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Anderson Silva: 6 Fights We Want to See Him Take Before He Retires

When Anderson Silva started his career in 1997, it began humbly in his home country of Brazil. When it ends, it will no doubt be on the biggest stage, in front of one of the biggest audiences the sport has ever seen. Silva isn’t just a fighter an…

When Anderson Silva started his career in 1997, it began humbly in his home country of Brazil.

When it ends, it will no doubt be on the biggest stage, in front of one of the biggest audiences the sport has ever seen.

Silva isn’t just a fighter anymore; he’s a legend with a very impressive list of victims: Chael Sonnen, Dan Henderson, Rich Franklin, Forrest Griffin, Vitor Belfort, Hayato Sakurai, Nate Marquardt and so many others.

And it’s not just the names on the list, it’s how he disposed of many of them: easily.

But no matter how many men a champion fights, there’s always one more waiting.

When Anderson Silva retires, he can say he was the best of his time, even if he is defeated by Chael Sonnen in their upcoming rematch, or anyone else. He’s been that good.

As the road begins to narrow, there are still great fights to be had, both for himself and the fans. For the sake of argument, I’ve made a list of six opponents I’d like to see Silva face before he retires.

Granted, when watching a true superstar do his thing, “one more time” is never enough, but still, a fight with any one of these men would be a nice finishing touch to his career.

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Michael Bisping Talks About Injury That Knocked Him out of UFC 149

There are certain things a person never wants to hear. Among them are these little gems: “It’s yours, ”“The check’s in the mail,” “Trust me,” “We need to talk” and “Can you step out of the car, please?” If you’re UFC matchmaker Joe Silva, the one thing you certainly don’t want to hear right now is another message letting you know that a fighter has been injured.

The UFC has faced quite the run of injuries as of late. With that in mind, it’s easy to imagine Silva cringing each time he hears his phone ring or receives a text or email alert.

One of the latest fighters who Silva had to find a replacement for was Michael Bisping. The middleweight had been scheduled to face Tim Boetsch at UFC 149, but an injury forced Bisping from the card. Bisping recently spoke to Karyn Bryant about that injury, indicating that he had been having problems with his knee during his training for the Boetsch fight.

An MRI showed that those problems consisted of some lose cartilage as well as a torn meniscus. Long story short, Bisping is in need of surgery and is facing an unknown amount of time on the shelf.

Bisping had hoped that a victory over Tim Boetsch at UFC 149 would have put him in position to face the winner of the upcoming Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen middleweight title bout that is scheduled to headline UFC 148 on July 7. While it’s possible that Bisping could still be considered for that bout after his recovery, it’s also possible that the missed fight with Boetsch will allow someone else to move up and claim the crown of top contender.

One possibility to face the winner of the Silva vs. Sonnen bout could be the winner of the Hector Lombard vs. Boetsch fight, which was put together after Bisping’s injury. Lombard had been booked to face Brian Stann at UFC on FOX 4, but an injury to Stann forced that fight to be scrapped. The Bisping injury allowed the UFC to slot Lombard into Bisping’s spot at UFC 149.

Lombard will make his UFC debut when he faces Boetsch. On the line for Lombard will be a 25-fight unbeaten streak. For his part, Boetsch is on a three-fight winning streak since dropping down to middleweight from light heavyweight, with his last victory being a TKO win over Yushin Okami at UFC 144.

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Michael Bisping and the 25 Best Gatekeepers in MMA

A gatekeeper is not a negative or derogatory term. Some may even find the term endearing. For example, if defeating a gatekeeper catapults you into title contention, then the gatekeeper in question is clearly a worthy and legitimate foe. Another import…

Another important point that you must understand is that some gatekeepers have earned their title by consistently coming up short in big fights, while others have recently fallen into the role based on recent performances.

The false impression that many fans have about the term gatekeeper has been the cause of many intense debates.

This is a look at the different types of gatekeepers, and the 25 fighters who best fit the description.

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And Now Michael Bisping Is Injured: UFC 149 Sets Up Lombard vs. Boetsch, UFC on FOX 4 Adds Shogun vs. Vera Headliner

Man, this ain’t even funny anymore. After a brutal two-week period that saw the injury withdrawals of Vitor Belfort, Chad Griggs, Thiago Silva, Jon Fitch, Thiago Alves, and Brian Stann (as well as supporting players like Pablo Garza and Edwin Figueroa), news broke late last night that UFC middleweight star Michael Bisping is out of his meeting with Tim Boetsch at UFC 149 (July 21st, Calgary) due to an undisclosed injury.

