The injury bug continues to bite the UFC. News broke this week that UFC 112 main-event between Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort for the UFC middleweight title is off. A lingering shoulder injury has required Belfort to go under the knife and officially pull out of the Abu Dhabi MMA extravaganza.

This has now turned into a common obstacle for Dana White, Joe Silva, and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Several big main-events and matches in 2009 were canceled due to major injuries. Injuries to champions Brock Lesnar and Georges St. Pierre among many, postponed several big matches. Ironically, the Silva-Belfort match was postponed from UFC 108 due to an injury to Silva. Hopefully for the UFC and its fans, the third time will be the charm.

The good news is that UFC president Dana White has stated that Anderson Silva will still defend the UFC middleweight title at UFC 112 . This would be eight days shy of Silva’s last UFC middleweight title defense. Silva competes in both the UFC light heavyweight and middleweight division. Silva has been inactive since a dominating win over Forrest Griffin in a light heavyweight bout at UFC 101 last August.

The obvious choice by default here is Chael Sonnen. Sonnen made a name for himself by dismantling Nate Marquardt at UFC 109. On top of that, UFC 109 is fresh and some fans may actually buy into Sonnen having a shot. Going into the UFC 109 match, Marquardt was not only the favorite, but the expected next opponent for Silva. Those plans went out with the window due to about 50 Sonnen elbows.

The problem with a Sonnen vs. Silva bout  is the time frame. I don’t think Sonnen is going to blow his one shot on less than 90-days of training. On top of that, there is also the possibility that Sonnen doesn’t get medical clearance to fight by April. In a perfect world Sonnen would accept and be cleared, but nothing has been perfect for the UFC in the last several months.

The situation also brings to light a tremendous lack of depth in the UFC’s middleweight division. This is where the UFC really dropped the ball in letting Dan Henderson go. It wasn’t so much that Henderson a big star and the company can’t live without him. The big advantage in having Henderson is that he is a superstar middleweight, who could have sold pay-per-views. Right now there is nobody that even comes close to Silva’s stardom in the middleweight division. How Vitor Belfort got the title shot ahead of Henderson is still as much of a mystery to me as it is to most MMA fans. Henderson would have been an easy solution to this UFC 112 debacle yet Dana White just let him walk away.

White did state that Silva would be defending the title, so a light heavyweight opponent seems to be out. Now this could all change if White can’t line up a suitable opponent to challenge Silva. Looking at the middleweights, I think that will be the case if Sonnen doesn’t fight. At light heavyweight he has more options for an opponent for the Spider. One name that pops up immediately is Randy Couture. Keep in mind that the plans for Couture seem to be pointing towards a light heavyweight title shot. Putting him here would mean more or less that Couture is opting for the big payday here versus the title fight. However, a UFC 112 main-event in Abu Dhabi featuring Randy Couture vs. Anderson Silva could do tremendous business and possibly even rival the UFC 100 numbers.

A long shot here could be Gegard Mousasi. Mousasi is arguably the best fighter not named Fedor in Strikeforce. Mousasi just announced that he has parted ways with M1-Global management. From most reports, M-1 has stood in the way of the UFC making any deals with any of their fighters. While Mousasi does fight at light heavyweight, a catch weight fight between the two would be an MMA fan’s dream match. I don’t know how much interest this fight would have for casual fans since Mousasi is not exactly a mainstream name to casual MMA fans. At the same time, the UFC could produce some killer pieces with the Affliction and Pride FC libraries to expose the UFC fans to the greatness of Mousasi and really push the dream fight aspect of the match.

Not too mention the signing of Mousasi would be a crushing blow to Strikeforce and make the signing of Dan Henderson a complete waste of money. Although, I can’t imagine Dana White ever making a business move out of spite. Can you?

Update: The UFC has announced that middleweight Demian Maia will step in and challenge Anderson Silva for the UFC middleweight title. While Maia is hardly the star that Belfort is, he is definitely more deserving of the title shot. Maia is 12-1 with his only loss coming at the hands of Nate Marquardt at UFC 102.

