When it comes to Anderson “The Spider” Silva and his coveted middleweight crown, the young gun that is Chris Weidman just won’t let it sleeping dogs lie. “The All-American” says he’s never been more ready in his entire life, and…
When it comes to Anderson “The Spider” Silva and his coveted middleweight crown, the young gun that is Chris Weidman just won’t let it sleeping dogs lie. “The All-American” says he’s never been more ready in his entire life, and he wants to fight him now.
When FightHype.com‘s Percy Crawford asked The All-American if, given the option of gleaning a few more fights under his belt or an immediate tilt at Silva’s title, he chose the latter:
Nah, I want that fight with Anderson now, man. I took all the risk in the world to get where I’m at to fight Mark Munoz. I really feel like I’m ready now. I don’t want to wait any longer. I want to win now and get that belt early in my career and hold it for as long as I can. I don’t want to be waiting it out and then fighting another guy when I feel like I’m ready. I would love to fight Anderson Silva, man. I called him out on Twitter too; politely though. I just said, you are a good dude, I got nothing but respect, and you are the best of all time, but let’s do this! But he hasn’t responded yet (laughing). I hope he does and it happens though.
The Baldwin, New Yorker has been calling for The Spider’s head ever since he dispatched BJJ wizard Damien Maia via unanimous decision. The former two-time All-American went so far to as say that he’d finish Silva with a full camp behind him.
Following the 28-year-old’s second-round trouncing of Mark “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” Munoz at UFC on FUEL TV 4, he again upped the ante, reiterating the aforementioned swank.
Since his tenure in the UFC, Weidman (9-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) has finished three of his five opponents—two via submission and Munoz by way of KO.
As things stand, one of the overriding factors as to whether or not he gets a tilt at the Holy Grail depends on the business side of things. Is Weidman a name fighter, and can he generate enough public interest to garner pay-per-view buys for the Zuffa-based promotion?
Another deciding factor rests on the outcome of the Hector Lombard versus Tim Boetsch fight. If Lombard impresses on his debut, he might be given the shot ahead of Weidman.
However, per Matt Erickson and John Morgan of MMAJunkie.com, Lombard recently intimated that he’d rather face off against Munoz than vie for an immediate championship fight against Silva.
That said, there’s always Michael Bisping lurking in the background.
In an interview with Spike TV’s “MMA Uncensored Live,” Chael Sonnen re-ignited his feud with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. The “Gangster” from West Linn, also shared his thoughts on the Anderson Silva loss. In add…
In an interview with Spike TV’s “MMA Uncensored Live,” Chael Sonnen re-ignited his feud with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. The “Gangster” from West Linn, also shared his thoughts on the Anderson Silva loss. In addition, Sonnen discussed a potential move to the light heavyweight division, as well as the small matter of who will be the next most likely contender to “The Spider’s” crown.
The war of words between Sonnen and Rampage began when the latter took a swipe at the former No. 1 middleweight contender following his failed attempt at usurping Silva’s title back at UFC 148.
If stupidity was a disease that was treatable by medicine, ‘Rampage’ would be the first one in line at the pharmacy, every morning. If ‘Rampage’ wants to fight with me, let’s fight! But, the reality is, he’s on a two-fight losing streak, he can’t make weight, nobody cares about him, he doesn’t keep his word, and he’s out of the company in a matter of months. If he wants to fight, I accept. (via MMAMania.com).
While Rampage has made it more than crystal clear to the UFC hierarchy that his next outing against Glover Teixeira will be his last, a Sonnen matchup isn’t out of the question, given the Oregonian might be moving up to 205 pounds.
Sonnen’s second tilt at UFC glory came to a cataclysmic—and some would say controversial—end, when Silva put an abrupt halt to his title aspirations via second-round TKO. For Sonnen, it was an opportunity missed and the anguish of that night still rankles.
Here Sonnen gives his own analytical view of the fight:
You know, I haven’t re-watched the fight, and I probably won’t. I’ve got a vision of what happened, in my head. It hurts. The real problem came when I fell down. I paused. I paused, and I waited for him, and you can’t do that. I can live with a loss, but I just wish I wouldn’t have paused. He did some different things that made it hard. He went backwards a lot, and it’s very difficult to fight someone when they’re not coming forward and fighting with you. In practice, guys don’t usually run away. They come in, and they engage. So, it made it a little bit harder, but I certainly was ready for that. We had envisioned that as being within his skill set.