Boetsch will remain on the “Aldo vs. Koch” main card against Hector Lombard, who was scheduled to make his Octagon debut at UFC on FOX 4 two weeks later until Brian Stann pulled out with a dinged shoulder. Lombard vs. Boetsch should be a hell of a brawl — unless losing two weeks of preparation throws the former Bellator champ off his game. Who ya got on that one?

With Lombard off of the UFC on FOX 4 lineup, the August 4th event has picked up a brand new main event…

The UFC has confirmed that Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will now headline the card against Brandon Vera. Shogun is coming off his 2011 Fight of the Year against Dan Henderson at UFC 139 last November, while Vera most recently out-pointed Eliot Marshall at UFC 137 in October — his first victory in over two years. Before he was drafted for this card, Vera was originally supposed to face James Te-Huna at UFC on Fuel TV 4 on July 11th.

Does “The Truth” deserve a headlining spot on a major UFC card at this point? Probably not. But as you can see, the UFC is losing warm bodies on a daily basis, and their options are limited. Where’s your ~~God~~ reason and science now, Joe Silva?

UFC Injury Bug Bites Another; Michael Bisping Out, Hector Lombard in at UFC 149

Speculation was rampant earlier today as news of Brian Stann’s injury meant Hector Lombard would need a new opponent to welcome him to the UFC’s Octagon. Lombard found his new welcome committee in Tim Boetsch at UFC 149.The UFC’s official website has r…

The UFC’s official website has released the information that Michael Bisping has been injured and has been forced to back out of his fight with Boetsch. Lombard will now be bumped up to a PPV broadcast in his UFC debut.

Lombard hasn’t lost since he faced Gegard Mousasi back in 2006. He helped build Bellator from the ground up and debuted at Bellator 3. The Cuban won his first two bouts via KO in the opening frame and won Bellator’s Middleweight Title via TKO in the tournament final.

He would go on to hold the Bellator belt until his departure from the company but competed in a number of catchweight and non-title bouts during his time in the promotion.

Boetsch, meanwhile, has rebuilt his career since dropping to 185 pounds following a loss to Phil Davis in 2010. Boetsch has won three consecutive bouts, with his latest being an incredible come-from-behind victory over former title contender Yushin Okami.

Boetsch is probably one of the strongest middleweights in the UFC right now, and Lombard is certainly no slouch himself. Both men have power and grappling skills to balance their attacks.

It will be a battle of wills when these two massive middleweights clash at UFC 149, and fight fans will finally have their questions about Lombard’s place among the 185-pound elite answered, as Boetsch is a great test for the former Bellator champion.

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Michael Bisping Hurt, Hector Lombard Steps in to Fight at UFC 149

The big question on everyone’s mind today was, “Who will the UFC find to fight Hector Lombard?”Well, the answer may not be who they expected. Lombard went to Twitter to call out Michael Bisping in hopes of drawing “The Count” as Brian Stann’s replaceme…

The big question on everyone’s mind today was, “Who will the UFC find to fight Hector Lombard?”

Well, the answer may not be who they expected. Lombard went to Twitter to call out Michael Bisping in hopes of drawing “The Count” as Brian Stann’s replacement. Unfortunately for Lombard, it appears Bisping suffered an injury in training and has been forced to withdraw from his UFC 149 bout against Tim Boetsch.

The UFC broke the news late Thursday night on their Web site. Lombard will now step in for Bisping at UFC 149.

This may turn out to be good news for the Cuban fighter as Boetsch is a similar fighter to Stann, whom Lombard was in camp preparing to face. There is also less pressure in a fight with Boetsch as most of the attention will be firmly placed on Jose Aldo and Erik Koch in the lead up to the card.

There is no word on the type of injury that Bisping suffered, though it was bad enough that he had to pull out of the fight. Bisping vs. Boetsch was originally slated for UFC 148, but was moved to the Calgary event to give the card a bit more star power.

This move also helps to strengthen the Calgary event which just saw Mauricio Rua moved to the UFC on FOX 4 card.

Hopefully this is the last of the injury news for the week. I don’t think I can take much more of this. I can only imagine how stressful this has been for Joe Silva who has to play magician to save these cards.

UFC 149 takes place July 21 at the Saddledome in Calgary, Canada.

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