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As memorable as a great UFC knockout can be, an intense pre-fight staredown can be epic. MMA fighters like Wanderlei Silva, Rampage Jackson, Diego Sanchez, and Clay Guida have perfected the art of the pre-fight MMA staredown. Check out this great video and picture collection of some of the greatest MMA staredowns of all time. The footage comes from Pride Fighting Championship and the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

In taking a quick look at the video it is evident who the King of the MMA Staredown is. Wanderlei Silva takes that title as he became one of the true pioneers of the MMA pre-fight staredown. While he didn’t bring his winning percentage with him into the UFC, Wanderlei’s staredowns are still a legendary part of his game. Diego Sanchez is catching up with him, but until he can backup the staredown like Wanderlei did back in his prime, Sanchez will be seen as an imitator and not a duplicator.

Rampage Jackson is another MMA fighter who owns the staredown. Jackson’s staredowns with Wanderlei both in the weigh-in and pre-fight rules before their UFC match is arguably one of the greatest in UFC history. I can’t even imagine how epic the staredown will be once Rampage and Rashad Evans finally get a chance to fight in the UFC.

Big props to SurferKen for putting the collection together.

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The UFC middleweight champion, Anderson Silva will make his long awaited return at UFC 112. Silva is scheduled to defend the title against former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort. Vitor Belfort’s management confirmed the fight this past week. The fight will be a co-headliner with a lightweight title defense by B.J. Penn and the return of a former champion on the undercard. Needless to say, UFC 112 show is shaping up to be one of the most stacked shows in UFC history.

Anderson Silva’s fight will end the longest layoff that the Spider has had since joining the UFC. Silva’s last fight was back at UFC 101 in August. Silva destroyed Forrest Griffin making the former champion look like a kid fresh off of TUF. Silva was next scheduled to defend his middleweight title against Dan Henderson. UFC called an audible and went with Vitor Belfort instead, citing that there wasn’t much fan interest in a Henderson-Silva rematch. An elbow injury subsequently forced Silva into surgery and something of a self-imposed exile from the UFC.

The fight only heightens the drama surrounding the UFC’s middleweight division. After losing to Silva in 2008, former Pride FC middleweight champion Dan Henderson rolled off three wins. After his impressive knockout win over Michael Bisping at UFC 100, Henderson was named the number-one contender. Something happened along the way that changed the UFC and Dana White’s minds. Following Belfort’s win over Rich Franklin, White started talking about a Silva-Belfort match before a Silva-Henderson match. Throw Nate Marquardt into the mix and you had more drama in this division than the Jersey Shore.

Once White said he was going with Belfort vs. Silva, Silva started talking about an elbow injury. Various rumors hit the Internet from Silva needing surgery and a lengthy leave of absence, to Silva fighting at UFC 108. Silva finally did have the surgery and the fight was put on hold. Belfort and Marquardt have both waited out the situation and neither man has fought since the number-one contender controversy arose. Marquardt will fight in the next few weeks, while Belfort has been idle. Dan Henderson turned down a fight with Marquardt during this mess which would have theoretically named a true number-one contender. All of this likely contributed to Henderson’s decision to sign with Strikeforce rather than re-sign with the UFC once his contract expired.

The Silva-Belfort fight while intriguing, is quite suspect to me. I really can’t comprehend how the UFC can deem Vitor Belfort deserving of a title shot over Marquart or Henderson. Belfort has only had one fight in the last four years in the UFC. On top of that, I can’t remember Belfort ever even fighting at middleweight in the UFC. Belfort’s last fight against Rich Franklin was at a catchweight of 195 pounds. Dana White has been fixated on this fight for quite awhile, yet Dan Henderson and Nate Marquardt have valid points when questioning whether Vitor Belfort should be receiving a title shot before them or anyone else for that matter. Apparently in the end it is more about the UFC selling tickets than the integrity of the division. Could you imagine the NFL changing the Super Bowl at the last minute to replace a team with a flashier team that didn’t win their way to the championship game?

UFC 112 is shaping up to be one of the most loaded shows in the history of the UFC. The show is scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates which is a pretty amazing feat in itself. In addition to Silva-Belfort, B.J. Penn announced on his website that he is scheduled to fight Frankie Edgar on the show. While not a marquee fight by any means, it definitely has the potential to provide fireworks. Additionally, former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes is scheduled to make his long awaited return to the UFC. Hughes will face the legendary Renzo Gracie who will make his UFC debut at UFC 112.