Nevertheless, the former NCAA Division I standout refutes claims that he choked on the both occasions he contested for the championship. He also recounted the now infamous knee to the chest scenario that ultimately lead to his demise:
No, I don’t want out of it, right now. I wish I was in that moment, right now. The only thing I would do differently is I would have got him. I would have had to take some punches. That was risk. That’s why I waited for him, but that didn’t work out. I wish I would have gone with the other option, which was to get up and start fighting.
It felt like a really long time. That surprises me that it was only a second. I remember sitting there, looking at him. I was watching his hands. All he’s allowed to do is punch in that position. He came with a knee. It caught me off guard, and it kinda ruined the night for me.
Since that fateful night, his career path has been something of a quandary not only to himself, but the public in general. Still, one thing’s for sure, if the opportunity for another title shot (185-205 pounds) doesn’t arise, Sonnen has intimated he might have to hang ‘em up.
I’m not after the second one. I love Rich Franklin. I think he’s done an awesome job. That’s not for me. I’m in it purely for the championship, and if I don’t have a clear road to the title, I’m gonna move on.
That said, a prospective move up to light heavyweight has been on his mind; a new start and whatnot.
And with that in mind, a several possible candidates have been thrown into the hat—Lyoto Machida, Phil Davis and Alexander Gustafsson.
However, to the best of his knowledge, none of the aforementioned combatants have been touted as future opponents in said weight class.
Probably none of the above. I’ve had a couple of names thrown my way. It was none of those three, but those guys are all studs that would put you in a line for a championship match. I’ve never had a fight in the UFC that wasn’t against a top ten guy.
Furthermore, a move rests solely on the collective consent of his team.
I really don’t know. That’s the biggest choice I’m trying to make now: Which has a likely path to the championship? Ultimately, I’ll have to sit down with my coaches. Mike Dolce will weigh in on that. It’s his job to get me to weight. I’ll kinda do as I’m told, more than what I think is right.
Other underlying issues that could determine where Sonnen goes from here rest on Silva’s future plans in MMA; will he stay or retire?
Dan Henderson is another factor in his decision making. If Henderson, who is slated to lock horns with 205-pound kingpin Jon “Bones” Jones, succeeds in capturing the title, it more or less leaves Sonnen in a catch-22 situation, as he’s loath to fight his trainer and mentor.
The landscape changes constantly. There’s so many moving parts. Is Anderson ever gonna fight again? Who’s he gonna fight? What’s he gonna do? So, there’s a lot of things that that I need to look at. Also, at 205, if Dan Henderson beats Jon Jones, as I hope that he does, then I’m not gonna go there. I’m not ever gonna compete against Dan. He’s a coach and a mentor of mine. So, I don’t really know what I’m gonna do.
Finally, apropos the middleweight picture and who is most worthy of vying for Silva’s title, Sonnen believes Michael “The Count” Bisping has the best chance, even though he thinks Chris Weidman will offer the sterner challenge.
Deserve is the key word there. Nobody deserves a shot. There’s a lot that goes into that: The bureaucracy and politics and, basically, who can sell the most tickets often elevates you to the top in this sport. That’s where Michael Bisping comes in. Who’s the best fighter? Chris Weidman. The question is: The fighter that beat up Mark Munoz, can he duplicate that, or did he just have a really good night?
UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva’s management prefers his next opponent to be Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold, as opposed to UFC middleweights Chris Weidman or Hector Lombard. The report comes from the latest addition of FU…
UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva‘s management prefers his next opponent to be Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold, as opposed to UFC middleweights Chris Weidman or Hector Lombard.
The report comes from the latest addition of FUEL TV’s “UFC Tonight” (via MMA Mania) and explains why “The Spider” favors a bout with Rockhold:
One of Anderson Silva’s managers said that one of the issues with Hector Lombard is he thinks he needs at least three more impressive wins in the UFC. He said that 85 percent of UFC fans don’t even know who Hector Lombard is, who is of course making his Octagon debut on Saturday night.
Lombard brings an incredible 20-fight winning streak to the Octagon, and is making his big league debut on Saturday when he takes on Tim “The Barbarian” Boetsch.
However, he lacks a signature win, as his victories over Brian Ebersole, Alexander Shlemenko and Trevor Prangley are among his most impressive.
As for Chris Weidman, who retains a perfect record of 9-0 after destroying contender Mark Munoz at UFC on FUEL TV 4 last week, Silva’s camp feels he also lacks mainstream name recognition:
As for Chris Weidman, he said, “Well, there’s another great unknown fighter.” He doesn’t see those match ups as being money making pay-per-view events.
