The UFC Rumored to Have Interest Booking Silva vs. Jones Super Fight in October at Cowboys Stadium

According to fight business uber reporter Dave Meltzer, the UFC is considering making a super fight between middleweight champion Anderson Silva and light heavyweight champion Jon Jones happen this fall in Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas. Of course, Silva would have to beat Chris Weidman this July and come out relatively unscathed for the super fight to remain viable and Jones himself would have to of healed from his grisly toe injury.

After a recent visit to the doctor, it looks like Jones could be healthy in time for a super fight. More on that later in the post. First, the scuttlebutt.

“There is an idea floating around to try and put on the biggest show in company history at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas this fall,” Meltzer reports in his Wrestling Observer newsletter.

“The idea would be to have Silva vs. Jon Jones and Velasquez vs. Dos Santos at the stadium, in October, at the same time as the state fair of Texas, perhaps on 10/12 or 10/19. That much is known to be at least something talked about. With Madison Square Garden seeming more and more unlikely for November, this show could be billed as UFC 20th anniversary show, with the idea of trying to repeat the success of UFC 100.”

According to fight business uber reporter Dave Meltzer, the UFC is considering making a super fight between middleweight champion Anderson Silva and light heavyweight champion Jon Jones happen this fall in Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas. Of course, Silva would have to beat Chris Weidman this July and come out relatively unscathed for the super fight to remain viable and Jones himself would have to of healed from his grisly toe injury.

After a recent visit to the doctor, it looks like Jones could be healthy in time for a super fight. More on that later in the post. First, the scuttlebutt.

“There is an idea floating around to try and put on the biggest show in company history at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas this fall,” Meltzer reports in his Wrestling Observer newsletter.

“The idea would be to have Silva vs. Jon Jones and Velasquez vs. Dos Santos at the stadium, in October, at the same time as the state fair of Texas, perhaps on 10/12 or 10/19. That much is known to be at least something talked about. With Madison Square Garden seeming more and more unlikely for November, this show could be billed as UFC 20th anniversary show, with the idea of trying to repeat the success of UFC 100.”

Of course, Chris Weidman will have his say in this whole situation, but it has to make him nervous hearing that the UFC may have a mega-event that would make them huge money planned if he is to lose. As for Jones, he just met with his foot doctor and tweeted that he now has to decide whether to jump into a training camp in three weeks or to let the toe heal more.

Evidently, Jones has gotten at least preliminary clearance to resume full training in three weeks. As for Anderson Silva, he isn’t thinking much about Jones or even Georges St. Pierre.

During a recent interview with the New York Post, the middleweight champion who will defend his title at UFC 162 in July made clear that he is focused on…Roy Jones Jr.? Oh, for goodness sakes, not this again. Silva likes to have fun with the media from time to time and hopefully that’s what he’s doing this time around.

Anderson first talked about fighting Roy Jones about four years ago, when the former boxing pound for pound king was already well past his prime. Bringing it up again now just seems mean spirited.

Jones Jr. loses more than he wins these days and is getting badly hurt as he sticks around too long. Anderson says that he is much more interested in fighting Jones Jr. than either St. Pierre or Jones.

“That’s something I’d really be interested in,” Silva told the Post.

“Maybe [UFC president] Dana [White] should do this fight.”

Silva said he’d like to fight Jones Jr. in one MMA fight and one boxing fight. I’m not sure Roy would do well in either one at this point in his career.

What do you say, nation? Will Anderson get past Weidman and if he does, will Uncle Dana be able to convince he and Jones to each rush into the biggest fight of their careers for a mega event in the fall?

Elias Cepeda

Anderson Silva’s Camp Refutes Injury Claims, Fight with Weidman Still on

A collective gasp swept over the MMA world on Wednesday when a report surfaced from Brazil that UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva suffered an injury that could potentially force him out of UFC 162 in July. The report from Yahoo! in Brazil claime…

A collective gasp swept over the MMA world on Wednesday when a report surfaced from Brazil that UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva suffered an injury that could potentially force him out of UFC 162 in July.

The report from Yahoo! in Brazil claimed that Silva had visited a hospital in his home country where the diagnosis was a broken rib. 

The story stated that unnamed sources within the clinic that Silva visited revealed the test results for his apparent injury.

Following the release of that information, Bleacher Report was able to reach out to Ed Soares, Silva’s manager, who stated emphatically that the reports are not true and that they had been in contact with the UFC middleweight champion today and that “he’s fine”.

The injury was also denied in a later report to MMAJunkie.com reporter John Morgan, via Twitter, who spoke with UFC President Dana White.  The UFC President also stated the reports were “not true” and Silva is expected to fight as scheduled at UFC 162.

The red flags went up in part because Silva has had trouble with rib injuries in the past.  The Brazilian icon suffered a rib injury leading into his first fight against Chael Sonnen at UFC 117 in August 2010.

