For real. But it's pointless to say, cause Hendo ain't in the UFC anymore. Next contestant... Sonnen?... the man owned Nate on the ground for 2 1/2 rounds. But Sonnen isn't sa triker, plain and simple... he's a wrestler. And considering how fast, accurate and hard Anderson punches, I think he would kill Sonnen standing up. Put it this way, Anderson has some skills on the ground to be fearful of... but the reverse isn't true for Sonnen standing up...
Fri, 02/12/10 - 10:24
totally agree with the Dr... Hendo is one of the few who could challenge Anderson. For real. But it's pointless to say, cause Hendo ain't in the UFC anymore. Next contestant... Sonnen?... the man owned Nate on the ground for 2 1/2 rounds. But Sonnen isn't a striker, plain and simple... he's a wrestler. And considering how fast, accurate and hard Anderson punches, I think he would kill Sonnen standing up. Put it this way, Anderson has some skills on the ground to be fearful of... but the reverse isn't true for Sonnen standing up...
Fri, 02/12/10 - 10:25
Nate (not Diaz) or Dan would make a great fight with Anderson. They have both had shots and should know what to expect.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 10:31
Teila Tuli should cut weight to fight him
Fri, 02/12/10 - 10:31
skeletor - I'd love to see Spider get a hold of Cote again and give him a reality check. He'd punch Cote so hard he'd forget how to speak French...and probably how to count as well.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 10:32
They need to give him somone that will interest him, so logically Philippe Nover or Ken Shamrock are the most likely.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 10:33
bring fedor in
Fri, 02/12/10 - 10:34
All this talk and only one got it right....Skeletor. Patrick Cote is going to get the bout, a good thing as I will be at the Montreal show and I cannot wait to see who Belcher will fight in place of Cote. Cote will lose and the fans will snooze at UFC 112. Enjoy.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 10:35
I'm pretty sure Lesnar is a middleweight at the moment.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 10:37
I say drop that bullshit GSP/Hardy fight, and let's see GSP vs The Spider before it gets too late!
Fri, 02/12/10 - 10:49
Sonnen will advocate his 'Woman Stay in House' jargon and connect with the Abrahamic faiths in UAE
Fri, 02/12/10 - 10:50
Demian Maia seems like the obvious choice. I wouldn't mind if that one ended in an upset. Maia seems to be the only logical choice that WOULD happen. I'm sure Anderson wants to avenge his "loss" to Okami though :3
Fri, 02/12/10 - 10:55
I think Sexyama vs Silva is the best choice.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 10:59
iDestroy Says: Fri, 02/12/2010 - 09:22 I know yall are probably sick of hearing it, so I'll say it only once more. Rosimar. Palhares. Dude. Yes. We. Are. All. Sick. Of. You. Pumping. Palhares. Drop. It. Already. The. Horse. Is. Dead.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 11:04
I suspect that even if Nate did get a pass and another shot that he wouldn't be able to show up with all cylinders firing after getting embarrassed by sonnen like that. He's gonna need some fixer upper fights first before he'll be running smooth again IMO.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 11:05
Cote actually took some hard shots from Anderson and it didn't daze him, but with that said, it was also a boring fight. We can only hope if it is Cote, they actually fight this time. I wouldn't mind seeing Okami get the shot!
Fri, 02/12/10 - 11:05
I wonder where Daniel.mtl is. I would love to hear his opinion on the subject.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 11:09
i was going to post the same thing as smitty... gsp said if he goes up MW, he will not go back to WW so that would make room for some great fights at WW!
Fri, 02/12/10 - 11:18
@Cecil I said it would be the last time. I just had to make sure everyone knows where I stand. I feel he's a viable threat and would hate for anyone to discredit him. War Palhares!