Silva’s management said that Rockhold’s name has been mentioned as a future opponent for Anderson, but also acknowledged that it was not feasible right now:
He did mention Luke Rockhold, who is the Strikeforce middleweight champion. Alas, Rockhold is contractually tied to Strikeforce, so that fight’s not happening. We’ll have to wait and see, but right now, the Anderson Silva camp not too excited about the options out there.
Rockhold is fresh off a fairly lackluster decision win over Tim Kennedy on Saturday, improving his win streak to nine in a row, including seven finishes. Interestingly, Rockhold won his belt from Silva’s Black House teammate, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in September of last year.
Meanwhile, Silva has won 16 in a row, including a UFC middleweight record of 10 consecutive title defenses.
Between potential fights with Rockhold, Lombard and Weidman, which one would the fans like to see the most?
Yesterday, Jared wrote up a detailed assessment of the UFC’s middleweight contenders in an attempt to bring some clarity to the pecking order at 185, because sometimes we want to be part of the solution instead of the problem. Anderson Silva‘s management is doing the opposite of that — shooting down logical suggestions and casually calling out a guy who can’t even fight Silva, contractually speaking. It’s a bit of a dick move, to be honest. Here’s the current situation, as reported on Fuel TV’s UFC Tonight (via MMAMania):
“One of Anderson Silva’s managers said that one of the issues with Hector Lombard is he thinks he needs at least three more impressive wins* in the UFC. He said that 85 percent** of UFC fans don’t even know who Hector Lombard is, who is of course making his Octagon debut on Saturday night…As for Chris Weidman, he said, ‘Well, there’s another great unknown fighter.’*** He doesn’t see those match ups as being money making pay-per-view events…He did mention Luke Rockhold, who is the Strikeforce middleweight champion. Alas, Rockhold is contractually tied to Strikeforce, so that fight’s not happening.**** We’ll have to wait and see, but right now, the Anderson Silva camp [is] not too excited about the options out there.”*****
Yesterday, Jared wrote up a detailed assessment of the UFC’s middleweight contenders in an attempt to bring some clarity to the pecking order at 185, because sometimes we want to be part of the solution instead of the problem. Anderson Silva‘s management is doing the opposite of that — shooting down logical suggestions and casually calling out a guy who can’t even fight Silva, contractually speaking. It’s a bit of a dick move, to be honest. Here’s the current situation, as reported on Fuel TV’s UFC Tonight (via MMAMania):
“One of Anderson Silva’s managers said that one of the issues with Hector Lombard is he thinks he needs at least three more impressive wins* in the UFC. He said that 85 percent** of UFC fans don’t even know who Hector Lombard is, who is of course making his Octagon debut on Saturday night…As for Chris Weidman, he said, ‘Well, there’s another great unknown fighter.’*** He doesn’t see those match ups as being money making pay-per-view events…He did mention Luke Rockhold, who is the Strikeforce middleweight champion. Alas, Rockhold is contractually tied to Strikeforce, so that fight’s not happening.**** We’ll have to wait and see, but right now, the Anderson Silva camp [is] not too excited about the options out there.”*****
* Anderson Silva got his first UFC title shot after a single win over Chris Leben. Just thought that was worth mentioning.
** All percentages provided by Brazil’s National Department of Just Makin’ Shit Up.
*** You know, there was a time when winning five straight fights would automatically get you a middleweight title shot in the UFC. (See: Patrick Cote, Thales Leites.) More importantly, Weidman’s not exactly “unknown” after that hurting he put on Mark Munoz. He’s finally caught the attention of UFC fans, and they want to see more of him.
**** How fucking convenient. YOU’RE NOT FOOLING ANYBODY, ANDY. Besides, that’s kind of a kick in the nuts to Rockhold, who would love the chance to fight Anderson. Maybe you two can just spar on the weekends?
***** “What about meeeeeeee?!” But seriously, remember when Silva used to spend his down-time destroyinglight-heavyweights? Those were fun days. We all know the middleweight contender ladder is chaotic right now, but it’s not like Silva doesn’t have other options until things clear up, if he really wanted to compete. Unfortunately, that might entail the possibility of losing, which, as any traditional martial artist knows, could bring great dishonor upon one’s endorsement portfolio.
Let’s face it, the current state of the middleweight division is that of anarchy, a notion made all the more bewildering when you consider that it has been trapped beneath the crushing, totalitarian rule of the same king for the better part of a decade now. Yet somehow, it seems we can barely go a day without hearing that Vitor Belfort wants to fight so-and-so for the next title shot, or Michael Bisping wants to fight this guy for the right to do the same. Or that guy. Or that guy.