Silva moved forward with the fight despite the injury and won by fifth-round triangle choke after losing the better part of the previous four rounds with Sonnen.  It was revealed after the fight that Silva had competed with an injured rib suffered in training. This was documented in full in the 2011 documentary surrounding the fighter’s career called Like Water.

This latest report shot through like a lightning bolt because of the huge magnitude that comes along with the UFC 162 card.  Silva was facing top contender Chris Weidman in the main event, and without a strong co-main event, it would mark the second UFC pay-per-view in a row destroyed by injuries.

UFC 161 lost its main event when interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao was forced out of his fight against Eddie Wineland. In the scramble, the UFC opted to bump up the light heavyweight co-main event between Dan Henderson and Rashad Evans to headline status.

Luckily, Silva’s camp and UFC officials appear to be in agreement that the middleweight champion is healthy and ready for his showdown with Weidman on July 6.

Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report

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UFC 162 Video Preview: Uriah Hall Breaks Down Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman

Ponder this: When was the last time UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva (33-4) had a title fight coming that fans and fighters were seriously debating that he might lose? I’m not talking the lip service that gets paid in these situations whe…

Ponder this: When was the last time UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva (33-4) had a title fight coming that fans and fighters were seriously debating that he might lose?

I’m not talking the lip service that gets paid in these situations where the challenger’s fans blather on about how this is the fight that their guy shows Silva is done. I’m talking where fans, fighter and pundits honestly believe that Silva may lose his title. When was the last time that happened?

It may have been the Chael Sonnen rematch at UFC 148, but I think a lot of that talk was due to Sonnen being a great salesman and convincing people that he had a chance to defeat Silva. Of course, this line of thinking totally discounted the fact that while Sonnen was selling his awesomeness, Silva was most likely working away on exactly how to not allow himself to be in the position he was in during the first meeting with Sonnen at UFC 117.

So, back to reality. The last serious debate regarding Silva losing his title may have been ahead of the Dan Henderson bout at UFC 82, but even there, the odds were in favor of Silva.

Heading into UFC 162, the odds are once again titled to the side of the champion, but many are disregarding those odds and siding with the challenger, Chris Weidman (9-0). Even UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre is getting in on the act.

According to UFC president Dana White, St-Pierre is saying that there is no way a superfight between he and Silva will take place, because he positively knows that Weidman is going to come out the victor at UFC 162.

Rick J. Lee caught up with Uriah Hall, who has a loss on his record to Weidman, and got his feelings on the fight.

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UFC 162 Video Preview: Uriah Hall Breaks Down Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman

Ponder this: When was the last time UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva (33-4) had a title fight coming that fans and fighters were seriously debating that he might lose? I’m not talking the lip service that gets paid in these situations whe…

Ponder this: When was the last time UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva (33-4) had a title fight coming that fans and fighters were seriously debating that he might lose?

I’m not talking the lip service that gets paid in these situations where the challenger’s fans blather on about how this is the fight that their guy shows Silva is done. I’m talking where fans, fighter and pundits honestly believe that Silva may lose his title. When was the last time that happened?

It may have been the Chael Sonnen rematch at UFC 148, but I think a lot of that talk was due to Sonnen being a great salesman and convincing people that he had a chance to defeat Silva. Of course, this line of thinking totally discounted the fact that while Sonnen was selling his awesomeness, Silva was most likely working away on exactly how to not allow himself to be in the position he was in during the first meeting with Sonnen at UFC 117.

So, back to reality. The last serious debate regarding Silva losing his title may have been ahead of the Dan Henderson bout at UFC 82, but even there, the odds were in favor of Silva.

Heading into UFC 162, the odds are once again titled to the side of the champion, but many are disregarding those odds and siding with the challenger, Chris Weidman (9-0). Even UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre is getting in on the act.

According to UFC president Dana White, St-Pierre is saying that there is no way a superfight between he and Silva will take place, because he positively knows that Weidman is going to come out the victor at UFC 162.

Rick J. Lee caught up with Uriah Hall, who has a loss on his record to Weidman, and got his feelings on the fight.

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UFC Fight Week 2013 Comes to Las Vegas to Kick Off UFC 162

The UFC is known for rolling out all of the stops for their annual Fourth of July weekend card in Las Vegas. And this year is no exception.The promotion is partnering with the city of Las Vegas to host their second annual Fight Week celebration from Ju…

The UFC is known for rolling out all of the stops for their annual Fourth of July weekend card in Las Vegas. And this year is no exception.

The promotion is partnering with the city of Las Vegas to host their second annual Fight Week celebration from July 3-6. A series of scheduled events have been planned throughout the city, which will include the Fan Expo that takes place on July 5 and 6 and lead up to UFC 162 at the MGM Grand, where Anderson Silva defends his middleweight title against Chris Weidman on the card’s main event.

Fight Week 2013 is set to kick off on July 3 with UFC Community Day, where a collection of the promotion’s fighters will be volunteering at Habitat for Humanity, Boys Town and The Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada. Of the scheduled events for Fight Week 2013, UFC Community Day is the only activity not open to the public.

