5. Rory MacDonald stopping Mike Pyle.

MacDonald looked amazing at UFC 133, and what’s even more impressive is that he followed up a dominating win with a dominating win. Before this fight, MacDonald took home a huge victory over Nate Diaz that saw MacDonald basically bend Diaz to his will. Mike Pyle, meanwhile, had garnered a reputation as a veteran that knew how to defeat hot young prospects. MacDonald didn’t believe that hype though, and his lightning-fast stoppage was a great way to start out the main Pay-Per-View card.

4. Alexander Gustafsson defeating Matt Hamill.

Matt Hamill is not an easy opponent for anyone. He’s a world-class athlete with a tremendous amount of heart and fortitude, with good striking and impressive cardio. The last time Matt Hamill was humbled as badly as he was at UFC 133, it was against Jon Jones. This was only the second time in Hamill’s entire career that he’s ever been stopped, and only his fourth overall loss. While seeing one of my favorites lose again was definitely hard, I won’t take anything away from Gustafsson’s great stoppage.

3. Brian Ebersole pummeling a speedo-clad Dennis Hallman.

In terms of distractions, shaving your chest hair into an arrow that points to your chin is pretty clever. Wearing a bright purple speedo is… well, it’s just plain wrong. I have no idea why Hallman chose to wear what he did, but it must’ve worked for him because he had Ebersole’s back for quite some time. But in the end, Ebersole turned it all around and crushed Hallman with a series of vicious shots, particularly some gruesome elbow strikes. Seeing Ebersole prove he wasn’t just a flash in the pan was definitely a great moment for me.

2. Vitor Belfort annihilating Yoshihiro Akiyama.

That’s really the only way you can describe what Belfort did to Akiyama. People complained that Belfort had never fought in the UFC as a Middleweight when he was given a shot at Anderson Silva. Now we know how Belfort performs against most UFC Middleweights. I honestly think Belfort will get a rematch with Silva by summer 2012 at the absolute latest. This was definitely one of the biggest stoppages in a night filled with them.

And my personal pick for the best moment of UFC 133 is…

1. Rashad Evans destroying Tito Ortiz.

Ring rust? What ring rust? Rashad Evans was having none of that “Tito Ortiz is back” hype, and he was also having none of that “ring rust is real” talk. Evans came out, obliterated Tito Ortiz, and looked like a champion while doing so. Ortiz was outmatched, overwhelmed, and looked very much like a shadow of his former self. Everyone criticized Rashad Evans for taking so long to finally secure a fight… but none of that talk mattered in the end. The only thing that mattered is that Evans won at UFC 133 is the most convincing, dominating way possible.

Next for Chad Mendes: The winner of Jose Aldo vs. Kenny Florian, plain and simple. And thus, the toughest fight of his young career. Mendes has looked like a stud in all his professional MMA fights, so it’s high time that he gets a shot at the championship. He’ll more than likely be facing Jose Aldo, and it should be a great war.

Next for Matt Hamill: Hamill has had high points and low points throughout his career, and this is one of the lower points. Hamill will keep doing what he usually does, which is being a gatekeeper and a pretty successful one at that. But since he’s lost two straight, look for Hamill’s next fight to be on the prelims once again and against a hot prospect that’s debuting in the UFC. I can’t name names, but I do think that’s the most likely situation.

Next for Rory MacDonald: With his win at UFC 133, I think MacDonald has finally proven that he’s ready for a top-division Welterweight. That said, I think MacDonald needs to fight Jon Fitch. Rory needs to fight a wrestling-focused fighter that can absorb a huge amount of damage and will grind away on MacDonald, testing his endurance, cardio, and takedown defense every minute of every round. And that describes Jon Fitch perfectly.

Next for Brian Ebersole: If he wins his upcoming fight with Dan Hardy, I’d love to see Chris Lytle rematch Brian Ebersole. I also think Ebersole would make an interesting opponent for Josh Koscheck’s comeback fight. Either way, I think Ebersole deserves a high-profile fighter for his next fight.

Next for Vitor Belfort: Considering how he lost to Anderson Silva, Belfort needs one or two more fights to get another shot at the title. Considering how he beat Yoshihiro Akiyama, he probably only needs to win one more if he wins it like he did at UFC 133. I’d love to see Belfort fight the winner of the upcoming Brian Stann vs. Chael Sonnen fight.

Next for Yoshihiro Akiyama: Unemployment, or a drop down to 170 for one last fight in the UFC. UFC President Dana White honestly seems hesitant about letting Akiyama go since he’s such an entertaining fighter, but the possible drop to Welterweight is really the only thing that can save him right now. If he doesn’t make the switch, he’ll go back to Japan and continue to compete there. If he does, I’d like to see him fight someone like Nate Diaz.

Next for Tito Ortiz: I thought this before the fight with Evans, and I’m thinking it now. For the most part, Ortiz has had a long string of tough young fighters as opponents, he’s been in a prolonged “new breed vs. old-school” war. I think it’s time we mix it up and start giving Ortiz veteran talent in order to end his career on a high note if that’s what Tito chooses. Possible fighters I’d like to see go up against Ortiz include Rich Franklin and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

Next for Rashad Evans: The next shot at the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, plain and simple. At UFC 133, Evans proved that for all his flaws, he’s still one of the very best in the game. Against Jon Jones, it’ll be an intense grudge match that all of us want to see. Against Quinton Jackson, it’ll be a tough rematch and the second chapter in one of the most bitter feuds in years. Either fight has strong “Fight of the Year”  potential.

Rashad Evans defeats Tito Ortiz by TKO at 4:48 of Round 2. Vitor Belfort defeats Yoshihiro Akiyama by KO at 1:52 of Round 1. Brian Ebersole defeats Dennis Hallman by TKO at 4:28 of Round 1. Costas Philippou defeats Jorge Rivera by split decision. Rory MacDonald defeats Mike Pyle by TKO at 3:54 of Round 1. Alexander Gustafsson defeats Matt Hamill by TKO at 3:34 of Round 2. Chad Mendes defeats Rani Yahya by unanimous decision. Ivan Menjivar defeats Nick Pace by unanimous decision. Johny Hendricks defeats Mike Pierce by split decision. Mike Brown defeats Nam Phan by unanimous decision. Rafael Natal defeats Paul Bradley by unanimous decision.

As I expected, the preliminary fights further proved that I was in the right in crowning the “UFC Prelims LIVE” specials my new “dark horse favorite”. It appears that I may have misjudged Mike Brown, he may yet have a worthwhile future in the UFC. I wasn’t surprised that Chad Mendes won his fight, I’m glad he did and I think he definitely deserves the next title shot, I even think he deserves it more than Kenny Florian does. As a fan of Matt Hamill, it really hurt to see him so resoundingly defeated.

I think Rory MacDonald is going to be a real force in the UFC by the middle of next year at the latest. He simply looks better and better on a per-fight basis. Rivera/Phillippou was a very interesting bout as well. I also enjoyed the Ebersole/Hallman fight, and I think Ebersole did a fantastic job of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. And speaking of “snatch” (excuse the bad joke), I along with many found it cringe-inducingly ridiculous that Dennis Hallman showed up to fight in a speedo. UFC President Dana White almost-instantly took to Twitter and said that that’d be banned from now on, and I have to say I agree with him.

I absolutely, positively knew that Vitor Belfort would win by stoppage against Yoshihiro Akiyama… I just didn’t think he’d do it as quickly as he did. Unfortunately for “Sexyama”, this loss can be seen as further proof that most Japanese MMA stars nowadays just don’t have what it takes to compete in high-level MMA promotions like the UFC. There are some notable exceptions to the rule, but realistically, Akiyama has lost three fights and his only win inside the Octagon was a very controversial decision. As entertaining as he’s been, I think Akiyama is gone after this fight.

And in the main event of UFC 133, Rashad Evans did what I knew he could have done, what I knew even Ortiz could’ve done… he channeled his inner champion. Tito, meanwhile… he just didn’t. He seemed like the old Tito, and not the good kind of old Tito, not the “old-school” Tito that destroyed everyone… the old Tito that hadn’t won a fight in about five years. The Tito that was tentative to engage in all areas, with a lack of confidence that was only made worse by his advancing age and declining skill. Ortiz breathed some new life into his career with his win over Ryan Bader at UFC 132, but Evans’ total all-out domination of Ortiz is all the proof I need to know that Ortiz is only a few fights away from retirement.

Overall, UFC 133 was quite the solid event and perhaps even a “dark horse candidate” for some sort of “Sleeper Hit Of The Year” award.

5. The preliminaries on Facebook all look interesting.

As always, you’ve got virtually nothing to lose when you check out the UFC’s free preliminary fights streamed through Facebook. A novel concept when it first started, the Facebook stream has become so (pardon the pun) streamlined that it features production values almost as good as the main UFC Pay-Per-View show. It even allows high-definition audio/video quality. And to top it all off, these particular fights features entertaining fighters like Mike Brown, Johny Hendricks, and more.

4. The preliminaries on Spike TV feature some pretty big names.

The last fight Matt Hamill competed in was the main event of a major UFC Pay-Per-View. Furthermore, Hamill has a huge following of loyal supporters, both as a deaf athlete and a great fighter. Meanwhile, Chad Mendes was supposed to be fighting Jose Aldo, and Mendes has looked virtually unstoppable so far. These two may be fighting on the Spike TV preliminaries, but they’re both good enough fighters that they probably should’ve been fighting on the main card.

3. The main card is loaded with veteran fighters.

Brian Ebersole is an entertaining veteran with over sixty professional fights on his record. Dennis Hallman is an entertaining veteran with over sixty professional fights on his record. Mike Pyle is an entertaining veteran with almost thirty fights. Jorge Riva, Vitor Belfort, Tito Ortiz… the list goes on and on. If you’re a fan of long-time fighters and respect veteran talent that remain entertaining to this day, this card is a real treat.

2. Seeing Belfort either bounce back into title contention or Akiyama save his job.

Vitor Belfort has looked amazing at Middleweight except for the one time where he got caught and stopped with a spectacular KO kick that absolutely no one saw coming. Meanwhile, Yoshihiro Akiyama has impressed in all three of his UFC fights but has yet to win a fight conclusively and has lost two straight. This is a “make or break” fight for both men, but two very different things are on the line. Nonetheless, that should motivate both men to bring out their best and this fight has serious “Sleeper Hit of the Year” potential.

And the number-one reason to watch UFC 133 is…

1. The all-out war that Rashad Evans/Tito Ortiz will likely be.

Rashad Evans is a former Light Heavyweight Champion, but so is Tito Ortiz. Ortiz just recovered from a string of losses… but Evans has been sitting on the sidelines for over a year and he’s got no one to blame for that but himself. With so many different factors leading into this bout, there’s at least a dozen ways that this fight could end up playing out. If you’re even a moderate fan of either of these two, this is a must-see fight.

The Event: UFC 133 “Evans vs. Ortiz”, currently scheduled for August 6, 2011 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Four free preliminary bouts will be streamed on the UFC’s Facebook page starting at 5:45 PM ET. Two additional free preliminary bouts will air on the Spike TV network starting at 8:00 PM ET. The main card will air live on Pay-Per-View starting at 9:00 PM ET.

Why You Should Care: Although this event has seen a host of high-profile injuries wreak havoc on the card, UFC 133 is a solid event with many fights having “sleeper hit” potential. You’ve got grudge matches, you’ve got hot prospects, you’ve got veterans with over sixty professional fights. It isn’t as good as it could have been, but the overall quality could end up really surprising us all by the time the show is over.

What to Look Forward to in the Main Event: Rashad Evans is fighting to preserve his title shot, while Tito Ortiz is fighting to continue the resurrection of his career. The first time these two met, it was a close back-and-forth war of attrition. The same should hold true for the rematch: both men have their weaknesses and face interesting problems coming into this fight, but their heart and skill is unquestioned.