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Vitor Belfort returned to UFC in vintage Vitor-style. The Phenom knocked out former UFC champion Rich Franklin in Round 1 at UFC 103. Dana White wasted no time talking about a Belfort vs. Anderson Silva match after the fight. In the eyes of the UFC president, “Belfort is ready.”

The words and immediate hype should come as no surprise to UFC fans. Dana White has been talking about a Belfort vs. Silva fight even before he had Belfort under contract. A few months back White talked about testing Anderson Silva with Vitor Belfort. It looks like the test will come sooner than later for the UFC middleweight champion.

Belfort’s win was one of the most impressive wins of the year. I never though of Rich Franklin as an elite fighter, however he is no pushover. Belfort’s win was about more than just a speedy onslaught of strikes. Belfort was a posed, mature fighter who waited patiently for his opening. Once Belfort saw the open, he took it, and it was lights out for Franklin.

Rich Franklin has only been knocked out once in the first round in his MMA career. Ironically it was Anderson Silva who knocked Rich Franklin out with a knee in Round 1 to win his UFC middleweight title. Even more impressive is that this was Belfort’s second straight first round knockout. Belfort’s previous victim was Matt Lindland. Lindland is also no pushover and the wins are extremely impressive for Belfort.

The odd man out is Dan Henderson. Hendo was promised the next title shot at Anderson Silva. Silva has yet to agree to a match with Henderson. After seeing he wasn’t interested in fighting Henderson, Silva reportedly suffered an elbow injury. The timing of the injury is curious to say the least. Henderson would be a fool to agree to a Belfort fight before the Silva match. Henderson has already turned down opponents citing that he will wait out his promised match with Silva.

Vitor Belfort is for real and I am now a believer. Belfort can and will give Anderson Silva his toughest challenge to date in the UFC. Silva has never seen anyone with the speed of Belfort. Additionally, I don’t know if Silva has ever fought anyone with the confidence of Vitor Belfort. The looks on the faces of most of Anderson Silva’s opponents before the bell scream of defeat. Belfort won’t be scared and will probably be the first guy in UFC to fight Silva who believes that he can beat him.

For now, the sky is the limit for Belfort. Belfort could jump up to 205 and fight the Machida-Rua winner for the UFC light heavyweight title. Belfort had a hard time getting to 195 for the Franklin fight. Dropping down to 185 could be a big issue for Belfort. Fighting Silva at a catch weight is a solution, but that would negate UFC’s opportunity at a UFC middleweight title fight. The Anderson Silva talk is nice, but it may be in everyone’s best interest for Belfort to stick around at 195 or 205.

Vitor Belfort Highlights!


Thanks to MMAFanhouse for the tip!

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Anderson Silva silenced his critics with a knockout win over Forrest Griffin in Round 1 at UFC 101. Griffin was believed to be the first guy who could challenge Silva. If Silva handled his first real threat that easy, who is left that can beat him? Can UFC even challenge him at this point? If you are UFC, what do you do with Anderson Silva?

Anderson Silva is both UFC’s greatest gift and biggest problem. Fighting in two weight classes gives UFC a ton of potential Super Fights for Silva. Yet Silva is so good, that all of these fights could ruin UFC’s most marketable stars in a second. Forrest Griffin is a prime example of a fighter who may never be taken seriously again as a result of UFC 101.

Who will give Silva his toughest test? Dana White is already on record stating that Silva has cleaned out the division. Is it in UFC’s best interest to move Silva up to 205 permanently to make the division competitive? Will Silva do the same in UFC’s toughest division at light heavyweight? I present a few possibilities at best of guys that can and may test the Spider if given the opportunity.

Georges St. Pierre – Fans have been screaming for GSP vs. Anderson Silva match for a year now. It appears more and more that GSP isn’t too interested in this fight. GSP has danced around the question whenever asked about fighting Silva. Even UFC match makers don’t seem too interested in making this fight? Why would such an obvious Super Fight be avoided? Because GSP and UFC know that St. Pierre won’t win.