And indeed, the issue of solving who should rightfully receive the next beatdown shot at Anderson Silva is a tough one, dividing fans on a level that only TRT, vaseline, or Steven Seagal could match (scratch that, *no one* likes Sensei Seagal). Thankfully, CagePotato is here to clean up the mess instead of making it for once, so join us as we lay out in detail what must be done to organize the middleweight division’s long list of contenders in order of title shot worthiness (I swear to God I had something better for that). Feel free to debate this list if you want, but this is how it’s got to be.
We know we like to poke fun at the guy, but in total seriousness, you’d have to be insane to believe that Bisping deserves a shot at the middleweight title. Yes, he is 4-1 in his past 5, as is the case for many of the UFC’s top middleweights, oddly enough. And yes, there’s little denying that Bisping has looked more tenacious and well rounded as of late than he ever has. But first, take a look at the names that make up his win streak. The biggest win he has under his belt in the past few years is Yoshihiro Akiyama, a 1-4 now welterweight who has been a complete bust in the UFC. Other than that, you have a now retired reality show host, a retired journeyman, and Dan Miller, who we absolutely refuse to say anything bad about.
(So, Anderson, who would *you* like to face next?)
Let’s face it, the current state of the middleweight division is that of anarchy, a notion made all the more bewildering when you consider that it has been trapped beneath the crushing, totalitarian rule of the same king for the better part of a decade now. Yet somehow, it seems we can barely go a day without hearing that Vitor Belfort wants to fight so-and-so for the next title shot, or Michael Bisping wants to fight this guy for the right to do the same. Or that guy. Or that guy.
And indeed, the issue of solving who should rightfully receive the next beatdown shot at Anderson Silva is a tough one, dividing fans on a level that only TRT, vaseline, or Steven Seagal could match (scratch that, *no one* likes Sensei Seagal). Thankfully, CagePotato is here to clean up the mess instead of making it for once, so join us as we lay out in detail what must be done to organize the middleweight division’s long list of contenders in order of title shot worthiness (I swear to God I had something better for that). Feel free to debate this list if you want, but this is how it’s got to be.
We know we like to poke fun at the guy, but in total seriousness, you’d have to be insane to believe that Bisping deserves a shot at the middleweight title. Yes, he is 4-1 in his past 5, as is the case for many of the UFC’s top middleweights, oddly enough. And yes, there’s little denying that Bisping has looked more tenacious and well rounded as of late than he ever has. But first, take a look at the names that make up his win streak. The biggest win he has under his belt in the past few years is Yoshihiro Akiyama, a 1-4 now welterweight who has been a complete bust in the UFC. Other than that, you have a now retired reality show host, a retired journeyman, and Dan Miller, who we absolutely refuse to say anything bad about.
But before you even scan through all of his past opponents, look at his last opponent. Regardless of how you scored the fight, Bisping did in fact lose to Chael Sonnen at UFC on FOX 2. To say that he would deserve a title shot with a lone victory over Brian Stann would be jumping the gun a little, don’t you think? Bisping needs to prove he can not only hang with, but defeat, at least a couple of the division’s top contenders before he should even be mentioned in the title picture by anyone but himself.
A lot of what can be said for Bisping can arguably be said for Brian Stann, whose wins at middleweight, though impressive in execution, did not exactly come over a who’s who of the division either. Amidst wins over a two time promotional washout, a submission “specialist,” and the UFC’s punching bag, Stann’s biggest win is that of Chris Leben, which, while not a huge victory, is still more impressive than that of Akiyama these days.
The common link between these two is of course, Chael P. Sonnen. Stann was absolutely dominated by Sonnen from start to finish in their battle at UFC 136, stuck defending a rear-naked choke for a good deal of the first round and succumbing to an arm-triangle in the second. Bisping, on the other hand, was not only able to take Sonnen the distance, but lost a closely contested decision in doing so. Do their respective performances against Sonnen place one of them higher than the other? Absolutely not. The fact that these two were recently paired to throw down at UFC 152 is no coincidence, because they both stand on exactly the same ground, and are in need of not only a win on September 22nd, but at least one more high profile win before they get to call themselves top contenders
I can already hear the cries of “Anderson nuthugger” on the horizon, but if you know me at all, you know that I am a fan of Mr. Sonnen, despite his body’s inability to cash the checks that his mouth writes. That being said, we can only look into the rear-view mirror for so long, and although Sonnen’s performance against Silva at UFC 117 was nearly perfect, his performance at UFC 148 was anything but. We all know that the UFC could sell Sonnen/Silva III in its sleep, but the truth is, Sonnen simply needs a little time off to rest and recover.