What to Look Forward to in the Co-Main Event: If he loses at UFC 133, this will be Yoshihiro Akiyama’s third straight loss. Even though Akiyama is a very entertaining fighter, he will more than likely be fighting for his job against Vitor Belfort. Hopefully that brings out the best in Akiyama, because he’ll have to be at his best to deal with Belfort, who still packs a powerful punch after all these years and has the experience necessary to remain a threat in any division he chooses to compete in.

Why You Should Watch This Card: On paper, the matches sound very interesting. You’ve got stars and former champions on the prelims like Matt Hamill, Chad Mendes, and Mike Brown. On the Pay-Per-View, you’ve got hot prospects like Ryan MacDonald and Costantinos Philippou fighting tough veterans like Jorge Rivera and Mike Pyle. Plus, both the co-main and main event fights should be very entertaining.

Why You Shouldn’t Watch This Card: This was supposed to be the latest UFC mega-event, instead it’s the latest UFC card that comes so close to self-imploding due to injuries that you simply have to marvel at the UFC’s perseverance. I won’t sugar coat this: this card could have been a lot better… a whole lot better. Compared to what could have been, UFC 133 is a shadow of its former self.

Closing Thoughts: Even as a shadow of its former self, I think this is going to be a good card. Not great, not astounding, not the best event of the latter half of the year… but good nonetheless. None of these fights scream “must watch” at me, but a lot of them are using their “inside voices” and telling me “it’ll probably be fun”.

The man known on the underground as “Sexyama” has been having a tough time getting on a win-streak in the UFC since making his high-profile debut on the star-studded UFC 100 card. Before ever stepping into the Octagon, Akiyama was already a major star and even a sex symbol in his native Japan, with a solid record of 10-1-0 with two No Contests backing him up. Unfortunately, his debut was filled with controversy as he beat Alan Belcher by Split Decision in a fight where Joe Rogan famously repeated “Alan Belcher got robbed” several times.

From there, Akiyama sat out almost a year in hopes of facing Wanderlei Silva. That fight never ended up happening, and Akiyama would end up losing to Chris Leben thanks to a third-round Hail Mary Triangle Choke. Following that performance, Akiyama fought Michael Bisping in his native England in the headlining attraction of UFC 120, once again losing the bout. Akiyama can probably take solace in the fact that although he’s 1-2 in the UFC, all three of those fights have earned “Fight of the Night” bonuses.

Akiyama faces arguably his toughest test in the UFC when he faces former champion Vitor Belfort. Belfort is far removed from the cocky young stud we saw win the UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament, he’s even far removed from the battle-hardened veteran we saw win the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship in 2004. The new Vitor Belfort is a Middleweight, with fiery power in his hands and plenty of cardio that gives him the stamina to always remain a threat.

From 2007 to 2009, Belfort went on quite a rebirth and strung together five straight wins, with four (T)KO victories. He then sat on the sidelines in hopes of securing a fight with UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva. Injuries from both men led to Belfort’s hiatus lasting well over a year, and when the bout finally happened, Anderson Silva KO’d Belfort with a spectacular Front Face Kick that many people considered one of the greatest “kick KO’s” of all time.

I hate to pick against Yoshihiro Akiyama, I really have nothing negative to say about him and I think he’s a very entertaining fighter. I also empathize with him fighting for his job against Belfort, since the UFC’s dreaded “three losses and you’re out” unwritten rule has been applied to everyone both up and down the card lately. But against Vitor Belfort, I’m going to have to pick against Akiyama.

Vitor Belfort is hungry, determined… he’s found that old fire again. Anyone can get caught, Belfort just happened to get caught with one of the greatest KO strikes I’ve ever seen. Belfort has the cardio and intelligence to not rush right out of the gate and spend all his energy trying for the quick KO. Belfort will tactically attack Akiyama, wearing him down and looking for that big bomb. Akiyama will be able to put up a defense and it’ll be a great fight, but in the end, Akiyama’s striking just isn’t as good as Belfort’s.

The only chance Akiyama has is to take this fight to the ground constantly, and while that’s possible, I just don’t see it happening. Unless Belfort catches lightning and nails that bomb, it’ll be a three-round war of attrition and Belfort’s striking will prevail.

Here are some very interesting quotes compiled for us by the guys over at MixedMartialArts.com: “I don’t know what you’ve been clicking, but make sure you’re clicking the right things… Especially if you’re a married man, especially if you have a family, don’t click on nasty things because if you click on a nasty thing that’s what your son or your daughter is going to be doing. So don’t be mad if your daughter is looking at nasty things because of you. You are an example for your family, so make sure you can set up the principles for your family.”

In the interview, Belfort does make a fair point before this unexpected rant, talking about being a man of “principle” over a man of “preference” and that you should live your life according to your principles, not according to whatever makes the situation you’re in easiest.

I’ve seen several of these types of Vitor Belfort interviews before, and for the most part I like them. Sometimes Belfort comes off as a little preachy, but he speaks straight from the heart and with a whole lot of honesty. It may not make him the best talker in the UFC, but it does give all his interviews an interesting uniqueness. But, as I said, sometimes he can get a little preachy.

This is definitely one of those times.

To be honest, Belfort comes across as a total soccer mom when he talked about the internet in this interview. There are so many things he could be referring to when talking about “internet nastiness”, and all of them are pretty hilarious when you consider that the person saying “don’t watch this stuff” is a grown man that is married to a former Playboy model and has spent his life punching other grown men in the face.

Let’s call a spade a spade: MMA is a violent sport, and we’ve got to deal with the stereotype of it being barbaric when trying to “convert” the older or less-informed generations. The same thing goes with the internet: those who are either too old or too misinformed to understand it don’t like knowing that they don’t understand it because it makes them feel stupid, so they instead choose to rally against it.

The reality of the situation is this: your daughter probably won’t become a porn actress if you enjoy a little streaming sexiness. Your son probably won’t plank himself right off of a building if you enjoy watching people make idiots of themselves and laughing at them. Your wife doesn’t not love you if she was tricked into seeing 2 Girls 1 Cup. And you probably won’t go to hell for watching Epic Meal Time.

There’s tons of “nastiness” on the internet, sure. But it’s the internet, folks. Anything goes on the internet, and if you know where to look you can find just about anything. Me, myself? I loves me some internet, but I know enough about it to avoid the sites I find distasteful or even downright gross. I don’t go around talking about how you should avoid them, though, simply because I know that it’s the internet, it must appeal to somebody out there no matter how sick I consider it, and realistically there’s nothing I can do to stop you from checking it out.

So let your freak flag fly, fans and friends. It is the internet, after all.

The news was confirmed on the UFC’s official Twitter account. In addition to Belfort vs. Akiyama being the new co-main event, a fight between Brian Ebersole and Dennis Hallman has been promoted to the main card.

“Little Nog” was coming into his fight against Franklin on the heels of a tough two-fight losing-streak. It’s been almost two years since the smaller Nogueira brother entered the UFC and knocked out Luiz Cane, leading many to wonder if maybe “Little Nog” could be a championship contender. A close win over Jason Brilz and losses to both Ryan Bader and Phil Davis would follow.

Rich Franklin was also coming off some tough losses, having gone 1-2 in his three most-recent fights. A “Knockout of the Night” performance against an aging Chuck Liddell currently lies sandwiched between a 2009 TKO loss to Vitor Belfort and a recent Unanimous Decision loss to Forrest Griffin.

Vitor Belfort is returning to the UFC after losing to Anderson Silva in one of the most spectacular KO’s of the year. Silva would employ a front face kick he says was taught to him by Steven Seagal in order to give Belfort the first stone-cold KTFO loss of his career. Before the long-awaited and often-delayed encounter with Silva, Belfort was on a five-fight win-streak.

Yoshihiro Akiyama is currently 1-2 in the UFC with all three fights earning “Fight of the Night” accolades. Akiyama debuted at UFC 100 and won a very close decision against Alan Belcher, then sat on the sidelines for roughly a year in hopes of challenging Wanderlei Silva. Akiyama would eventually fight Chris Leben instead, and lose via a great third-round Triangle with only twenty seconds left in the fight. Akiyama most-recently lost a tough decision to Michael Bisping back in October of last year.

I really, really hate to see a main-attraction fight get pulled this close to UFC 133’s scheduled date. I think I would’ve liked Nogueira/Franklin a whole lot. I thought both men would’ve come out swinging, with neither backing down an inch until someone got knocked out. And you’ve just got to be a fan of fights like that.

Even though Belfort/Akiyama isn’t as big of a fight, I still think it’s o.k. as far as co-main events go. While they’re both coming off of losses, they’re also both entertaining performers and both are quite popular. I think that this is a good “clash of styles” fight, and with Akiyama wanting to avoid the dreaded three-fight losing-streak, we should see a super-competitive fight.

It’s always tough whenever a big fight gets pulled, and I hope this is the last we hear of major fights getting pulled for at least the next few months. As amazing as UFC 136 and UFC 137 are shaping up to be, I’d hate to see them suffer the same fate of UFC 133. I think UFC 133 will still be a good event, but in comparison to what it could have been… it’s just really unfortunate that things went down this way.

Courtesy of Sherdog, the UFC 133 card now stands as such: Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis, Rich Franklin vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Vitor Belfort vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama, Jorge Rivera vs. Alessio Sakara, Rory MacDonald vs. Mike Pyle, Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Alexander Gustafsson, Chad Mendes vs. Rani Yahya, Dennis Hallman vs. Brian Ebersole, Ivan Menjivar vs. Nick Pace, Johny Hendricks vs. Mike Pierce, Mike Thomas Brown vs. Nam Phan, Rafael Natal vs. Constantinos Philippou

In discussing UFC 133, I think I’ll start from the bottom and work my way up.

Mike Brown vs. Nam Phan is a match-up that really interests me. Phan has been on the sidelines since December, when he was frankly robbed of a victory courtesy of a horrendous judge’s decision. Meanwhile, Mike Brown has been struggling to find his footing in the UFC but has stayed employed as an Octagon fighter thanks to taking two fights back-to-back. I do think Brown will be gone if he loses to Phan, though. Part of me hopes that the former WEC champion gets the big win he needs, another part of me would love to see Phan win in order to keep hope alive for a rematch with Leonard Garcia.

I think it’s pretty interesting that Brian Ebersole will more-than-likely lead the main event of UFC 133’s Facebook broadcast. After a huge win over Chris Lytle, I thought the UFC would simply do a little more with Ebersole. But I do partly agree with putting him on the undercard: he may have shrugged off the role of “sacrificial lamb” in the bout with Lytle, but there are still a lot of questions hovering around him. If he beats Hallman, though, I do think Ebersole will have earned a spot on the main card for his next bout.

I think it’ll be interesting to see what Jorge Rivera does against Alessio Sakara. That’s a battle of tough veterans that should be pretty entertaining. Also, is anyone else excited for Vitor Belfort vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama? I know both men have lost lately, but that seems like a great “clash of styles” fight. I’m also really pumped for Rich Franklin vs. “Little Nog”. Hopefully, that fight turns into the great brawl that the Forrest Griffin vs. Rich Franklin fight should have been.

And for the main event, Rashad Evans dug his own grave and now needs to lay down in it. I’d actually consider myself a semi-fan of Rashad Evans, but even I have to point out the irony of the situation, with Evans sitting out all this time only to get injured, then the champion he was supposed to face gets injured, and now he’s doing what he tried not to do and has to put his shot at the championship on the line.

And to be honest, I think “ring rust” will play a significant factor in this fight, with Evans sitting out for over a year simply because he chose to do so. It’ll play an even bigger factor than usual, given how hungry Phil Davis is and how eagerly he wants to knock off some serious contenders. I’m not saying Davis will come out and dominate Evans, but I do think Evans will have a tough time both due to Phil’s toughness/technique as well as the fact that Evans has gone so long without stepping inside the Octagon.

Overall, UFC 133 may not be the best card, but a lot of the fights look very fun on paper and the event has plenty of “sleeper hit” potential.