GSP’s toughest opponent thus far has been B.J. Penn. Penn fought above his normal fighting weight, giving GSP a slight advantage. GSP would be the one having to come up for a fight with Silva. I think that with the power of Silva, GSP’s ground game would be negated. At the same time, I don’t think GSP can match Silva on his feet. I think GSP would give him a challenge, but it would be a far cry from the ultimate match that would be expected.

Dan Henderson – Henderson will be Silva’s next opponent at middleweight. Dan has the distinction of being the only man to ever win a round against Silva. Henderson has said himself that he got away from his game plan in the second round of their previous fight. Will things be different if Hendo sticks to his game in their next fight?

I don’t think there is anyone at middleweight that has a better chance of beating Silva. Henderson exposed Silva’s weak points in their first fight. On their feet, Silva has the better skill set to out box Henderson. I think Silva knows this and will do all he can to finish this fight fast and on their feet. However, if there is anyone that can get a lucky shot in on Silva it is Dan Henderson.

Lyoto Machida – I think UFC will begin pushing a Machida-Silva Super Fight to take heat off of GSP. Machida has just dominated his last few opponents in UFC. Other than Tito Ortiz, I can’t recall Machida even being challenged in the octagon. The light heavyweight champion looked flawless against Rashad Evans to the point that UFC announcer Joe Rogan proclaimed it the “Machida Era.”

I don’t think this would be as much of a challenge to Silva as some would think. Machida is actually the perfect opponent for Silva. Machida will sit back and not take risks. Machida is elusive like Silva but I don’t think he is as powerful. On paper this looks like the ultimate match of unbeatable fighters. However, I don’t think it will present the excitement that would be expected from a fight of this caliber.

Rampage Jackson – The hype for a fight like this would be second to none. Rampage will undoubtedly talk a good game and have people believing. The problem with Rampage is that you never know what Rampage you are going to get. I don’t think a focused Rampage on the top of his game would stand much of a chance against Silva.

Rampage is a great all-around striker and grappler, but Silva is better. I could see Rampage getting frustrated by the middle of the second round. Forrest Griffin already wrote the book on how to beat Rampage. Silva will just bob and weave with strikes until Rampage opens up for a knockout. I think of all the potential money matches on the table for Silva, Rampage would be the easiest opponent for the Spider.

Vitor Belfort – Dana White has gone on record and believes that Vitor could challenge Anderson at 185. I just don’t know how interested Belfort is in fighting at 185. Like Rampage, you just don’t know what you will get out of Vitor. To give Belfort his due, he has looked great in his last few fights.

I don’t see this one as a big problem at all for Silva. I think Silva has the advantage over Belfort in all of Belfort’s strongest techniques. Like the Machida fight, I also think this one would be lackluster in terms of fan expectations. I will wait and see how Belfort looks against Rich Franklin before I label him as any kind of a threat to Anderson Silva.

Randy Couture – Couture is the wildcard in this bunch. Couture has already stated that he would be willing to move down in weight to fight Lyoto Machida. I love Randy’s heart, but at his age he just can’t match power against top heavyweights like Lesnar, Mir, and Congo. Couture should be fighting at light heavyweight in my opinion.

I think this match could be very interesting. Couture still posses some heavy hands. It will really come down to quickness and reflexes in my opinion. Can Randy at his age react quickly against an open Anderson? Hendo already wrote the playbook on how a great wrestler should fight Silva. If Randy has the reflexes in him, he could ground and pound Silva for three rounds at 205. I would actually give Randy the best shot of pulling the upset of all the above mentioned fighters.

In the end, UFC is faced with the problem of having the greatest fighter in MMA on their roster. Do you sacrifice and expose your elite fighters to Silva or do you offer him some unique tests? Could Anderson Silva be the first guy to dominate two divisions in UFC history? What happens if he decides to move up to heavyweight?

Anderson Silva is UFC’s biggest asset and their biggest nightmare.

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One of the most polarizing figures in UFC history will return to the octagon. A month after being banned from the UFC Fan Expo, Tito Ortiz is now welcomed back into UFC. Dana White also announced the return of Vitor Belfort at UFC 103.