His list of wins is easily the most impressive of anyone in this category, but with two losses to the champ, Sonnen finds himself in a similar position to that of Josh Koscheck. Could he beat most of his fellow contenders? Probably. Do most of us really think he stands a chance of beating Silva a third time around? Not really, but like I said, we would sure as hell watch him try again. But before Sonnen dusts off his plastic belt and starts making audacious claims about the people of Brazil, we think he needs at least a couple wins before he should be launched back up the middleweight rankings. For his return fight, perhaps he could face a guy like Mark Munoz, who was also recently knocked off the immediate contenders list. A win over Munoz, followed by a win over another contender, would easily warrant him a spot at the top once again.
Join us on page 2 for a look at the division’s upper-tier contenders…
The middleweight division has been ruled over by Anderson Silva for quite some time, and the MMA world tends to get frustrated when no viable challengers are perceptively present.Because of the divergence of criteria over what constitutes a title shot,…
The middleweight division has been ruled over by Anderson Silva for quite some time, and the MMA world tends to get frustrated when no viable challengers are perceptively present.
Because of the divergence of criteria over what constitutes a title shot, it’s hard for fans to come up with a universal solution of who should fight Silva next.
It is an issue that has plagued the division for some time now, and a question that is asked by the commentators and fans alike: Who can stop that guy? There is always a conflict over who is deserving of the next shot, and now with Silva’s greatest rival vanquished, people are itching to know who is next in line.
Probably the most interesting prospect is Bellator champion, Hector Lombard. “Lightning” will be making his UFC debut against Tim Boetsch at UFC 149; a matchup that will help shape the contender status of the middleweight division.
Lombard is not some ordinary fighter who had a couple of good-looking fights and now has come over; he brings with him a statistical behemoth that is making his case for a chance to stomp “The Spider.”
Hector Lombard is currently 31-2-1 (1). He has been fighting for eight years now, and his only losses came to him in 2006.
Since then, he has accumulated a monstrous 24-fight win streak and a few championship titles along the way. Out of his 31 fights, 24 of them he has finished. He is a well-rounded fighter, and has proven he can end a fight early.
But do all of these numbers on paper merit a title shot?
Given the history of the UFC, the promotion juggernaut is not opposed to giving outside big-namers a quick path to the title shot. Usually they will have them take one fight prior to acclimate them and to prove themselves. They did this with Jake Shields and Alistair Overeem, and it may very well happen with Lombard.
If Lombard wins over Boetsch, he all but secures a title shot based on the history of the business. If it is a split decision, it may be another story; but a decisive win would make a huge statement.
Not only that, but the marketing and business drive behind putting a finisher on a 25-fight win streak against the greatest in the world is a substantial money-maker. Both Silva and Lombard haven’t lost since 2006, and something has to give.
The argument against Lombard however, overlooks the numbers and looks at quality over quantity. With a 24-fight win streak, some fans do not believe he has fought anyone of any sort of caliber found in the UFC. People’s opinions of quality of opponents differ, but based on that logic, Lombard would have to prove himself a little more before he gets his shot.
But sometimes all it takes it one really great win to change people’s minds.
Before the Munoz vs. Weidman fight, not many people were rallying behind Weidman like they have for Mark Munoz who has been in the MMA scene longer. Not to say Weidman didn’t have his fame, but after the dominant performance he had against Munoz, it seems his name has been thrown into the hat for title shot consideration.
If Lombard can go out and knockout or submit Boetsch early, one would speculate you will see a demand for Lombard to face Silva next. Winning by unanimous decision after a dominating performance would have a similar effect, but it is better if Lombard can finish it early, or at all.
Stylistically, it is an interesting matchup. Paired with it, it’s hard to deny the intrigue behind two men with such fantastic statistical numbers. The marketing is obvious, and both men are champions. It all boils down to how fans feel about Lombard’s deserving qualities, or if he has any at all.
At the end of the day, the UFC will always try to look at it fiscally, as well as trying to be crowd-pleasing. We will have to wait and see what comes out of UFC 149, but if Lombard emerges victorious, you can bet on a strong rally for him to challenge the pound-for-pound king.
When it comes to Anderson “The Spider” Silva and his coveted middleweight crown, the young gun that is Chris Weidman just won’t let it sleeping dogs lie. “The All-American” says he’s never been more ready in his entire life, and he wants to fight him now.