We head to MMA Weekly for the scoop. According to their sources, the UFC is pursuing a match-up that would pit former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin against PRIDE standout Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

Since 2008, former champion Rich Franklin has embarked on an interesting but only moderately-fruitful run at Light Heavyweight. Franklin has won one and then lost one, in that pattern, for nearly three years. Currently, Franklin is 2-3 in his last five fights, with big wins over Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva sandwiched between deflating losses to Dan Henderson by Split Decision, Vitor Belfort by TKO, and most recently a very disappointing loss to Forrest Griffin in a fight that failed to realize almost all of its potential for greatness.

The man known as “Little Nog” has found it equally as difficult to secure his footing in the UFC’s super-competitive Light Heavyweight division. His UFC debut, a fantastic KO win over Luiz Cane, was immediately followed by a controversial win over Jason Brilz. After that, Nogueira would embark on his current two-fight losing-streak, losing big in matches against dominant wrestlers Ryan Bader and Phil Davis, both of whom were able to take down Nogueira repeatedly in their bouts while avoiding any of Nogueira’s formidable submissions.

Currently, the following six fights have all been tied to the UFC 133 card: Rich Franklin vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Vitor Belfort vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama, Jorge Rivera vs. Alessio Sakara, Michael McDonald vs. Nick Pace, Rafael Natal vs. Riki Fukuda, and Dennis Hallman vs. Brian Ebersole.

I’m a fan of this card so far, and I definitely like the sound of “Little Nog” vs. Rich Franklin. I think both men have had some pretty grinding fights lately, and I think they’ve not performed at their best for several reasons. For Rich Franklin, I simply think he’s been facing a very, very high quality of opponent… former champions, knockout artists, etc. Let’s not forget that he also had a few fights at catchweight.

For Rogerio Nogueira, I think his main problem has been that he’s facing a lot of young guns, with many of them being dominant wrestlers. And while Nogueira does have the strength and speed to hang with these guys, he’s still human, and the Achilles Heel of any submission specialist, even someone as great as a Nogueira brother, will always be the dominant wrestler that can keep his opponent down while defending against submissions and/or sweeps.

So, in a way, I hope these two bring out the best in each other in the way the Rich Franklin vs. Forrest Griffin fight should have brought out the best in both those fighters. Looking forward, I also think that Akiyama vs. Belfort will be great, and I’m very interested to see what Brian Ebersole brings to the table coming off his huge win over Chris Lytle. And what about you, fans and friends? Any thoughts on this match-up or any of the other rumored match-ups for UFC 133?

The Brazilian was hoping to be added to the “UFC: Rio” card which will be taking place in his native country, however the UFC brass had other things in mind for “The Phenom”, as he will now be partaking in a middleweight bout against the always exciting Yoshihiro Akiyama.

UFC 133 takes is rumored to take place at the Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 6.

Belfort was last seen in action when he was attempting to snatch the middleweight crown from pound-for-pound best Anderson Silva, a former teammate of Belfort’s out of Team Nogueira. Since their days as teammates, Belfort has relocated to Las Vegas, training with Xtreme Couture, while Silva has remained loyal to the Nogueira brothers in Rogerio and Rodrigo, whom are both notable fighters in the UFC. Vitor was unsuccessful in his attempts to take the title when he was knocked out inside of the first-round of the championship bout. The KO loss was the first of Vitor’s career. Now looking to get back on the winning track, when he takes on K-1 and DREAM veteran, Yoshihiro Akiyama.

“Sexyama”, as he is more commonly known as by the hardcore mixed martial arts enthusiasts, was said to make his return to the cage in March at UFC 128, however with the recent tragedies that have ravaged his native Japan, Akiyama was forced to respectably withdraw from his scheduled bout with Nate Marquardt. Now making his return in August, Akiyama will have a tall task before him as he takes on Belfort who is among one of the best fighters in the weight-class. Yoshihiro always seems to rise to the occasion. All three of his UFC appearances have garnered “Fight of the Night” bonuses for the talented Judoka, though he finds himself on a two-fight skid inside the octagon with an overall record of 1-2, with his lone victory coming by way of a controversial split-decision win over Alan Belcher at UFC 100 in July of 2009.

Both men are in need for a win here to remain viable contenders in their weight-class, especially in the case of Akiyama, who with another loss could see himself be exited from the promotion, despite taking on some of the best in Belcher, Chris Leben, and most recently Michael Bisping at UFC 120.

UFC President Dana White announced the match-up himself to ESPN.

So, MMA peeps, what do you think of the fight? Belfort should be the clear-cut favorite, however regardless of the outcome, it should prove to be nothing less than an exciting fight. Sound off in the comment section below.

5. It’s the rematch that’s been over ten years in the making.

October 16, 1998. Do you remember what you did on that day? Both of these men probably did: that’s the day that Belfort pounded out Silva within the first few seconds of their fight in the last event the UFC ever held in Brazil. It’s one thing to give a rematch a few years to develop, but to say that both men are different fighters than they were in their first bout would be a colossal understatement. This is the kind of legacy fight both men need as they approach the last years of their careers, and what better way to add to a legacy than to either avenge a crucial loss or once again beat a feared opponent?

4. Vitor Belfort needs an important rebound fight.

Get ready for a bit of tough love, fans and friends: the situation Belfort finds himself in right now is the exact same situation he’s found himself in numerous times, and although he does eventually rise back up, he falls off the face of the earth first. Belfort usually continues to fall downhill after a deflating loss, and he needs a strong opponent to prove that he can break that trend. There are a lot of questions hovering around Vitor Belfort right now, giving Silva the fight of his life would answer almost all of them.

3. Wanderlei Silva needs big-name opponents to make the most out of this (final?) resurgence.

Here’s some more tough love: Wanderlei Silva probably has one last run in him, the run he’s on right now, and he needs quality opponents in order to legitimize himself in the UFC’s Middleweight division after a string of tough losses at Light Heavyweight. I truly think that this may be Silva’s last shot at relevancy; if he beats Belfort he sets himself up as a possible championship contender. And we haven’t been able to say that about Wanderlei Silva for quite some time.

2. It’s UFC, it’s Brazil, it’s Vitor and Wanderlei. How could it not sell out?

Many fans are speculating that this fight would take place whenever the UFC goes back to Brazil in 2011, and that’s because it’s so simple to understand yet stands the chance of making everyone involved a boatload of money. Belfort vs. Wanderlei is a marquee match-up that would undoubtedly help sell out the planned venue for “UFC: Rio”.

And my number one reason is…

1. Neither man will back down or go down until they’re completely removed from consciousness.

I think both fighter’s recent fights proved that, no matter what else, they both have a warrior’s spirit and won’t quit no matter what. Belfort was blasted in the face with a heinous kick and it still took two more shots to properly put him away. Wanderlei Silva fought Michael Bisping to a standstill for three tough rounds and even likely stole said rounds with his emphatic last-minute flurries. If this fight were to happen, fans would likely be treated to one of the best brawl of the year.

So that’s what I think, fans and friends. I really hope this match-up sees the light of day. And what about you? What’s your take on Wanderlei Silva vs. Vitor Belfort?

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort is coming off of an embarrassing first-round knockout to current middleweight titleholder Anderson Silva last Saturday at UFC 126. After a precarious few minutes spent with both men gauging one another, Silva unleashed a front kick to the face that helped set-up the knockout in less than four-minutes of action.

Wanderlei Silva knows all about embarassing defeats, as he was the victim of one opposite of Belfort, and while Wanderlei seeks redemption in a bout with Vitor, “The Phenom” looks to do the same with a potential win in his next outing.

The two originally met many years ago, when the UFC was first making their efforts in expanding the organization, as they brought a live event to the two fighter’s native Brazil back in 1998. Belfort caught “The Axe Murderer” early with a barrage of strikes, which helped set up the TKO win in just 44 seconds of the opening round.

Since that time, both of their careers have taken drastic changes. Wanderlei would go on to dominate the competition over seas, defeating the likes of Ricardo Arona, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (twice), Kazushi Sakuraba (three times), Hidehiko Yoshida, Guy Mezger, and Dan Henderson, which eventually led the Brazilian to the promotion’s middleweight title where he ruled with an iron fist for many, many years. He’s arguably one of the greatest light heavyweight fighters of all time.

Vitor, however, has not received the same sort of accolades that Silva has. After capturing the UFC’s 205-pound title in 2004, Belfort would go on to a three-fight losing streak before leaving the organization for hopes to compete permanently for the PRIDE Fighting Championships, though Vitor performed with mixed results once again before racking up a five-fight win streak (before the loss to Silva) since beginning to train full time out of Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas.

In a lot of ways, should this fight materialize, it’s a cross roads match-up for these men. Both legends of the sport (to some degree), and both are some of the most iconic figures in Brazil in the world of mixed martial arts, to me, this bout makes all the reason in the world, and both Vitor and Wanderlei believe so, as well.

“Let’s do it, brother. I accept it”, said Vitor when proposed with the match-up in an interview with TATAME.com. “He’s a great athlete, a great champion, and it would be a pleasure to fight him. It’d be a highly anticipated fight, very important for the sport.

“I’d give him the number one (on the line to fight me) easily, I’m challenging him … I want him”, said Wanderlei, who has long campaigned for a rematch with Belfort since his return to the octagon.

So, MMA peeps, what do you think of the fight? Who would win? While Silva is rumored to be facing Brian Stann this May, would you rather see Vitor step in in his place? Sound off in the comment section below.

Champion Anderson Silva deftly defended his title with a rousing first-round knockout of former friend and teammate Vitor Belfort with a surprising front kick which floored the Brazilian. Following up with a few additional blows was all that “The Spider” needed to end the night of the former light heavyweight titleholder.

Forrest Griffin made a successful return to the cage, following a year-plus spent away from the cage, when he defeated former middleweight champ Rich Franklin, defeating the legend in a clean sweep decision victory.

The night produced several more exciting fights over, however some of those bouts came with their price.

UFC 126 took place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas this past Saturday, and while some men listed below were victorious, they didn’t leave without their fare share of some bumps and bruises. Griffin especially has the potential to face some serious time away from the cage once again. The Xtreme Couture product returned to the octagon following a slew of personal problems and nursed injuries following a decision victory over Tito Ortiz, which took place in November of 2009. Griffin didn’t miss a beat in his return, but he may have re-aggravated a fracture in his foot that could have him out of action for large put of 2011.

Jake Ellenberger who was also victorious in a rousing welterweight affair against the previously undefeated Eduardo Rocha, could potentially be sitting alongside Forrest as he is required to have both of his hands x-rayed before he returns to action.

Below is a featured list of suspensions, courtesy of MMAJunkie.com by way of the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

The full list of suspensions included:

* Vitor Belfort: Suspended until March 23 with no contact until March 8 for precautionary reasons

* Forrest Griffin: Suspended until Aug. 5 unless right foot is X-rayed and cleared by an orthopedic doctor

* Carlos Eduardo Rocha: Suspended until March 23 with no contact until March 8 due to a scalp laceration

* Jake Ellenberger: Suspended until Aug. 5 unless both hands are X-rayed and cleared by an orthopedic
doctor

* Paul Kelly: Suspended until March 23 with no contact until March 8 due to a right-eyebrow laceration

* Michihiro Omigawa: Suspended until April 7 with no contact until April 7 due to a right-eyebrow right brow
laceration and head blows

* Chad Mendes: Suspended until March 23 with no contact until March 8 for precautionary reasons

* Gabe Ruediger: Suspended until April 7 with no contact until April 7 due to a right-eyebrow laceration and
head blows

* Ricardo Romero: Suspended until March 23 with no contact until March 8 for precautionary reasons

* Kenny Robertson: Suspended until March 23 with no contact until March 8 for precautionary reasons

So, MMA peeps, any surprises you see here? Sound off in the comment section below.

The preliminary card bought tons of action during Saturday’s night of fights, with knockouts, submissions galore, however few fights stood above the rest and in the end those respective matches took home an extra bit of change of their efforts.

