Tag: Wanderlei Silva

Dana White Says Rampage is Next in Line for the Winner of Shogun-Evans and That Nick Diaz is Welcome Back if he Plays the Game

("I trust this dude so much, I’d let him be my chauffeur if he needed a job. We could make it into a reality show and call it ‘Driving Mr. Dana.’")
Dana White helmed a Q&A session at Fort Hood last week ahead of the Fight for the Troops I…


("I trust this dude so much, I’d let him be my chauffeur if he needed a job. We could make it into a reality show and call it ‘Driving Mr. Dana.’")

Dana White helmed a Q&A session at Fort Hood last week ahead of the Fight for the Troops II show Saturday night and the UFC president dropped a handful of interesting tidbits during the hour-long forum.

Perhaps most noteworthy was White’s proclamation that former UFC light heavyweight kingpin Quinton "Rampage" Jackson will likely get the next crack at the winner of the UFC 128 championship bout between current champ Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Rashad Evans. White pointed to Jackson’s win over Lyoto Machida at UFC 123 — a fight many thought should have gone to "The Dragon" — as being the main factor in his title consideration. He also hinted that the winner of next month’s UFC 127 tilt between Ryan Bader and Jon Jones will likely get dibs on the winner of Jackson versus Evans or Rua.

"There are so many guys at 205. Rampage is probably next in line. Rampage is still in the mix. We’ve got Jon Jones and Ryan Bader fighting on the fifth [of February], which is going to be a great fight and catapults one of those guys to the top five.There’s so many great guys in the 205-pound division," White said. "The big problem has been ‘Shogun’s’ injury has been clogging up the division. Now he’s healthy and going to fight, and we’ll get everything rolling. [Shogun’s] recovered now and back in training."

Surprisingly, White said that Machida, who just as easily could be sitting in Rampage’s place in line had the judges given him the split decision nod over Jackson, needs to win his upcoming UFC 129 bout in Toronto with Randy Couture, stopping short of saying that he could be on the chopping block if he loses.

"I didn’t think [Lyoto] was ever going to lose," White admitted. "Shogun beat him, and then he just lost to Rampage, too," he explained. "Now he’s fighting Randy Couture. It’s a must-win for him."

White also touched on several other topics, rumors and bout signings. Check the most pertinent ones out after the jump.

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Brian Stann Very Politely Calls Out Wanderlei, Bisping, Anderson, GSP

(“Think of this next right hand as my way of thanking you for the opportunity and expressing what an honor it was to meet with you here this evening.” PicProps: Las Vegas Sun)
OK, so maybe “calls out” is a little bit strong in r…


(“Think of this next right hand as my way of thanking you for the opportunity and expressing what an honor it was to meet with you here this evening.” PicProps: Las Vegas Sun)

OK, so maybe “calls out” is a little bit strong in reference to Anderson Silva and Georges St. Pierre, but the American-Hero-turned-mediocre-light-heavyweight-turned-newly-minted-middlweight-comer certainly didn’t shy away from candidly assessing his skills against both the UFC 185-pound and 170-pound champions while also mentioning his desire to fight Wanderlei Silva and Michael Bisping during a recent interview with the UK Telegraph. Read on to hear Brian Stann’s respectful, but classicly fighter-centric take of most of the rest of the middleweight division, and beyond. Also, be warned that we took the liberty of changing the British English spellings back to ’Merican, for obvious reasons.

Reasons like the Revolutionary War.

"Hopefully, my next fight will be Wanderlei Silva, who is obviously a legend in the sport, and it would be an honor to fight your guy from the UK, Michael Bisping, an amazing fighter who has truly distinguished himself in the weight class …” Stann tells the Telegraph’s Gareth Davies. “He has proved himself to be an exciting, all-round fighter and has the ranking. Guys like Michael Bisping and Wanderlei have what I want in the sport — the respect and the rankings, and that’s where I want to be.”

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Dana White: Wanderlei Silva Likely to Face Brian Stann in Comeback Fight

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, NewsIn the months since Wanderlei Silva went on the shelf recovering from a knee injury and subsequent surgery, it seems like practically every middleweight in the division has asked to face him in his comeback fig…

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In the months since Wanderlei Silva went on the shelf recovering from a knee injury and subsequent surgery, it seems like practically every middleweight in the division has asked to face him in his comeback fight.