The activities on July 4 will head to downtown Las Vegas as the Octagon girls host pool parties at El Cortez, Golden Nugget, The D and Golden Gate. Later that afternoon, Three Days Grace will take to the Fremont Street Experience for a free concert.

On Friday, July 5, the Fan Expo gets underway at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, providing fans the opportunity to interact with over 75 of the UFC’s top fighters.

The schedule also includes an amateur MMA tournament hosted by Tuff-N-Nuff at South Point and the weigh-ins for UFC 162 at the MGM.

Capping off Fight Week 2013 will be one of the year’s biggest cards at UFC 162. In addition to the title tilt between Silva and Weidman, the event will also feature a high-profile featherweight bout between Ricardo Lamas and Chan Sung Jung in the co-main event, with the winner potentially earning the next shot at the 145-pound title. 

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UFC 162: Ricardo Lamas Believes Defeating a “Zombie” Key to Title Shot

Chasing down a title shot in the UFC is an uncertain and chaotic process.In the past, the formula was simple: If a fighter collected a series of solid results, the opportunity to compete for championship gold presented itself.While elements of the trie…

Chasing down a title shot in the UFC is an uncertain and chaotic process.

In the past, the formula was simple: If a fighter collected a series of solid results, the opportunity to compete for championship gold presented itself.

While elements of the tried-and-true equation still exist, the current landscape in the UFC has shifted to a place where it is possible for a high-profile draw to trump a contention-worthy winning streak.

These scenarios throw a wrench in the works of a divisional picture and push title opportunities further off into the distance for would-be contenders.

In the case of surging featherweight Ricardo Lamas, being passed over has only served to provide further motivation. “The Bully” is on a mission to prove he is the legitimate No.1 contender in the 145-pound weight class and is looking to keep the momentum rolling toward a title shot.

The Team Top Notch fighter has put together an impressive four-fight run where he has defeated a collection of the division’s best. In his most recent outing at UFC on Fox 6 in Chicago, Lamas dismantled former No.1 contender Erik Koch with a brutal display of ground-and-pound that led to a second-round TKO victory.

In the aftermath of his dominant showing in Chicago, a bout with champion Jose Aldo seemed to be a certainty. But after lightweight contender Anthony Pettis put in his bid to face the Brazilian phenom, Lamas once again found himself bumped out of the conversation for the time being.

Nevertheless, the 30-year-old Chicagoland native hasn’t allowed decisions beyond his control to knock him off course. Instead, Lamas has chosen to focus on what he can directly effect—continuing to win inside the Octagon.

His next challenge will come against fellow contender Chan Sung Jung at UFC 162. Lamas sees the “Korean Zombie” as the last obstacle standing between him and a long-awaited title shot, and he believes a victory in Las Vegas will leave no questions on the table.

“I wanted to fight the ‘Korean Zombie’ because the UFC really holds him in high regard,” Lamas told Bleacher Report. “Dana White is a fan of his. You see him wearing Korean Zombie shirts, so what better guy to go up against? I really want to make a statement in this fight and get that title shot. At the same time, all of my focus is on Chan Sung Jung. He is a dangerous fighter and I’m not looking past him for one second. 

“I think he’s a very well-rounded fighter, but at this level, everybody is well-rounded. I don’t think he’s bringing anything that I haven’t seen before. He has a good submission game, but I roll on a daily basis with world-class jiu-jitsu guys, and it’s not something I’m afraid of at all.

When the two featherweights lock up in Las Vegas, 13 months will have passed since the 26-year-old Jung submitted Dustin Poirier at UFC on Fuel TV 3 in Virginia. Following the bout, Jung was forced to the sidelines with a shoulder injury which required surgery, which put his rise to title contention in neutral.

Despite being absent from the divisional race for a year, Jung’s status as one of the top fighters in the weight class has remained intact. Whether ring rust will play a factor in the fight remains to be seen, but Lamas is looking to face the best of what Jung has to offer. 

“It’s always hard coming back from a long layoff, and it could be a good or a bad thing for him,” Lamas said. “You are getting back into it, and that feeling of being inside the Octagon is something you haven’t had for awhile. On the other hand, the long layoff could make him very hungry and motivate him to train harder than he ever has before. It just depends on who is going to show up on fight night. I’m preparing for the guy that is going to train 100 times harder, and that is who I’m looking to see.”

The bout at UFC 162 represents what should be the final hurdle on the path to a title shot for Lamas. Since coming over from the WEC, the former wrestling standout from Elmhurst College has made an impact with each and every performance, and he plans to put it all on the line when the cage door closes in July.

“I’m bringing fireworks,” Lamas added. “I am going out there to make a statement. I am going out there to finish the job. I think I have to finish him to really impress the UFC. I’m always looking to finish, but this is my chance to make a huge statement. I’m working harder than I ever have before, and people are going to see a caged animal when I step in there.”

 

Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.

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