Jon Jones, not only impressively dismantled then-undefeated collegiate wrestler Ryan Bader, but he did it in style. The Greg Jackson product was able to work the Division I star several times to the mat during their light heavyweight bout, and eventually locked in a fight ending guillotine choke inside of the second-round. The finish earned the New York native a title shot against champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua once teammate Rashad Evans bowed out of the contest due to a knee injury. Oh, and Jones also earned the “Submission of the Night” award, pocketing an additional $75k for his win.

Both Donald Cerrone and Paul Kelly engaged in a fast battle in the lightweight division. Immediately Kelly got the attention of “The Cowboy” when he landed some sharp hooks to the dome. The two rallied for position on the ground, with Donald getting the better of the scrambles, having taken down the veteran several times over. Cerrone looked every bit the great fighter he showed in the now defunct WEC promotion, where he was a three-time challenger to the title, when he eventually mounted and submitted Kelly with a fight-ending rear-naked choke. The two men took home the evenings “Fight of the Night” award, both taking home the additional bonus.

Finally, Anderson Silva brought in perhaps the most impressive performance of the evening when he was pitted against former teammate Vitor Belfort in the main event of the evening. After a few tentative minutes spent on the feet, Anderson eventually connected on a wicked front-kick knocking down Belfort to the mat. Silva met his fellow countryman to the ground, connecting on two more flush punches that left Vitor out cold on the ground, though he recovered quickly thereafter. The spectacular win earned him the “Knockout of the Night” award–his third such award.

So, MMA peeps, what do you think about the post-fight findings? Sound off in the comment section below.

He’s very loyal to his team, and his team is just as loyal to him.

So when Silva, the UFC middleweight champion, heard that Vitor Belfort had agreed to fight his fellow countryman, Anderson was confused to say the least. The two were good friends and training partners for a long time. Whatever frustration’s Silva may have had towards Belfort were quickly extinguished last Saturday when “The Spider” knocked out the Brazilian inside of the first-round in his eighth title defense.

The loss for Belfort, was a consequence of his actions, according to Silva.

While both men lamented that this fight was not personal when the two were initially questioned leading into the middleweight title fight, none of that showed in their intense stare down that the two shared at the pre-fight press conference. Nose to nose, it was as exciting as any stare down could get, and it wasn’t even the day of the weigh-ins.

However come the day when the two fighters met again on the scales, tensions escalated when Silva mocked Belfort by wearing a literal mask to reflect the superficial one that Vitor suggested Anderson wears before he heads into the octagon.

Some people forget that these two men were longtime training partners out of Team Nogueira, which houses some of the best fighters on the planet, including Silva, the Nogueira brothers of course, Junior dos Santos, and Strikeforce champion Rafael “Feijao”.

“To be honest with you, I don’t think this fight should have even happened”, said manager Ed Soares to UFC.com, who translated for Silva following his encounter with ‘The Phenom’.

“Vitor Belfort trained for a long time with Team Nogueira, and there’s a code of honor that we have with out team that we’ll never fight each other, and he broke that code of honor. He made the choice and now he’ll pay the consequences. Team Nogueira is our team, it’s a family, and we’ll never fight against each other. For as long as I live, I’ll defend that.”

A knockout kick to the face should suffice enough for any consequences that Anderson believes that Vitor should pay for.

So, MMA peeps, what do you think of Silva’s statements? Did Vitor break that code of honor, or is Silva taking things too personally? Sound off in the comment section below.

Forrest Griffin deftly defeated former champ Rich Franklin in a pivotal light heavyweight match-up, moving him closer to the title, however Jon Jones beat him to it when he submitted then-undefeated prospect Ryan Bader with a second-round submission.

However nothing surprised me more then some of these fighter pay-outs with some seeming valid, while others have me scratching my head in humble confusion.

It looks like the fruit of Jones’ labor is finally paying off, as the 205-spitfire has since earned his first six-figure payday inside the worlds largest mixed martial arts promotion, which is justified by his exciting fight-finishing performances in the octagon.

On the same token, Anderson Silva, who is currently on a record breaking 13-fight win streak in the cage, as well as an equally impressive eighth-straight title defense, was a top earner on the pay-per-view card, however earned a reported $175k less than fellow countryman Vitor Belfort, whom Anderson knocked out inside of the first-round.

MMAJunkie also claims that should “The Phenom” had taken home the “W” last Saturday, he would have came home with an additional $100k for his efforts (win bonus). Most likely, Silva earned a large portion of his purse due to the PPV revenue that the super bowl card has picked up.

MMAJunkie.com has reported the following figures, which they had originally requested from the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Champ Anderson Silva: $200,000 (includes no win bonus)
def. Vitor Belfort: $275,000

Forrest Griffin: $275,000 ($150,000 win bonus)
def. Rich Franklin: $75,000

Jon Jones: $140,000 ($70,000 win bonus)
def. Ryan Bader: $20,000

Jake Ellenberger: $32,000 ($16,000 win bonus)
def. Carlos Eduardo Rocha: $8,000

Miguel Torres: $56,000 ($28,000 win bonus)
def. Antonio Banuelos: $9,000

Donald Cerrone: $36,000 ($18,000 win bonus)
def. Paul Kelly: $19,000

Chad Mendes: $19,000 ($9,000 win bonus)
def. Michihiro Omigawa: $8,000

Demetrious Johnson: $10,000 ($5,000 win bonus)
def. Norifumi Yamamoto: $15,000

Paul Taylor: $36,000 ($18,000 win bonus)
def. Gabe Ruediger: $8,000

Kyle Kingsbury: $20,000 ($10,000 win bonus)
def. Ricardo Romero: $10,000

Mike Pierce: $28,000 ($14,000 win bonus)
def. Kenny Robertson: $6,000

So, MMA peeps, are you surprised by any of the payouts you see here? The figures above however do not include any “Fight Night” awards that several fighters earned over the course of the evening. Sound off in the comment section below.

Let’s begin with the basics: Silva had a gameplan that he executed flawlessly, even though the fight only took a couple of minutes. He ducked and dodged the punches and strikes of Vitor Belfort in a way that none of Belfort’s opponents had ever done before. He frustrated Belfort by constantly changing levels, moving forward and back, and lulling Belfort into a false sense of security. And when Belfort didn’t engage like he promised he would, Silva began goading him and forcing him to get careless. And then, just when fans were beginning to get a little restless, “it” happened.

What “it” exactly was is open to a bit of debate. Most people consider it a teep kick or “push kick”, a basic move designed primarily to create space between you and your opponent. Some people credit Steven Seagal for helping Silva hone the move into the deadly strike that was seen at UFC 126, including Seagal himself. Others scoff at this notion and Seagal in particular. In my opinion, it doesn’t really matter who taught what to whom or when or even why.

What matters is that Vitor Belfort got kicked right in his face and was KO’d for the first time in his career.

As a massive Anderson Silva fan, I really can’t encapsulate in words how crazy those few seconds were when Silva blasted Vitor, floored him, and then finished him off. I shouted and celebrated like the fanboy I unabashedly am. I couldn’t be happier that Silva dominated once again, and seeing him turn the crowd around and basically force them to cheer him was definitely a great moment for me and I’m sure a great moment for all the Silva fans that have stuck with “The Spider” throughout his ups and downs.

In the end, how can you not consider Anderson Silva one of the best? Even Georges St. Pierre has lost in the UFC. From the time he debuted to last night, Anderson Silva has never lost a UFC bout. He’s definitely come close, especially in the fight against Chael Sonnen that all the cynics desperately harp on and attach themselves to, but the fact of the matter is that Silva holds the record for most successful championship defenses and the longest unbeaten streak in UFC history.

There is only one Anderson Silva, and at UFC 126 Silva proved once again why history will one day remember him as one of the best of all time. There’s simply no contest: Anderson Silva gets my “Performance of the Night” award for his amazing display of technical brilliance at UFC 126 “Silva vs. Belfort”.

And what about you, fans and friends? Did anyone come close to matching Silva’s performance?

5. Demetrious Johnson’s speed and technique are far too much for “KID” to handle.

While I can’t say I’m a Norifumi Yamamoto super-fan, I can definitely say I was looking forward to seeing his debut in the UFC. I’m very glad that the UFC gave fight fans this fight for free on Facebook, even though “KID” Yamamoto lost. Because it’s not like he lost a boring fight: from the first second to the last, Demetrious Johnson constantly put pressure on Yamamoto and executed his takedowns with blistering speed. I’m a bit sad that Johnson’s breakout performance had to come at the expense of “KID”, but Johnson’s exuberance made him a star and I can’t wait to see what’s next for him.

4. “The Cowboy” successfully debuts in the UFC.

I will freely and fully admit to being a Donald Cerrone fan, and revenge tasted very sweet when I saw Cerrone choke out Paul Kelly after Kelly attempted to cheap-shot him. Kelly mumbled and stumbled his way through an abrupt apology post-fight, but I think it was plain to see that Kelly took the shot in a moment of very poor sportsmanship. Seeing Cerrone successfully debut in the UFC was definitely a highlight of the night for me.

3. Jon Jones completely destroys Ryan Bader.

Jon Jones did what he does best against Ryan Bader: he stayed active, he attacked at all angles, and he threw caution to the wind and attempted one crazy move after the other just to see if they worked. I think “methodically reckless” is a great description of Bones’ style, he does things most fighters would shy away from but he does them in such a way that they land often, and when they don’t, he’s not in any particular danger of reprisal. Jones was in top form against Ryan Bader, and seeing Jones dominate will never get old.

2. Jon “Bones” Jones is literally floored at the news of his impending title shot.

I know some could call it “cheating” by having Jones twice on this list, but I think the news of his upcoming title shot was such a shocker in and of itself that it deserves another entry entirely. In particular, this is the moment where Jones literally falls to his knees in shock at the thought of challenging for the Light Heavyweight Championship. For all his skill, Jones has remained mostly humble despite his meteoric rise. It was definitely one of the highlights of the night to see Jones so moved at the thought of finally being able to reach his dream.

But as if there could be anything else, the number one spot obviously goes to…

1. Anderson Silva is Charlie Murphy

If you’ve never seen the legendary “Rick James” skits performed on the all-too-brief run of the “Chappelle’s Show” television show, do yourself a favor and track them down right now. In particular, watch the scene where Charlie Murphy kicks Rick James (played by Dave Chappelle) so hard that he comically flies through the air and into a mirror. Basically, that’s what Anderson Silva did to Vitor Belfort. Except to his face. This is one KO that’s going to remain on the UFC highlight reels for a long, long, long, long time. It takes first place quite easily.

And there you have it, fans and friends. But what about you? What were your favorite moments from “Silva vs. Belfort”?

Anderson Silva defeats Vitor Belfort by KO (Front Kick and Punches) at 3:29 of Round 1. Forrest Griffin defeats Rich Franklin by Unanimous Decision. Jon Jones defeats Ryan Bader by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 4:20 of Round 2. Jake Ellenberger defeats Carlos Eduardo Rocha by Split Decision. Miguel Torres defeats Antonio Banuelos by Unanimous Decision. Donald Cerrone defeats Paul Kelly by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 3:48 of Round 2. Chad Mendes defeats Michihiro Omigawa by Unanimous Decision. Demetrious Johnson defeats Norifumi Yamamoto by Unanimous Decision. Paul Taylor defeats Gabe Ruediger by KO (Kick) at 1:42 of Round 2. Kyle Kingsbury defeats Ricardo Romero by TKO (Strikes) at 0:21 of Round 1. Mike Pierce defeats Kenny Robertson by TKO (Strikes) at 0:29 of Round 2.

I’m incredibly happy for Anderson Silva right now, and to those thinking that “The Spider” is back, I honestly think that’s not true. He never left in the first place. Say what you will about his occasional antics inside the cage, but this fight with Belfort once again proved why Anderson Silva is one of the best of all time and will likely go down as the most dominant UFC champion of all time. I never doubted Silva, I never stopped being a fan of Silva, and I’ll always believe in Anderson Silva. Because if that crazy front kick of doom told us anything, it’s that Anderson Silva still has plenty of tricks left up his sleeve.

