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Anderson Silva Camp Thinks UFC Middleweights Are “Amateur Kids,” Rallies for GSP Just to Be Difficult

Anderson Silva, shown modeling for Rolling Stone while showing us his war face.

It’s no secret that the UFC middleweight division is a bit of a mess right now. With Michael Bisping set to fight Brian Stann, Alan Belcher squaring off against Vitor Belfort, Cung Le fighting Rich Franklin and Chris Weidman and Tim Boetsch sitting on the sidelines, it’s no wonder we’re possibly looking at a middleweight tournament to sort this mess out. In theory, the tournament would give Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva plenty of time to go to barbecues and fight Light-Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones while the division sorts itself out. In reality, that will never happen.

With the middleweight division being such a gigantic question mark, it may make sense to just ask someone in Anderson Silva’s camp who they’d like to see him fight next. There’s just one small problem: Anderson Silva’s camp are, how should I say this, pricks. Case in point, here’s what Silva’s manager Jorge Guimaraes said about the possibility of Anderson fighting Chris Weidman, Tim Boetsch and Alan Belcher, who have all recently called out “The Spider” (via Tatame):

Anderson Silva, shown modeling for Rolling Stone while showing us his war face.

“That’s a big joke. Everybody saw that it worked for Chael, and he got really famous with that, and now everybody wants to be on the spotlight. No opponent makes sense for Anderson at this moment*. Unless we do a catchweight against Georges St. Pierre.** They didn’t offer the fight, but he’s the only one that could do a super fight. Anderson has the biggest paycheck in the UFC, and you can’t promote an event with these amateur kids that are coming up now.***”

*Except for, you know, the winners of the fights in the first paragraph that aren’t Le vs. Franklin. Include Weidman and Boetsch on that list, too.

** So, a guy who is undefeated, has won five fights in the UFC’s middleweight division and just destroyed a consensus top middleweight doesn’t make sense, but a welterweight who has been nursing an injury, is booked to unify the UFC Welterweight Championship/Interim Championship in November and will then need time to put on weight for a middleweight fight does. Right, sure, why not? Just tell me, is Chael Sonnen the middleweight champion of this parallel universe you’ve created, or did Travis Lutter manage to knock him out?

Look, the rest of us have given up on this Silva/GSP super fight years ago. With the time it would take for GSP to put on enough weight to fight at 185 – not to mention rehab from an injury in the all-too-likely case he gets hurt in November – it’s safe to assume that ship has sailed. Silva/GSP is pretty much an MMA pipe dream, the same way that Pacquiao vs. Mayweather is one for boxing.

***Didn’t we have this exact same discussion before UFC 117? And then didn’t Chael Sonnen make himself famous by calling out Anderson Silva, like you, you know, just said seconds earlier?

Eh, I give up. If you guys in the comments section have any better ideas for Anderson Silva that don’t involve middleweights, Jon Jones or Georges St. Pierre, let us know.

Previously: Anderson Silva Camp Doesn’t Want Weidman or Lombard, Brings up Luke Rockhold Just to Be Difficult.

UFC 153: Vitor Belfort vs. Alan Belcher Becomes Official

Well, that didn’t take long.Less than 24 hours after Vitor Belfort posted on Twitter that he would accept the challenge of surging contender Alan Belcher, MMAJunkie.com has confirmed that the bout is officially set for the UFC’s return to Brazil in Oct…

Well, that didn’t take long.

Less than 24 hours after Vitor Belfort posted on Twitter that he would accept the challenge of surging contender Alan Belcher, MMAJunkie.com has confirmed that the bout is officially set for the UFC’s return to Brazil in October.

Belfort has been outspoken about wanting another shot at middleweight champion Anderson Silva, and he recently campaigned for a bout with Chris Weidman in order to achieve his goal. While Weidman shot down that idea, it appears that the former UFC champion will settle for a bout with Belcher in his home country.

“The Talent” has looked great in the UFC for the last several years. Aside from a controversial decision loss to Yoshihiro Akiyama back at UFC 100, Belcher has gone undefeated in his last seven Octagon appearances.

If Belfort can get through Belcher, then it will be his third consecutive win after getting knocked out by Silva in spectacular fashion at UFC 126. His other wins include finishes of Akiyama and Anthony Johnson.

UFC 153 takes place on October 13 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and the card has definitely beefed up in the last few weeks. As of right now, the main card looks like this:

Jose Aldo vs. Erik Koch – UFC Featherweight Championship
Quinton Jackson vs. Glover Teixeira
Vitor Belfort vs. Alan Belcher
Rony “Jason” vs. Sam Sicilia

Stay tuned to B/R MMA for news, analysis, predictions and previews for all things MMA.

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Report: Alan Belcher vs. Vitor Belfort Being Targeted for UFC 153 in Rio

(Buy all of the Lombard stock you can….wait…he WHAT?! THEN SELL DAMMIT, SELL!!)

If you are the type of MMA fan that gets his news from CagePotato and only CagePotato, we’d like to thank you for your dedication. Surely you will be rewarded in the afterlife for your selfless sacrifice. At the same time, you’ve more than likely missed out on all of the middleweight calamity that has happened over the past few days, as we deemed it less important than photos of mutilated hands, anti-Mandy Moore smear campaigns, and things of that nature. Clearly we made the right choice, but like we said, we appreciate your dedication.

To sum up the middleweight soap opera in a few sentences, Vitor Belfort tried to call out Chris Weidman, stating both a respect for the fact that Weidman is the top dog at 185 (as we previously stated), and realizing that a win over Weidman would be the easiest path to another shot at Anderson Silva. Weidman promptly denied Belfort, claiming that he had all the respect in the world for the former LHW champ, but simply put, “[he] had his shot” and “right now is my time.”

