Silva vs. Le will serve as the co-main event of UFC 139, which will be headlined by the PRIDE-era fantasy match between Dan Henderson and Mauricio Rua. Silva is coming off his 27-second knockout loss to Chris Leben at UFC 132, while Le will be making his Octagan debut 17 months after his rematch victory over Scott Smith.
(As it turns out, Belfort-brand bottled water mostly consists of hydrochloric acid. Good to know. Photo via LasVegasSun)
Silva vs. Le will serve as the co-main event of UFC 139, which will be headlined by the PRIDE-era fantasy match between Dan Henderson and Mauricio Rua. Silva is coming off his 27-second knockout loss to Chris Leben at UFC 132, while Le will be making his Octagan debut 17 months after his rematch victory over Scott Smith.
So here’s the good news: 1) Silva will not need surgery to treat it, and should be back to 100% after some rest and rehabilitation. 2) It’s not like Silva needed to fight again this year anyway. And I don’t mean just financially, although he’s clearly rich beyond measure. More importantly, there won’t be a legit challenger to his belt set up until at least January.
So here’s the good news: 1) Silva will not need surgery to treat it, and should be back to 100% after some rest and rehabilitation. 2) It’s not like Silva needed to fight again this year anyway. And I don’t mean just financially, although he’s clearly rich beyond measure. More importantly, there won’t be a legit challenger to his belt set up until at least January.
The UFC 136 bout between Chael Sonnen and Brian Stann on October 8th is thought to be a #1 contender’s match in the middleweight division. And while it would be great to see the winner of that fight take on the winner of Bisping/Miller to produce an undisputed challenger — who Silva could destroy before permanently jumping to light-heavyweight — it’s a safe bet that Sonnen or Stann will get the nod, probably around February or March. So no harm there.
But here’s a question: Are Silva’s injuries starting to becoming a trend? Based simply on talent, Silva could continue to dominate the sport a long as he feels like it. But after 14 years of kicking ass around the world, physical deterioration could be his biggest enemy. (Remember when Anderson wanted to retire in 2009, around his 35th birthday? We’re already talking about 2012, here.) Silva has already made the nine-year-rule his bitch — but how much longer can he realistically stay on top, considering that he inhabits a mortal body?
(Listen to the first thing that Diego says in this video. Is it just me, or is the dude starting to sound like Kevin from ‘The Office’?)
Less than three weeks before his scheduled meeting with Matt Hughes at UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage (September 24th, Denver), Diego Sanchez was pulled from the event yesterday due to a broken hand suffered in training. Coming off back-to-back decision victories over Paulo Thiago and Martin Kampmann — both of which netted him Fight of the Night awards — Sanchez released a statement explaining just how bummed he is:
“I am heartbroken that I have to inform MMA fans that I cannot fight Matt Hughes at UFC 135 later this month. I have never physically felt more prepared to compete than I felt for this fight, which makes this even more painful for me. While I do not know right now when I will return, I want to assure all of the fans out there that I will be back in the Octagon as soon as I am 100-percent healthy.”
(Listen to the first thing that Diego says in this video. Is it just me, or is the dude starting to sound like Kevin from ‘The Office’?)
Less than three weeks before his scheduled meeting with Matt Hughes at UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage (September 24th, Denver), Diego Sanchez was pulled from the event yesterday due to a broken hand suffered in training. Coming off back-to-back decision victories over Paulo Thiago and Martin Kampmann — both of which netted him Fight of the Night awards — Sanchez released a statement explaining just how bummed he is:
“I am heartbroken that I have to inform MMA fans that I cannot fight Matt Hughes at UFC 135 later this month. I have never physically felt more prepared to compete than I felt for this fight, which makes this even more painful for me. While I do not know right now when I will return, I want to assure all of the fans out there that I will be back in the Octagon as soon as I am 100-percent healthy.”
Shortly after Sanchez’s pull-out was announced, fellow welterweight contender Josh Koscheck confirmed that he had accepted an offer to replace “The Dream” against Hughes. Koscheck, who hasn’t competed since his crushing loss to Georges St. Pierre last December, was previously rumored to return in November as a middleweight. But it looks like his timetable just got a lot shorter — that is, if Hughes is willing to accept the fight, which he hasn’t yet. As Koscheck told USA Today:
It’s a fight that I’ve been wanting for a long time. Now we’ve just got to wait and see if Matt Hughes will accept the fight. So we’re waiting on him…
I’m healthy. I have no reason not to accept this fight if Matt Hughes wants it. It’s like Dana White always says: Your job is to fight no matter what. I’m a fighter, and whether I’ve got to fight on a week’s notice or six months’, doesn’t matter. My job is to go out there and fight and win…
I’m just looking for this opportunity, and hopefully Matt Hughes will step up and take the fight for the fans and the UFC…
I’m a big-name fighter, so he can take that and run with it. I put it out there. I told UFC I’d do it, and if Matt Hughes is man enough, he’ll step up and do it…
He wants big-name fighters. He’s getting near the end of his career. I think he’ll take the fight because it’s good for the sport and good for the UFC.
We’ll update you when the fight is a done deal. So what do you think? Is Koscheck vs. Hughes a satisfying replacement for Sanchez vs. Hughes?
However, the event’s preliminary card has suffered a setback, as DaMarques Johnson and Mackens Semerzier have both withdrawn due to injuries. Johnson has already been replaced by returning TUF 11 vet Seth Baczynski. UFC Fight Night 25’s current lineup is after the jump…
However, the event’s preliminary card has suffered a setback, as DaMarques Johnson and Mackens Semerzier have both withdrawn due to injuries. Johnson has already been replaced by returning TUF 11 vet Seth Baczynski. UFC Fight Night 25′s current lineup is after the jump…
Main Card
Jake Shields vs. Jake Ellenberger
Court McGee vs. Dongi Yang
Jonathan Brookins vs. Erik Koch
Alan Belcher vs. Jason MacDonald
Preliminary Card
Cody McKenzie vs. Vagner Rocha
Evan Dunham vs. Shamar Bailey
Matt Riddle vs. Lance Benoist
Ken Stone vs. Donny Walker
Seth Baczynski vs. Clay Harvison
Daniel Roberts vs. TJ Waldburger
Justin Edwards vs. Jorge Lopez
In this exclusive full interview with Phil Davis, Bleacher Report talks to the UFC fighter about Dana White’s decision to not have him fight in 133 after a training injury that effected his knee, the Rampage, Suga, Jones debacle, watchi…
In this exclusive full interview with Phil Davis, Bleacher Report talks to the UFC fighter about Dana White’s decision to not have him fight in 133 after a training injury that effected his knee, the Rampage, Suga, Jones debacle, watching fights as a spectator, his all around training regiment, and more. “If you don’t have wrestling […]
The days when Andrei Arlovski was one of the most feared fighters in MMA have long since passed. The one-time UFC Heavyweight Champion is set to fight for ProElite MMA on Saturday August 27 in Honolulu, HI. His opponent in the main event will be Ray Lo…
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