I was equally impressed with Jon Jones, who once again proved why I’ll never again bet against him. Jones beat Bader and made it look easy… he’s beaten everybody and made it look easy, even if he accidentally got himself disqualified one time. I’ll say this right now, loudly and proudly and for all to see: Jon Jones is the next UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Jones will blitzkrieg Mauricio Rua and “Shogun” will have nothing for him. “Bones” will reduce Rua’s already-damaged knees to rubble with constant takedowns, and he’ll either choke him out or knock him out. Rua won’t be able to deal with Jones’ ground game, explosiveness,  or stand-up. “The Era of Bones” is only a few months away.

And that’s my early commentary, fans and friends. Overall, I enjoyed this event even though some of the bouts were a bit under-whelming. I still think that the UFC is off to an amazing start in 2011, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.

For instance, the line has been blurred between Forrest Griffin and Rich Franklin, so much so that the two have become more friends than two competitors that will be ready to punch each other in the face come Saturday night. Demetrious Johnson is a bubbly, fun loving guy and is seriously undersized for the bantamweight class, and his opponent “Kid” Yamamoto has some of the best array of tattoos on a 5’4 Asian fighter that I have ever seen.

All of this was proven during the pre-fight rituals, which today culminated in the weigh-ins ceremony before a ruckus Las Vegas crowd, and while both men have insisted there isn’t anything personal between the two of them, there appeared to be a whole lot of history behind their stare down/scuffle during today’s proceedings which has left me, and I’d imagine most fans, wanting more.

The former teammates have said several times over that their headlining title fight is nothing personal, but purely business. Nothing could have been further from the case when Anderson Silva, the UFC’s middleweight champion, came to the weigh-in proceedings dawning a white mask, taking a shot at Belfort’s previous comments on the figurative-mask that Vitor said Silva wears in order to intimidate his opponents.

From there, the two were nose-to-nose from an allotted amount of time, Silva stripping his mask and trading jabs–verbal–with his fellow countryman, where after just a few moments the two fighters were ready to fight right then and there. Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed and the two will instead allow the rest of their emotions to be exuded in tomorrow’s middleweight clash, in a bout that recently piqued the interest of many mixed martial arts fans in recent days, despite some earlier backlash.

So, Staredown: advantage Vitor and Anderson, I just hope the fight lives up to it’s expectations. But, what do you think MMA peeps, how do you see this fight playing out? Will Vitor be able to catch “The Spider” with his bullet speed strikes, or will Silva deliver successive knees and punches in order to wear down his foe? Sound off in the comment section below.

Perhaps it was his not so flashy start into the promotion. His formula worked for a while, takedowns coupled with ground-and-pound attacks, that is until he faced top level competition in the likes of Rich Franklin and Chael Sonnen.

Since then, Okami has been able to rattle off three-consecutive wins over the likes of Mark Munoz and perennial contender Nate Marquardt, which cemented Okami as the next immediate contender for the middleweight title, which will be contested tomorrow night when champ Anderson Silva takes on former teammate Vitor Belfort.

Yushin recently caught up with MMAFighting.com, which has since reported the following via the 185-pound UFC contender:

“The Japanese middleweight has been promised a title shot against the winner of Silva-Belfort, and he told MMA Fighting on Friday that he expects Silva to walk away with the belt for a UFC record 8th consecutive time.

Okami said he didn’t know when his title shot will come, and there are some who believe he may have to wait longer than expected if the UFC does end up booking the Silva vs. Georges St-Pierre.”

Hopefully the Japanese wrestling powerhouse doesn’t pull a Rashad Evans and wait out for the better part of 2011 solely to secure his spot as the next immediate contender. The way things are panning out, it would be more likely then not that Okami would next be facing the winner of tomorrow’s title match before St. Pierre does. The French Canadian UFC welterweight champion has stated on several occasions that should he move up to the 185-pound weight class, it would take him at least six months to put on the appropriate amount of weight, and by then Silva (who I am picking to win the middleweight title match) would already be campaigning for his spot on the UFC: Rio event in his native Brazil this August.

So, MMA peeps, what do you think of the potential match-up? Do you think Silva will get past Belfort, and if so, do you think he’ll have the goods to take out Okami? The two met previously before years ago, however Yushin picked up the win when the Brazilian was disqualified for an illegal up kick. Sound off in the comment section below.

Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort will enter the cage looking to knock each other’s heads off.

If you haven’t seen the video of the UFC 126 weigh-ins, please, track it down right now. When Silva donned his white mask and got nose-to-nose with Vitor Belfort, it was as if the air was practically crackling with electricity. This is going to be an all-out war and it’s not going to end until someone is lying face-down on the mat. Now more than ever I fully believe that this is going to be a fight for the ages. I’m pulling for Silva, but Belfort showed absolutely no fear at the weigh-ins and has proven throughout his career that he doesn’t have an ounce of quit in him. This one is definitely going to give me goosebumps.

Rich Franklin vs. Forrest Griffin… I love to see them fight, I hate to see them lose.

I have the same feeling regarding the upcoming Randy Couture vs. Lyoto Machida match. I respect both Rich Franklin and Forrest Griffin, and I enjoy watching them fight far more often than not. I think these two match up very well with each other, so much so that we’re practically guaranteed a great war that’s going to keep us on the edge of our seats. It’ll be an awesome fight, but I wish someone didn’t have to lose. I don’t think either man can afford it right now.

KID Yamamoto is going to destroy Demetrious Johnson.

I honestly don’t have a single problem with Demetrious Johnson, but I do have complete faith in Norifumi Yamamoto. I think this drop down to Bantamweight has both awakened and rejuvenated “KID”, and I also think that we’ll see the best Yamamoto yet when his fight goes live on Facebook. Yamamoto seems intensely focused and surprisingly humble going into this bout, and I think he’s going to viciously KO Johnson. It should be a pretty fun fight no matter what happens.

Miguel Torres vs. Antonio Banuelos may be able to take “Fight of the Night”.

The more I think about this fight, the more appealing it gets. Miguel Torres seems to be on the verge of a great comeback, but Antonio Banuelos is a tough opponent for anyone. It’s true that Banuelos is definitely outmatched by the former WEC champion, but Banuelos always makes it a fight and doesn’t mind taking two to give one. It’s a fight that is definitely overshadowed by most of the UFC 126 main card, but this is still a very solid match-up that should turn into a very competitive, entertaining fight.

So that’s what I think, fans and friends. What about you? Any last thoughts on this event? And what do you think of this possible new series?

A middleweight title clash pitting the reigning and defending 185-pound kingpin Anderson Silva against former teammate Vitor Belfort has become official, as both fighters stepped on the scales at 185-pounds on the nose.

All fighters successfully made weight, all but one.

Mike Pierce, who meets UFC newcomer Kenny Robertson in a welterweight bout, came in a pound-over the 170-pound affair, coming in at 172 lbs., a full pound over the already generous one pound allowance allowed by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Pierce will have two hours to come back on the scales to lose the extra pound, or he will be forced to relinquish a percentage of his purse to Robertson.

Perhaps the most interesting happenings of the weigh-ins was the headliner, where Brazilians Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort squared off in a heated stare down. “The Spider” made light of Vitor’s comments heading into the championship contest, wearing a white mask mocking Belfort’s comments of the previously figurative additive to which he attributes to the facade the Silva puts on pre-fight. The two went nose-to-nose and were held back by UFC execs before matters could escalate.

Here are the weigh-in results in their entirety, the format courtesy of MMAJunkie.com:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)

* Champ Anderson Silva (185) vs. Vitor Belfort (185)
* Forrest Griffin (205) vs. Rich Franklin (203)
* Ryan Bader (205) vs. Jon Jones (206)
* Jake Ellenberger (171) vs. Carlos Eduardo Rocha (170)
* Antonio Banuelos (136) vs. Miguel Torres (136)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike TV)

* Paul Kelly (155) vs. Donald Cerrone (155)
* Chad Mendes (146) vs. Michihiro Omigawa (146)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)

* Demetrious Johnson (136) vs. Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto (135)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Untelevised)

* Gabe Ruediger (155) vs. Paul Taylor (156)
* Kyle Kingsbury (205) vs. Ricardo Romero (205)
* Mike Pierce (172)* vs. Kenny Robertson (170)

Needless to say, the two are fired up and ready to go.

So, MMA peeps, what do you think of the weigh-ins as is? More importantly, what do you think of the card as a whole? You have the UFC debut of Japanese legend “Kid” Yamamoto, two title-implicated light heavyweight fights, and of course the all Brazilian main-event. Sound off in the comment section below.

5. A Night Of Nostalgia For WEC Fans

If you were a huge WEC fan like me, you probably still feel a bit down in the dumps now that the WEC has officially been folded into the UFC and now solely exists in our memories. But “Silva vs. Belfort” should give us a good bit of nostalgia and also maybe some “I told you so” moments, as the card features both Miguel Torres and Donald Cerrone in what should be very exciting matches. Watching these two fighters go from the blue cage to the fabled Octagon in two high-profile encounters should make for some good, nostalgic entertainment.

4. Two Isn’t As Good As Four, But Free MMA Can’t Hurt

UFC 126 “Silva vs. Belfort” marks the return of the “UFC Prelims Live” specials to the place of their inception, Spike TV. Spike will give MMA fans a full free hour of MMA action, with both Donald Cerrone vs. Paul Kelly and Chad Medes vs. Michihiro Omigawa confirmed to air during the broadcast. It’s not as good as the four free fights the UFC recently gave us over Facebook, but free and legal MMA on TV is always a good thing, and with the increasing quality of the “Prelims Live” specials, it should be an hour well worth watching.

3. The Future In Action: Jon Jones vs. Ryan Bader

If you’ve ever seen either of these two fight, then you understand how I can say without hyperbole that these two fighters will one day be the future of the UFC Light Heavyweight division, one of the most stacked, most competitive divisions in the entire world. Both men seem to have it all and are able to do it all, they can seemingly do no wrong while winning dramatically and dominantly. This is going to be an awesome, awesome fight.

2. Putting The “War” Back Into “War Of Attrition”: Rich Franklin vs. Forrest Griffin

I honestly think this is the type of fight where neither man goes down unless he’s completely knocked senseless. This is the perfect match-up for both men, it should be a wild brawl between two men who shine in wild brawls. Neither will give an inch, and both won’t be afraid to take two to give one. This will be a down and dirty, bloody and brutal brawl… and it has all the makings of a Fight of the Year candidate.

1. Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort, “The Fight of the Century”

Those are Belfort’s words and not mine, by the way. But they do certainly fit the bill, this does have all the makings of one of the best fights in UFC history. It just has to work out the way we all think it will, with Belfort aggressively moving forward and Silva staving him off with the best counter-strikes he’s ever thrown. I’ve said it more than once, but I’m so pumped for this fight that it absolutely bears repeating: so long as it lives up to its potential, this is going to be an amazing, astounding fight.

So there you have it, fans and friends: five great reasons to tune in and see UFC 126 “Silva vs. Belfort”. What about you? As the date draws ever-closer, what are you most looking forward to for this event?

Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort: This sure is one hard fight to pick. I’m a gigantic Anderson Silva fan, but I have an immense amount of respect for Vitor Belfort. So long as this fight lives up to its potential, I honestly don’t care who wins. I just want these two to put on the fight I know they’re capable of putting on, because that fight could be one of the best of the last several years. Simply because I have to make a choice, I’m predicting that Silva will keep finding a home for his counters and eventually land a fight-ending barrage in Round 3, winning by TKO.

Forrest Griffin vs. Rich Franklin: Rich Franklin has had a decidedly up-and-down career ever since losing to Anderson Silva for the second time back in 2007. Then again, the same could be said of Forrest Griffin ever since he won the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship from Quinton Jackson. I think this will be a great fight that ultimately boils down to one simple fact: age. Franklin is five years older and has showed signs of slowing down in his recent bouts. Forrest Griffin will take a Unanimous Decision.