The news ends a long and hostile feud between UFC and Tito Ortiz. Ortiz left the UFC last year after fulfilling his contract. The breakup was not pretty. The return of the former light heavyweight champion comes as a big surprise for many in the MMA community.

Things were rocky from the start of his last UFC return. However, tensions really hit an all-time level after the fallout of the Ortiz-Dana White boxing match. Ortiz backed out of the match, while White continued with the event and made a television special out of it. From that point on, things got very ugly throughout the rest of Ortiz’s UFC tenure.

Ortiz was a big fish on the free agent market last year. I have to admit, I expected someone to scoop him up fast. Ortiz had recently talked about Strikeforce and Affliction. Ortiz even talked about a match with Fedor at one point. For numerous reasons, none of those deals ever materialized.

Ortiz’s options slimmed big time when Affliction closed its doors. Other than a new startup, it was unlikely he would receive big money elsewhere. The deal with UFC seemed to be a necessity at this point. For UFC, it is a no lose situation to bring back the Huntingdon Beach Bad Boy. Whether he is still the fighter he once was, he is going to draw money and that is the bottom line.

Ortiz’s last UFC stint was a mixed bag. One could argue that he declined in skill. However, other than Chuck Liddell nobody dominated him. Ortiz went 3-2-1 in his last UFC run. Ortiz’s last bout was a loss to current UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida. Ortiz arguably fought Machida harder than anyone ever has. It was a loss, but it was far from a dominating win from Machida.

What do you do with a Tito Ortiz in 2009? There are several good options. For one, there are a ton of rematches that fans would love to see. Ortiz’s win over Forrest Griffin was very controversial. Rematches with Rashad Evans, Machida, Wanderlei Silva, or Vitor Belfort are also very juicy possibilities.

There are also some great possibilities for new matchups. Ortiz against either Rich Franklin or Dan Henderson would do good business. A superfight with Anderson Silva could do UFC 100 type numbers. A match with Rampage Jackson would surely do tremendous business. The interviews and hype alone could turn this one into a record breaker.

There is always the Ultimate Fighter. Ortiz turned around his image as a head coach in season three. Ortiz was arguably the best coach in the history of the show. I’d bring him back on the show for a season. Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, or Forrest Griffin would be great opposing coaches. I would not be surprised whatsoever to see Ortiz back on the show in seasons 11 or 12.

Tito announced that he will fight before the end of the year. No official date was given on the press conference call. Dana White did mention that they are working on a Marc Coleman fight The Coleman fight would be a big disappointment in my opinion. Coleman has been a rather boring fighter since returning to UFC.

In other press conference news: Franklin-Hendo 2 is off for UFC 103. Rich Franklin will now fight Vitor Belfort at UFC 103. Belfort returns to UFC for the first time in over four years. The fight will be a light heavyweight bout. I think Rich Franklin is in big trouble. Dan Henderson “is next in line” to challenge Anderson Silva for the UFC middleweight title challenger. Both of these fights are much more appealing than Henderson-Franklin 2.

Dana also had a lot to say throughout the call about signning Fedor Emelianenko. “Co-promotion with M-1 is “impossible, it’ll never happen.” But “the deal’s not dead. They can call me. Trust me, we did everything to make a Fedor Emelianenko deal happen. It’s insanity for them to turn down a deal like this. I was f**king miserable when Fedor Emelianenko turned down UFC deal. These guys don’t want to make a deal. If they do, call me.”

As reported, it seems that it all comes down to M1’s co-promotional demands in making the deal. “The only sticking point is the co-promotion. Otherwise, we gave them everything.”

Dana took a shot at boxing on the call. “Everyone wants to see Pacquiao vs. Mayweather, boxing promoters won’t give them that fight. UFC gives fans fights they want.” I find that statement a little ironic, considering that every MMA fan in the world wants to see Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brock Lesnar. If Manny vs. Mayweather happens first, Dana is going to have a lot of egg on his face. I’ll go out on a limb and tell you that I expect to see Manny vs. Mayweather way before I see Brock vs. Fedor. I hope I am wrong. – Thanks to MMAFanhouse for the quotes.

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