Chael Sonnen, Nate Marquardt, Alan Belcher and Chris Leben are all among the names that have publically lobbied to face the MMA legend. But it seems the most recent man to request Silva may be the one to get the much-desired bout.

Brian Stann is the most likely opponent for Silva upon his return, UFC president Dana White told MMA Fighting.

Wanderlei Silva Likely to Return Against Brian Stann in the Spring

(We immediately regretted not wiping down that rowing machine.)
Due to the torn knee ligaments and broken ribs that forced him to pull out of a scheduled UFC 116 meeting with Yoshihiro Akiyama, Wanderlei Silva hasn’t competed since his unanimous…

Wanderlei Silva MMA photos weights Xyience
(We immediately regretted not wiping down that rowing machine.)

Due to the torn knee ligaments and broken ribs that forced him to pull out of a scheduled UFC 116 meeting with Yoshihiro Akiyama, Wanderlei Silva hasn’t competed since his unanimous decision win over Michael Bisping last February. According to a new report by MMA Fighting, Silva will be ready to rumble in the spring, and his opponent is likely to be Brian Stann, who’s coming off a first-round smashing of Chris Leben at UFC 125.
 
We expect Leben to be all kinds of pissed once he hears about this. After replacing Silva against Akiyama on very short notice then scoring a miraculous submission victory, Leben called out Wanderlei Silva, and Silva happily accepted the challenge. But instead of keeping Leben benched until the Axe Murderer recovered from his injuries, the UFC decided to throw him into a fight with Brian Stann on New Year’s Day. Stann won in dominant fashion, then he called out Wanderlei Silva. His wish was granted. Life’s not fair, Chris.

Personally, we would have liked to see Silva and Chael Sonnen settle their beef, but then Sonnen had to go and get his contract frozen due to that little money laundering misunderstanding. If Silva can successfully rebound against Stann, it’s always a possibility for down the road…

Video: Chael Sonnen Talks About His Suspension Appeal, His Beef With Wand and Gives His Thoughts On Overeem and Lesnar

(Video courtesy YouTube/UFCGaming)
Besides his prepared impromptu interview with HDNet’s Mike Straka hours after his suspension appeal with the California State Athletic Commission, Chael Sonnen has been uncharacteristically quiet about the ordeal…

(Video courtesy YouTube/UFCGaming)

Besides his prepared impromptu interview with HDNet’s Mike Straka hours after his suspension appeal with the California State Athletic Commission, Chael Sonnen has been uncharacteristically quiet about the ordeal.

During Thursday’s episode of MMA Live, Chael was asked for a synopsis of his thoughts on the hearing and his reduced suspension and in true Sonnen form, his answers didn’t disappoint.

"Rules are rules and they have to be followed. A government agency, which is the commission, has to be transparent, clear and decisive. They said that I didn’t disclose. I proved three different ways that I did. I had an email command, I disclosed it directly to the executive director [of CSAC] and we wrote it down on a form that was signed and dated with the head of the testing agency," Sonnen explained. "We proved all of these things, but we were still told that we didn’t disclose. I don’t know what dictionary they consult to get a definition of the word, ‘disclosure,’ but according to the ones that I read at the University of Oregon, that’s disclosure."

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After Crushing KO, Brian Stann Aims to Crash Top 10, Face Wanderlei Silva

Filed under: UFC, NewsLAS VEGAS — Winning streaks die hard in the UFC. Just ask Chris Leben, who thought he was about to join the middleweight title picture with a fourth straight win on Saturday night, only to find himself splayed across the canvas a…

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Brian StannLAS VEGAS — Winning streaks die hard in the UFC. Just ask Chris Leben, who thought he was about to join the middleweight title picture with a fourth straight win on Saturday night, only to find himself splayed across the canvas after Brian Stann was through with him.

While Stann was once a WEC champion, the knockout win over Leben was something of a star-making performance, a violent announcement of himself as a potential contender.

It’s a division that needs more talent, and beating Leben at UFC 125 will definitely open some eyes about Stann’s potential.

Afterward, Stann said he hoped the KO was the start of a big 2011, with the goal of breaking on to the list of elite middleweights during the calendar year.