Ryan Bader vs. Jon Jones: Following his victory over Vladimir Matyushenko, a fight in which I vocally defended my stance that “The Janitor” would defeat “Bones” in the days/weeks leading up to the bout, I made one single, simple promise: never again will I bet against Jon Jones. That’s just not going to change. Ryan Bader is a good fighter and should ascend to top-division status one day, but in the here and now, I truly think this amazing rocket to the top for Jonny Bones won’t stop until he has some gold around his waist. Jon Jones takes the TKO in Round 1.

Jake Ellenberger vs. Carlos Eduardo Rocha: There’s a reason Ellenberger was originally expected to face Jon Fitch before Fitch was moved up to the upcoming UFC 127 main event: Ellenberger is a skilled 23-5 veteran with twenty of his wins by stoppage. Carlos Rocha, meanwhile, is a 9-0 submission specialist. It probably won’t be an easy victory for Ellenberger, but I think his toughness mixed in with his versatility and experience will result in him staving off several submission attempts and taking home a Unanimous Decision victory.

Miguel Torres vs. Antonio Banuelos: I like Antonio Banuelos, I really do. I just happen to like Miguel Torres more. I think Torres is primed for a major comeback, one that’s going to fully kick off with a big win over Banuelos. Banuelos has simply faltered against top-ranked competition too often, and Torres looked excellent in his recent winning performance against Charlie Valencia. It’ll be a highlight of the night, and I’m thinking that Miguel Torres takes a TKO in Round 2.

So there you have it, fans and friends: my UFC 126 predictions. What about you? When it comes to “Silva vs. Belfort”, who do you see winning, how, and why?

The Event: UFC 126 “Silva vs. Belfort, scheduled for February 5, 2011 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Two free preliminary fights will be shown live on Spike TV starting at 9:00 PM ET. The five-fight main card will be broadcast live on Pay-Per-View starting at 10:00 PM ET.

Why You Should Care: All eyes are on the main event, and for good reason, even though “Silva vs. Belfort” boasts a solid undercard. Anderson Silva takes on one of his biggest challenges to date, former UFC champion Vitor Belfort. It’s a dream-match that’s taken a long time to finally happen, and to make things even better, you’ve got what should be a fantastic brawl between Forrest Griffin and Rich Franklin as the co-main event, with an epic showdown between fast-rising prospects Jon Jones and Ryan Bader rounding out the card.

What to Look Forward to in the Main Event: Non-stop action from two of the best strikers in Mixed Martial Arts, both in the here and now and of all time. Silva’s counter-striking is legendary, as is Belfort’s punching power. If this fight stays standing, it’s going to be like poetry in motion, and we can probably expect to see some things we’ve never seen in an Octagon before. This fight has been a long time coming, and on paper, it has all the makings of a Fight of the Year encounter.

What to Look Forward to in the Co-Main Event: I think Rich Franklin said it best when he described the type of fighter he was are and then made a point about Griffin being almost the exact same type of fighter. This is going to be a brawl between two tough men who don’t like to quit and fight at their best when they get a little beat up and bloody. It’ll be a war of attrition from the second the first bell rings, with both men giving and taking at will and scoring big blows throughout. I fully expect both men to put on a fantastic show.

Why You Should Watch This Card: The UFC is taking no prisoners early in 2011, which is when they generally hit a bit of a slump. There’s no winter slumber here, this is a massive show featuring some of the most well-known talent the UFC has to offer. The event features multiple weight classes, dominant champions, hot prospects, tough veterans, and more. It’s a stacked card in pretty much every sense of the term.

Why You Shouldn’t Watch This Card: To be honest, the only thing really negative about this card is the fact that it takes place over Super Bowl Weekend. Also, two of the five main card fights have potential to be good but aren’t as epic or as attention-getting as the other three. If you’ve got other plans that you absolutely cannot miss, you can always catch a replay. But if you’re a big MMA fan, you owe it to yourself to watch this one live.

Closing Thoughts: Putting it plainly and putting it simply: I can’t wait for this card. Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort is a fight I’ve waited a long, long time to see, and I have a great feeling that it’s going to live up to every bit of its potential. Then you’ve got Franklin vs. Griffin, which is a fight between two of my favorite “dark horse” fighters. And to top it all off, Jon Jones vs. Ryan Bader should also be an insane fight and fully propel whoever wins into top-division status. The UFC is bringing out the big guns early in 2011, and I’m definitely not missing this one.

And what about you, fans and friends? What do you think of UFC 126 “Silva vs. Belfort”?

UFC officials released the information today, though it was only a matter of time.

The pay-per-view event features one of the best assembled cards of the new year, touting five former champions on the all-star card, as well as a much anticipated title defense pitting current champ Anderson Silva as he defends his middleweight title for a record-setting eighth time as he takes on former teammate Vitor Belfort in the evenings headlining bout.

The event takes place next Saturday on February 5 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, which holds approximately 12,000 in total attendance. UFC 126 makes the ninth consecutive event that has taken place on Super-bowl weekend, which has consistently been the organization’s fight card that has been riddled with talent.

And this card is no exception.

Aside from the middleweight title clash, former champions Forrest Griffin and Rich Franklin will also meet in a pivotal light heavyweight match-up. Griffin, the original winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” was last seen in the octagon in November of 2009 in an anticipated rematch against rival Tito Ortiz at UFC 106, exacting revenge and taking home a split-decision win from the former champion. The win snapped a two-fight skid that Griffin suffered when he faced Rashad Evans, relinquishing his title by way of third-round knockout in a fight he was largely dominating. Next, the fan-favorite dropped another knockout loss, this time to the aforementioned Silva inside of the first-round. Forrest has been sidelined due to a shoulder injury when he was training for an upcoming bout with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 114 last May.

Franklin, like Griffin, is coming off of a win of his own, when he bested former title holder Chuck Liddell last June at UFC 115, knocking out the UFC Hall of Famer in the waning moment’s of their main-event fight. The loss helped “Ace” bounce back from a disappointing performance against the resurgent Vitor Belfort in a catch-weight bout of 195-pounds. Belfort connected on a left hook, followed up with a barrage of punches that eventually left Franklin out on the canvas. The fight was stopped just a little over three-minutes inside of the first-round in September of 2009.

With a win here, it’s conceivable that either Franklin or Griffin (who serve co-main event honors at UFC 126) could be next in line for a shot at the title.

Bouts with Ryan Bader, Jon Jones, Miguel Torres, and Antonio Banuelos will also grace the main-card, while in preliminary action featherweight standouts Michihiro Omigawa and Chad Mendes will be featured on the Spike telecast alongside a lightweight bout pitting three-time WEC title challenger Donald Cerrone as he takes on veteran Paul Kelly.

“Fans have been telling me how excited they are for this card ever since we announced the event,” said UFC President Dana White in the release.

“This is a stacked card from top to bottom, and fans responded by making UFC 126 a sellout.”

The entire event is as follows, courtesy of MMAJunkie.com:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)

* Champ Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort (for middleweight title)
* Forrest Griffin vs. Rich Franklin
* Jake Ellenberger vs. Carlos Eduardo Rocha
* Ryan Bader vs. Jon Jones
* Antonio Banuelos vs. Miguel Torres

PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike TV)

* Paul Kelly vs. Donald Cerrone
* Chad Mendes vs. Michihiro Omigawa

PRELIMINARY CARD (Untelevised)

* Gabe Ruediger vs. Paul Taylor
* Demetrious Johnson vs. Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto
* Kyle Kingsbury vs. Ricardo Romero
* Mike Pierce vs. Kenny Robertson

So, MMA peeps, what do you make of the card? Which bout sticks out the most for you? Personally speaking, I would take the “Kid” Yamamoto promotional debut bout against Demetrious Johnson over most fights to see on the PPV event, but that’s just my fanboy in me talking. Sound off in the comment section below.

“Minotauro” is not only lauded as one of the leading men in the heavyweight division, despite having gone 1-2 in his last three outings inside the octagon, but he is also becoming a great trainer for up and coming talent.

Case in point, his Black House team which has produced some of the best fighters in the world, including Vitor Belfort and Anderson Silva, two men that Antonio has spent time training in the past. Since then, Belfort has surrounded himself with the Xtreme Couture camp in Las Vegas, while Silva has remained with Antonio. Needless to say, the submission specialist is pulling for his boy Silva in his upcoming title fight.

Nogueira was recently tracked down by TATAME.com who managed to speak with the former PRIDE star concerning the the middleweight title fight this February, which headlines “UFC 126: Silva vs. Belfort” in a pay-per-view event. The Brazilian had this to say:

“Vitor is very good in striking, he’s good on the ground, has a good Wrestling, he’s complete. Anderson is a genius of the sport, has heart, he’s a showman. He can do a little bit more than the regular fighters, he always has a new trick to bring when he needs it…The fans will like this fight a lot and I’ll be there on the front seats. I already was training partner of both fighters, but now I’m Anderson’s and I cheer for him. I came to Brazil to find a way to help him on his trainings”.

It’s hard to argue. “The Spider” has been on a tear since his inception in the promotion in 2006, rattling off a 12-0 streak with victories over Rich Franklin (twice), Nate Marquardt, Chael Sonnen, Dan Henderson, and Forrest Griffin amongst his notable victims.

His striking acumen is second to none, but Vitor does still possess some of the best boxing in the weight class, coupled with the fastest hands to boot.

So, MMA peeps, what do you think of Antonio’s assessment? Do you agree? Who takes this fight? Sound off in the comment section below.

5. It’s been a long time since Silva faced a striker the caliber of Vitor Belfort in the UFC.

It’s true that Chris Leben has just as many knockouts as Belfort and Rich Franklin does indeed have more, but it all comes down to the quality of opponents viciously separated from their consciousness. Belfort has taken out some great strikers in his many years as a Mixed Martial Artist, in fact, his last fight was a crushing victory over Rich Franklin. Silva hasn’t faced a true, world-caliber striker since Dan Henderson back in 2008, and Belfort is a very different, equally dangerous fighter.

4. Belfort is no longer a brawler, but a smart strategist.

In all of Belfort’s recent fights, he’s displayed a remarkable sense of timing and strategy. Belfort knew from the beginning that he can bull-rush just about anybody and land at least one significant strike, but he’s now old enough and wise enough to realize that championship-level opponents know how to take that significant strike and roll with it, and even counter it and land a significant strike of their own. Belfort has moved away from his days of blindly charging in and hoping something lands, and he’s evolved into a fighter who knows when to strike and doesn’t waste a single opportunity. And that kind of fighter is a real threat to anybody, including Anderson Silva.

3. Belfort’s speed has only increased as he loses the bulk that comes with fighting at Light Heavyweight or even Heavyweight.

The drop down to Middleweight seems to have rejuvenated Belfort once again, and a large part of that has to do with Belfort cutting weight the right way and emerging as a leaner, meaner fighter. Belfort has always had a spring in his step and surprising speed for a man of his size back when he fought at Heavyweight and then later Light Heavyweight, but at Middleweight Belfort has fully earned the nickname “Phenom”. Anderson Silva is an expert at ducking and dodging, but you can’t dodge what you don’t see coming. If Belfort lets those hands fly, there’s a good chance that something will catch Anderson.

2. Despite the fact that he’s moved up and down several different weight divisions, his punching power remains the same: utterly vicious.

Whether at Heavyweight or Light Heavyweight or even Middleweight, Vitor Belfort’s punching power hasn’t diminished one iota. From the first time he stepped into the Octagon until now, Belfort has been knocking people out and sending them crashing to the canvas with regularity. Four out of his last five fights have all ended by (T)KO. Belfort still has that fantastic mix of killer instinct and impressive power, and he never really lost it in the first place. And he’ll need it to combat Anderson Silva.

And the number one reason why Vitor Belfort could beat Anderson Silva is…

1. Because he’s Vitor Belfort, and Vitor Belfort is a survivor.

Silva has only lost four times, and never twice in a row. Belfort once fought back from a three-fight losing-streak, and he’s faced numerous setbacks throughout his career, from humbling losses to a steroids controversy. Throughout all that, Belfort has somehow found a way to survive, thrive, and ascend to the top of three separate weight divisions. Vitor Belfort has faced tough setbacks, and he’s triumphed over each and every one. Belfort is a survivor through and through, and that unflinching ability to never give up when the going gets rough will be his biggest weapon against Anderson Silva.