Meanwhile, in the outskirts of Mississippi, Johnny Cash enthusiast Alan Belcher switched his sights from Michael Bisping to that of Vitor Belfort, which seemed appropriate to us considering that we also called for this matchup. Being that there is no way in hell that a fight between Belfort and Belcher could be anything short of extraordinary, for reals this time, we imagine that most of you agreed with us.

Well, it appears that the dominoes are falling into place like a house of cards, because Belfort and Belcher have verbally agreed to face one another at UFC 153 in Rio, via their respective Twitter accounts.

Hear what was said after the jump.

(Buy all of the Lombard stock you can….wait…he WHAT?! THEN SELL DAMMIT, SELL!!)

Belcher hinted at the fight yesterday with the following:

“My next fight will be the biggest of my career! I may be taking a trip down south, very south. #UFC #belcher4champ“

“I will fight anyone.although I want to fight someone who will challenge me!I want to fight @vitorbelfort in his home country in October #UFC“

To which Vitor responded:

“#belcher lets make this fight #ufcrio in oct 13″

Although there has yet to be an official confirmation from the UFC as of this writing, the fight is listed on both men’s Sherdog pages, and you gotta imagine that this will be booked in the immediate future. Not only is Vitor a huge draw in Brazil, but the aforementioned fireworks are all but guaranteed when these two collide.

Belfort has picked up two straight stoppage wins since ending up on Anderson Silva’s highlight reel at UFC 126, first pummeling Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 133, then choking Anthony Johnson’s fat ass right out of the UFC at UFC 142. He was scheduled to face off against long time rival Wanderlei Silva at UFC 147, but suffered a hand injury in training that forced him to pull out from the main event matchup. Currently, oddsmakers have Belfort as a slight favorite over Belcher, but also have the likelihood of “The Phenom” withdrawing due to last minute injury at -1600.

Belcher, on the other hand, has scored four straight victories in the UFC, most recently telling said oddsmakers to go f*ck themselves by pounding out the heavily favored Rousimar Palhares at UFC on FOX 3. Belcher has also finished five of his last 6 opponents inside of the second round, and has not truly lost since getting upset by Jason Day at UFC 83 (yes, I am saying that his UFC 100 fight with Sexyama was a draw at worst. Deal with it.).

UFC 153 is scheduled to go down at the HSBC Arena in Rio De Janeiro on October 13th.

Who do you like for this, Potato Nation?

–J. Jones

UFC News: Vitor Belfort Accepts Alan Belcher’s Challenge, UFC 153 Bout Likely

Alan “The Talent” Belcher asked fellow middleweight contender Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort for “the biggest fight of his career” and the Brazilian has accepted. Both fighters have also agreed to fight at UFC 153 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, so the fig…

Alan “The Talent” Belcher asked fellow middleweight contender Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort for “the biggest fight of his career” and the Brazilian has accepted.

Both fighters have also agreed to fight at UFC 153 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, so the fight simply awaits confirmation from the world’s premiere fight organization.

“He is the best fighter in the division and most dangerous”, Belcher told Tatame. “My ranking, I feel I am the best. I will fight to prove it. If I lose, then I’m wrong”.

Belcher was not the first choice for Belfort, a former UFC light heavyweight champion: he wanted undefeated rising star “The All-American” Chris Weidman.

Belfort called out Weidman on Twitter, who’s fresh off of a vicious knockout of Mark Munoz earlier this month, but the Serra-Longo Fight Team product respectfully declined via the social media.

Prior to UFC 149, UFC president Dana White talked about his excitement level for his plan for the 185 pound division, but Hector Lombard losing to Tim Boetsch on that card clearly led to a change of plans.

The fact that “The Barbarian” suffered a broken foot in the bout couldn’t have helped matters, either.

Being that Belcher has been campaigning for this fight, it should come as no surprise he is confident he will win and go on to face reigning middleweight kingpin, Anderson Silva.

“I believe I will beat him when I get an opportunity,” Belcher told Tatame regarding “the Spider.”

“There is no other fighter that possesses my skills in the division. Size, power, speed, black belt BJJ, well rounded striking, heart and drive,” Belcher said.

Since losing his title bid against Silva at UFC 126, Belfort has bounced back with finishes over Yoshihiro Akiyama and Anthony Johnson.

Meanwhile, Belcher has won four in a row, including a career-defining technical knockout of Rousimar Palhares in May.

Coincidentally, Belcher’s last loss was a controversial split decision against Akiyama back at UFC 100.

Should the winner of Belcher-Belfort get the next shot at Silva, or has Weidman already proved his right to fight for the gold?

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 153: Vitor Belfort vs Alan Belcher Head to Toe Breakdown

Both guys wanted it, and now it looks like it’s going to happen. After Alan Belcher and Vitor Belfort both publicly called each other out this week, it seems that Dana White had no problem setting up a bout between two of the top contenders in th…

Both guys wanted it, and now it looks like it’s going to happen.

After Alan Belcher and Vitor Belfort both publicly called each other out this week, it seems that Dana White had no problem setting up a bout between two of the top contenders in the UFC’s middleweight division, according to MMA Junkie.

This is a huge fight in a middleweight division that is suddenly jam packed with potential title contenders. The winner of this one will be in prime position to get a shot at Anderson Silva.

Throw in the fact that the fight is taking place in Belfort’s home country of Brazil and things get even more interesting.

Belfort’s striking is top notch but Belcher showcased some amazing grappling skills when he went head-to-head with Rousimar Palhares on the mat at UFC on FOX 3 making this fight one with show stealing potential.

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