Fri, 02/12/10 - 11:26
@ Peckawoodd - Apparently you missed UFC 109. I didn't know Maia was out on medical suspension though, if that's true then that sucks. Then again, this fight is in Abu Dhabi, so I don't think the athletic commisions around here will apply. I wouldn't be surprised to see Yoshihiro Akiyama get the shot. This is going to be an international broadcast after all and when you take Japan into account the worldwide payperview buys would be staggering. Also, it is very likely that the winner of Bisping/Silva could produce a replacement, granted the winner doesn't take too much punishment. Actually, considering this fight involves Wanderlei Silva, I don't like the odds of the winner coming out unharmed. But I will say that if Bisping scores the 1st round KO, he is 110 fucking percent getting the title shot against Silva in Abu Dhabi. We all know how the UFC loves their UK fighters.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 11:39
If it's for the belt at 185, the only guys that you can really make a case for as being deserving are Vitor and Sonnen, and if we're reaching a bit, then possibly Maia and Cote. Vitor's out and Sonnen really needs to rest up. Maia isn't really deserving and doesn't present a stylistically intriguing matchup, I think most will agree (see: the Leites fight). Cote is a possibility, but I doubt the fans would care much to see that again (except Canadians), and the UFC factors that stuff in as much as anything. It therefore has to be a scrap at 205 against someone noteworthy... though no names are springing to mind that aren't already slated to fight someone else. And forget about GSP; he's said he'd need like a year to put on the muscle to fight at 185, and I'm sure he'd want a trial match before putting his legacy on the line. Personally, I wish they'd just push the fight out a month or two and give Sonnen a fair shot. After all his talk, that's the fight I want to see.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 11:44
It'll be Yoshihiro Akiyama seeing how his fight with "The other white Silva" was cancelled.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 11:45
Akiyama sounds good to me. He's a tough scrapper. That would actually be kind of a cool fight IMO. And he's fresh enough to the roster that a competitive loss to the champ this early wouldn't set him back much. There'd still be plenty of other fights to put himself right back in line again.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 11:54
Let him fight Couture
Fri, 02/12/10 - 12:00
They should just scrap the Silva fight altogether; whoever they put against him will just say he didnt have the right training camp when he loses
Fri, 02/12/10 - 12:10
@largemidget - there is no way bisping gets a title shot until he turns SOMEBODY else off (like hendo did to him)... yes, the ufc(dana) does seem to like to overhype their uk fighters, but there is also the problem that bisping has never been ranked in the MW top 10 and does not even own a win over a top 10 fighter! he doesn't even have a close decision loss to a top 10 fighter!! hardy at least has wins over a couple of former top 10 WW fighters(swick & gono)...
Fri, 02/12/10 - 12:12
Why does the fight have to be at 185 if Sonnen or Vitor can't compete? At 205 I wouldn't mind seeing him fight, Couture or Rashad. Really the fight should be postponed- yes again - until Vitor or Sonnen can fight Anderson, or at 205. Cote and Akiyama are the only middleweights that make some sense and are available.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 12:13
Randy could beat him.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 12:41
Silva will smash anyone in the MW division I just say he moves up and fights at LHW and HW. Giving Anderson someone that will just get demolished will just feed the little trolls even more to want Anderson to lose.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 01:12
No way in hell should Silva move up to heavyweight.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 01:17
Child Please!!! its post season.. sign Ochocinco.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 01:38
Everybody forgot the football season is over. Chad would be my first pick. At least he isn't a burnt out old fart trying to make an extra buck, he's a young buck with no intent to continue on in mma. Must say that's a step up.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 01:58
Silva vs 3 middleweight contenders in one night. Warm up with Maia, then beat Marquardt, and finish with Sonnen. Silva will get at least 3 rounds of work in and the fans will get to see 3 knockouts. Its a win, win, win situation.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 03:02
@Ricardo Cabeza - "UFC 112 Total Disrace" I laughed hard. Imagined Bruce Buffer yelling it...Also, I'm afraid I have to call you Dick Head. @DaltonSwayze - Awesome name. And awesome idea, Gegard would be an entertaining fight. Prob sell a shitpile of tickets too in that region. Too bad it won't happen. Who will get the title shot? I'll break it down by numbers. Maia, has about an 8% chance. Okami has about 7%. Akiyama and Belcher, as awesome as they both are have about 1% to split between them. Marquardt has about 35% chance, simply because of his red beard. Cote has about 51%, and the reason is that he didn't technically get beat by Anderson, and he made it to round 3. Sonnen has a seperate set of odds, 100%, if he chooses to take it. That said, I think it will end up being Nate.
Fri, 02/12/10 - 03:07
This fucking sucks. As irritating as you guys seem to think idestroy is, I think Palhares is a dangerous MF at MW. Sonnen won't even have time to get his head vagina healed up. Nate fucked up too badly. Maia/Nate is self explanatory for why Maia ain't it. Patrick Cote? Are you fucking serious? Silva blew out his knee just forcing him to move around. Cote didn't look like he was even in the same zip code as Silva. Robby Lawler would be mildly entertaining but Lawler's luck against superior strikers won't hold up against AS. This needs to be at LHW or postponed. We've all seen how A.S. performs when he gets a scrub. If it absolutely has to happen at MW then give it to Palhares. He's got pretty dynamic standup, strength, takedowns and the subs. It'll probably be Cote and they'll sell it with a bunch of BS about how he was 'winning' the fight and it was a freak injury. Silva will demolish him in the first round and then it's another six months waiting for him to fight somebody legit. And remember people, Anderson's fights are numbered. He doesn't have too many left before he retires. Are you sure you want to see him square off with Cote for his next to last (or second to last) fight?
Fri, 02/12/10 - 03:32
@macreadysshack - It was a freak injury, and trying to say that "Silva blew it out" is ludicrous. They weren't even close to each other when it happened. They prob will try to pump it with some equally ludicrous hype, which we will all laugh at, and Anderson will not have a six month layoff after beating up Cote because he will not take any damage. And when you say Rousimar Palhares all I can hear is "the guy whose most recent loss was to Henderson, whose most recent loss was to Silva"
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