And there you have it, fans and friends: the first official entry into “5 Reason Why” is now at its end. So, what do you think of this new series? And what are your reasons for thinking that Vitor Belfort could beat Anderson Silva?

5. Silva holds a significant advantage on the ground.

Vitor Belfort has been fighting for over fourteen years. When the clock turns to October 11, 1996, “The Phenom” will have officially competed as a professional Mixed Martial Artist for fifteen years. And how many times in those fourteen-plus years of action has Belfort won by submission? Twice. Two times in fourteen years. Silva has five submission wins to Belfort’s two, and Silva also trains at Black House with the Nogueira brothers, generally regarded as two of the best ground tacticians ever. If this fight goes to the ground, Belfort may end up being easy pickings for Silva’s long legs and dreaded Triangle Choke.

4. Silva became famous for smashing people’s faces in when they tried to push the pace and bring the fight to him.

Every now and then a fan or journalist talks about how fighters are too afraid of Silva, and that beating “The Spider” involves pushing the pace and bringing the fight to him. Many people assume Belfort will do just that. The only thing is… that’s how Silva got so famous in the first place. Chris Leben tried to finish him, and Silva gave Leben the biggest loss of Leben’s career. Forrest Griffin tried to push him and Silva laid down a beating so embarrassing that it continues to haunt the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion to this day. Chael Sonnen did it and did it well, but even he was on the verge of being KO’d during their fight and he did ultimately end up losing out. So while Chael Sonnen gave the doubters a bit of ammunition, the overwhelming majority of fighters who tried to push Silva were greeted with a shocking KO.

3. Belfort’s KO power is unquestioned, but so is Silva’s.

Some people look at this reason and think I must be joking, but let’s look at the facts. The fact of the matter is this: Silva has more (T)KO victories on his record than Vitor Belfort. Go ahead and look it up, it’s true. People think Belfort will have the advantage because he can KO people quicker, but Silva knows how to finish opponents and has finished plenty of them in the past. It’s true that Belfort does possess the kind of KO power necessary to KO someone like Silva, but the reverse is also true, and before their fight is through it may be Belfort that ends up taking a one-way ride to the land of dreams.

2. Belfort is facing a long, long… long layoff.

This showdown has been postponed for so long that it’s almost become a recurring joke, it’s “the disappearing fight”. Belfort was expected to face Anderson Silva at the following events: UFC 108, UFC 109, and UFC 112. Each and every time the plug was eventually pulled. It’s been over a year since Belfort last competed, and “ring rust” is very real and very dangerous for a veteran fighter like Belfort. If Belfort shows up to his fight against Silva even a bit rusty, Silva will exploit that weakness to its fullest.

And the number one reason Anderson Silva could beat Vitor Belfort is because…

1. Anderson Silva is a better striker than Vitor Belfort.

There, I said it. I know this is the topic that everyone loves to argue about, but I firmly believe that Anderson Silva is a better striker. He’s better at timing his punches. He’s better at getting out of harm’s way. He’s better at countering, he’s better at clinching, he’s better at Muay Thai. Anderson Silva is simply the best striker currently competing in Mixed Martial Arts.

And that’s my opinion, fans and friends. What about you? What are some of your reasons for why you think that Anderson Silva could beat Vitor Belfort?

While “The Rock” has seen better days throughout his 14-plus years as a professional mixed martial artist, having fought against some of the best fighters in the world including Josh Barnett, Jeff Monson, and Andrei Arlovski amongst others–all of whom Rizzo holds victories over–he is still the type of guy to become genuinely excited when a new fight is on the horizon.

And in this case, Rizzo is all too familiar with both men, as fellow countryman Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort clash in February in a fight that Pedro not only has invested interest in, but a desire to watch an explosively exhilarating bout.

Silva, the UFC’s long-reigning middleweight champion is set to collide with former training partner Vitor Belfort at UFC 126 which takes place at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas on February 5.

“The Spider” has split his training camp up for this particular fight and has begun training under Rizzo, who is a known kickboxing wrecking machine in the mixed martial arts community. And here, when Pedro sat down with TATAME.com, he gave his thoughts on the upcoming title fight.

“I think it’ll be a tough fight. Just like Vitor told he’s 100%, Anderson will also be, and I think that everyone that steps on that ring should be 100%”, said the 36-year-old who is currently riding a three-fight win streak.

“I think it’s great that Vitor is on his best conditioning because Anderson also is, so they’ll do a great fight for the main event. I’m watching Anderson training every day, he’s also doing pretty good, so we can only hope for a hell of a great show”.

So, MMA peeps, what do you think of “The Rock’s” assessment? Is this going to be a long and drawn out battle, or will one of the men in this battle Brazilian’s decisively end the fight before it reaches the score cards? Sound off in the comment section below.

Here’s what Wanderlei had to say over at Fighters Only: “…Our first fight did not prove anything really; it was a technical error and also a lucky moment… I am a different fighter now and this time the one who is going to do the knocking out is me. I’ll beat him badly… Everybody knows he is strong but is psychologically weak. Everybody knows he goes to bits before going in to fight, so I’m damaging his mind already… Now he won’t get that luck of the first time. Now I’m going to knock him out.”

I personally would absolutely love to see the rematch that’s been ten years in the making. Both men are at such different points in their careers that it isn’t remotely feasible to compare the two based on their first fight. Wanderlei Silva had never stepped inside a PRIDE ring when he met Vitor Belfort. At the time of their first fight, Belfort was best known as a major threat… at Heavyweight. The first Belfort/Silva is about as “ancient history” as ancient history gets in the fight game.

I think this match-up is highly likely if Belfort ends up losing to Anderson Silva. And if that happens, I also think that there’s a huge possibility that this fight would go down in Brazil, since the last time the UFC was in Brazil was also the last time Belfort and Wanderlei fought each other. So not only would it be a huge match between two fantastic strikers, it would also benefit from an electric atmosphere.

And I personally think that Wanderlei Silva does have what it takes to beat Vitor Belfort. All the wars he’s been in have resulted in Wanderlei not being as good as he once was, but no amount of wear and tear could ever take out Wanderlei’s incredible heart and passion. Silva has simply never competed in a boring fight, and with so much on the line as he enters this latest and perhaps final stage of his career, I think Silva would fight Belfort as if his life depended on it and ultimately emerge the winner. Belfort still has dynamite in his hands, but it’s going to take nothing less than a “KTFO” moment to stop Wanderlei if this match ever comes to fruition.

And what about you, fans and friends? What do you make of Wanderlei’s recent comments, and if it happens, who do you think would win this bout?

Current UFC middleweight champion Silva is all too familiar with his Brazilian countryman. The two were training partners as part of Team Blackhouse for sometime, before Vitor decided the best fit for his mixed martial arts career would be with Xtreme Couture and Team Tompkins in Las Vegas.

While there have been some barbs exchanged in the past between the two Brazilians, mainly on part of Silva, when he was proposed about the possibility of a match up with Vitor suggested that the former light heavyweight champion should go through the gauntlet of contenders in the UFC’s 185-pound division before being granted a title shot opposite of Silva.

It looks like any bad blood that had existed is all in the past now, as the two came face-to-face at a recent press conference held in Rio de Janiero, Brazil introducing a future UFC event in August of next year. The Brazilian’s will next meet in February, serving as the headliner for UFC 126, which will take place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas for the Superbowl weekend.

“What I can assure is that a Brazilian will come off there as the champion (laughs)”, said Belfort during the recent presser in Rio.

“I’m training, doing my best. I’m sure that this event in February will bring a very intense bout, because it’s hard to study Anderson, he’s an excellent fighter, the best pound for pound in the world. I’ve been sacrificing my days so that, on February 5th, I can do a good show for you”.

Anderson, the arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, was as equally respectful of his opponent and former training partner.

“First of all, I’m really glad I’m fighting a guy like Vitor, even because before I started fighting he already was a champion”, said Silva.

“He became a champion really young, so it’s cool that we can make these dreams come true, we can do our job and do what we do best: fight and change many things”, said Anderson, who highlighted the importance of being an example to be followed on the sport.

“I think my mind is much focused on this, of using the power God gave me, using my technique, my skills, to change many things – not inside the ring, but off it. Setting an example to children, changing a little bit the image of our sport… I’ve been growing a lot during these last years with this image issue, with the kids coming to talk to me. This fight will make me keep my focus”, concluded Anderson.

Sp, MMA peeps, what do you make of the two men? Both Respectful heading into what should be a barn burner of a title fight, with two strikers heading into the cage, it’s bound to finish in a knockout. Who do you think will win, and how? Sound off in the comment section below.

5. The UFC 126 “Super Bowl Super-Show”.

It’s not enough that the UFC is giving us Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort, oh no. In addition to the mega-fight that’s been several years in-the-making, we’ve got Rich Franklin vs. Forrest Griffin and Jon Jones vs. Ryan Bader. Basically, we’ve got three fights that could each easily, and I do mean easily, headline an event on their own. And it all goes down during Super Bowl Weekend, where everyone is hosting parties and having fun anyway. UFC fans are in for a real treat with this one.

4. UFC in Brazil for the first time in over ten years.

Georges St. Pierre in Canada. That’s the kind of reaction I think the Brazilian fans will give if they get someone like Wanderlei Silva or Anderson Silva or even Renzo Gracie or Royce Gracie to compete at the upcoming UFC event in Brazil. From the beginning, from the moment the idea for the first UFC tournament popped into the head of Rorion Gracie, Brazil has been tied to the UFC. While the UFC will most likely forever be headquartered in Las Vegas, heading back to Brazil is almost like coming home. It should be an amazing show featuring an unbelievable atmosphere.

3. UFC in Toronto in front of over 60,000 fans.

But even the tentatively-titled UFC: “Rio” virtually pales in comparison to the UFC’s upcoming debut in Toronto. The UFC owes almost as much to Canada as it does to Brazil, Canada was the first major step on the road to the UFC becoming a global brand and it remains a key player in the UFC’s international development. And UFC’s debut in Toronto will be in the Rogers Centre, better known as the Toronto SkyDome, which can seat anywhere from 50,000 to 70,000 people. I can hardly begin to imagine how epic the crowd alone will be, let alone the amazing card the UFC will likely put on in order to attract the most fans possible.

2. The thirteenth season of “The Ultimate Fighter”.

It’s been repeated so many times by so many fans and insiders that it’s practically a cliché, but it’ll always be true: “The Ultimate Fighter” broke the mainstream barrier and is perhaps the single most important thing to have ever happened to the UFC outside of its original founding. We’re heading into our thirteenth season of TUF, and things just keep getting better. No season is perfect, but the steady ratings and improved fight quality of Season 12 have left me incredibly pumped up for TUF Season 13. Even though I’m a bit sad that we won’t see Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva coaching against each other, there’s really no reason to miss out on Season 13.

And #1 on the list goes to…

1. Better per-event fight quality thanks in no small part to the influx of WEC talent and the addition of the Bantamweight/Featherweight divisions in general.

As a WEC super-fan, could I have really picked anything else to top this list? With two new divisions and a host of world-caliber talent, the WEC/UFC merger should begin paying out enormous dividends almost immediately. I have a great feeling that this is going to be a “best of both worlds” scenario, where we get the same great WEC action except on a much larger scale. Both the merger and the new weight divisions should give a lot of otherwise-underwhelming UFC events a big shot in the arm, especially the international events. It should be an awesome, awesome year of fights.

And that’s the end, fans and friends! My four-part “All I Want for Christmas” mini-series is now officially over and done with. I’d like to thank all my readers for their continued support, and once again I’d like to wish you all a very happy and very merry Christmas, and happy holidays in general. So, what about you? What are you looking forward to for the UFC in 2011?

On Feb. 6 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, the worlds largest mixed martial arts promotion will return to put on another stellar pay-per-view event.

The night will culminate in a middleweight headliner pitting champion Anderson Silva as he looks to defend his title for a record eighth-time when he takes on former teammate and top contender, Vitor Belfort.

The two Brazilians will be supported by a light-heavyweight co-main event pitting former champions Forrest Griffin and Rich Franklin against one another in what should be an exciting 205-pound affair, inching the winner closer to a shot at the title in the ultra competitive weight class.

Jon Jones is also returning to action since an August beatdown of former title challenger Vladimir Matyushenko. The 205-pound phenom meets wrestling powerhouse and undefeated fighter Ryan Bader in a bout that could send the winner towards the top of the division and a shot at the title, or a top-3 contender at best.

Bantamweight’s will grace the card when former WEC title holder Miguel Torres makes his UFC debut alongside former title challenger Antonio Banuelos. Both men are more than capable of stealing the coveted “Fight of the Night” awards with their never-say-die attitudes and adept mixed martial arts skills.

Here is the card in it’s entirety as released by the promotion, though the preliminary portion is still all speculative at this point. Thanks to MMAJunkie.com for the heads up and the nifty body of work below.

The latest card now includes:

MAIN CARD

* Champ Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort (for middleweight title)
* Forrest Griffin vs. Rich Franklin
* Ryan Bader vs. Jon Jones
* Antonio Banuelos vs. Miguel Torres
* Paul Kelly vs. Sam Stout

PRELIMINARY CARD

* Jake Ellenberger vs. Carlos Eduardo Rocha*
* Gabe Ruediger vs. Paul Taylor*
* Mike Pierce vs. Kenny Robertson*
* Kyle Kingsbury vs. Ricardo Romero*

* – Not officially announced

So, MMA peeps, what do you make of the news? Any surprises? Sound off in the comment section below.

UOL Esporte, with translations courtesy of MMA Mania, reports that the UFC is planning to hold an event in Brazil in August of next year. The target venue is the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro. The arena is a dual music/sporting arena and can hold anywhere between 8,000 to 18,000 people depending on what event/concert is being featured. The report also states that some of the biggest Brazilian stars the UFC has to offer have all been asked to participate in the event. No less than Anderson Silva, Vitor Belfort, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira have all been tied to this event.

I’ve been a vocal supporter of the UFC returning to Brazil ever since the announcement was made, so I’m very glad that plans are already in motion to make this a stellar card. I think the UFC and Mixed Martial Arts as a whole owes a whole heck of a lot to Brazil, and I’m glad that the UFC is looking to give back in a big way. Without an ounce of hyperbole, I firmly believe that Brazil has consistently given us some of the best Mixed Martial Artists of all time. From one generation to the next, there seems to be no stopping the influx of young, wildly-entertaining, ridiculously-skilled Brazilian competitors.

In regards to the card itself, there are simply too many great fantasy match-ups to think about. I’d love to see Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva fight each other, it’s a rematch that’s been over a decade in the making. The UFC could also have the rematch between Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira go down in Brazil, that would likely almost guarantee a sellout. And if they want to ensure that the HSBC arena is packed past capacity, the UFC could give us the rematch everyone is waiting for and book Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen 2.

So the UFC is not without options, not by a long shot, especially since the new year isn’t even here yet and a lot of the UFC’s plans for 2011 are still only in the planning stages. I’m really looking forward to what the UFC produces in 2011 as a whole, especially with their two new lighter-weight divisions thanks to their absorption of the WEC. But this “Ultimate Brazil” event honestly seems like it could be one of the most interesting events in recent MMA history. Here’s hoping it lives up to the considerable hype it’s beginning to build for itself.

And what about you, fans and friends? As the rumors continue to swirl, what are your early thoughts on the UFC’s return to Brazil?

“I think everything about this fight is going to be challenging.  Robbie is a talented, well rounded fighter.  I don’t see a ton of holes in his game.  I just have to go out and impose my strength in the weaker parts of his game.  That is really all it is, and I think there are going to be no surprises in this fight.  It will just come down to who can impose their will.  I don’t think anything about fighting Robbie will be easy, and that is why I have prepared hard and trained great.  Going into this fight I have no excuses, but I am not overlooking any aspect of Robbie’s game.”

After losing to Ronaldo Souza at the end of 2009, Lindland was in the midst of a longer than expected layoff when he agreed to drop down to the Strikeforce Challengers series to fight Kevin Casey in order to stay sharp.

“It has been a little disappointing that I have not been able to compete as much and as frequently as I have in the past.  It’s a change in companies and the irregularity, and there are a lot of fighters on the STRIKEFORCE roster. I have not gotten as many opportunities that I would have liked.  I think that has contributed a lot to me taking the fight in the Challengers show, because there wasn’t a fight in the immediate future. So, I wanted to get back in the ring and compete.”

The third round TKO of Casey was exactly what the doctor ordered and moved Lindland’s career record to 22-7.  It sets up a world class struggle between Lawler’s fists and Lindland’s Olympic level wrestling.

“It is whoever can impose their will.  If I had my way, I would put Robbie on his back and pound a hole in his head and I’m sure Robbie would like to try to keep it on his feet and put me to sleep standing up.  I think it’s really about who can impose their will.”

Lindland went 9-3 in the UFC between 2000 and 2008 and was clearly regarded as one of the best pound for pound players in the game. Post UFC, he has bounced around MMA organizations from the IFL to Affliction to Strikeforce.  If any Strikeforce match-up  would announce he is still right at the top of the sport, it would be a win over the younger Lawler.

“I think I am still one of the top contenders in this sport, a top 10 guy and of course I lost to a champion, Jacare, and I think this is a great path back to that title contention.  A win against Robbie certainly solidifies me in that top 10.  I just need to focus on this fight.  I have been working on all aspects of my game, the standup, the ground, the wrestling, the submissions. Every bit of it.  Robbie is a well-rounded fighter and people categorize him as a big striker and a brawler, he knows how to fight on his feet. But, he knows how to wrestle and he knows how to fight on the ground. So, I have to be prepared for all aspects of the sport.  Right now, I am just focusing on coming in the best shape and being healthy.  I have zero injuries, so no excuses going into this fight. I’m looking forward to it. I am very excited about this opportunity.”

Here are the highlights from an MMA Weekly article that saw White say the following: “The thing is about Anderson Silva, the guy hasn’t lost since 2006, and he’s actually moved up in weight class and beat guys at 205, too. When people try to argue with me that this guy isn’t the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world, it’s crazy… Even a fight where he’s getting beat for 4.75 rounds and then pulls out the armbar and wins the fight, that’s the stuff that makes you a legend… He’s 36 years old and he’s still dominant.”

It’s been a while since I chimed in on this matter, and I think now is as good a time as any. If you’ll recall, fans and friends, I posted an article entitled “Anderson Silva Has Lost the Pound for Pound Crown” back in August, shortly after Silva rallied back in the dying minutes of the fifth and final round of his showdown with arch-rival Chael Sonnen and tapped out the brash-talking Middleweight with a dramatic come-from-behind Triangle Choke/Armbar combination.

In that original article, I basically talked at length about how Chael’s domination of Silva up to that point was good enough to give Georges St. Pierre the ever-so-slight edge he needed in order to take the crown away from “The Spider”. St. Pierre has consistently looked incredibly dominant in every single one of his fights since losing to Matt Serra in 2007, while Silva’s reign of destruction faltered with lukewarm defenses against Patrick Cote, Thales Leites, and Demian Maia in addition to the one-sided thrashing he received at the hands of Chael. But something immeasurably important happened shortly after that article saw the light of day.

Just in case you missed one of the biggest scandals of the year, I’m talking about Chael Sonnen testing positive for steroids in a post-fight drug test after losing to Anderson Silva. Not only did the positive test put Sonnen’s credibility in doubt, it potentially turned a career-defining performance into a career-defining controversy. It’s also the chief reason my opinion on this subject has changed.

This is my opinion on the matter: if you’re chemically enhanced it doesn’t matter what you accomplished. You cheated, plain and simple. Your victory means nothing, and for Chael Sonnen, it means even less because he didn’t even win. So, right now, I think the pound-for-pound debate is back to being way too close to call. Both Anderson Silva and George St. Pierre are incredibly gifted and incredibly dominant champions, and I’m proud to call myself a huge fan of both men. So I’ll bide my time and revisit this argument once both men get through their upcoming championship defenses.

But make no mistake, I’ll be monitoring those fights closely. GSP’s performance against Josh Koscheck and Anderson Silva’s performance against Vitor Belfort will both play crucial roles in the continuing pound-for-pound debate. I still believe that GSP could overtake Silva, but I also think that Silva could keep his crown for a long, long time. It’s going to be a very interesting couple of months if, like me, you too just can’t help but get into the pound-for-pound fervor.

And what about you, fans and friends? What’s your feelings on the pound-for-pound debate in general, and Anderson Silva vs. Georges St. Pierre in particular?

We go first to Fighters Only, where current #1 contender to the Middleweight Championship Vitor Belfort had this to say in regards to a recent blog post where Wanderlei predicted that Belfort would find himself in a whole heap of trouble when he met Anderson Silva for the UFC Middleweight Championship: “I didn’t waste my time watching [Wanderlei Silva's video blog]. It’s just a spectator’s opinion. Spectators can say whatever they want. He just wanted to get some attention for himself. I don’t take it seriously.”

Next up is MMA Fighting, where the returning Alan Belcher recently said the following: “I want to fight Wanderlei Silva. And I think he needs to fight someone like me, a top young guy, to really stay in the mix. He needs to do that to stay a legit fighter and not just a legend selling pay-per-views because he has a name… I think a passing of the torch is the perfect way to put it… I feel I’m better than him. Wanderlei definitely poses a threat…but at this point, I am more technical, well-rounded and I can beat him in any part of the game… I want to make myself a legend off of this fight.”

And finally we head to MMA Mania, who compiled the following message from Wanderlei Silva’s Twitter account: “You know, I was missing something. But then I found out I needed a rival. I never trained as hard as the time I fought (Ricardo) Arona. But now, I want (Vitor) Belfort, and I’m already trained for you. I’m gonna get you, you’ll see!”

I think both these fights would be awesome and really boost Wanderlei Silva’s credibility as he ventures down this latest career path. Silva and Belfort last fought over ten years ago at the UFC’s “Ultimate Brazil” show, with Belfort famously TKO’ing Wanderlei forty-four seconds into the round. If most people look forward to a rematch a year or two down the road because of how different both fighters have become, just imagine how different a Belfort/Silva rematch would be now that both men have had over ten years to hone their craft. More than likely it will be an incredible stand-up war.

Alan Belcher represents a very different threat to Wanderlei Silva, but still a pretty big one. Belcher has excellent wrestling, the kind of chin required to consistently shoot for takedowns, and his stand-up isn’t anywhere close to bad. It would be a clash of styles for sure, and highly competitive too. It would also be an important milestone and proving point for both men. All that added up makes me think that Belcher/Silva would be an amazing fight.

And after all that, Chris Leben still waits in the wings. No matter who Wanderlei Silva fights next, I’m looking forward to seeing him return to the Octagon. Silva’s legions of fans will follow him and support him no matter what, but I personally think that the time is right for a rebirth and return of “The Axe Murderer”. It may not happen overnight, but it may just be that the best is yet to come when it comes to Wanderlei Silva.

And what about you, fans and friends? Who do you think Wanderlei should fight next, and what do you think of his chances against Leben, or Belfort, or Belcher?

“When I watched the Chael fight, I realized I lost some focus of my desire to be champion.  Now I have that back fully 100% and just very excited for the fight and feel very prepared and very ready.”

Okami, like Marquardt, has recently lost to Chael Sonnen.  Yet, Marquardt says he is not looking to replicate how Sonnen defeated Okami.  In fact, he said watching the Sonnen/Okami tape has not been of much use at all.

“The bottom line – Chael is a different style fighter than I am.  I am going to be looking for openings to finish the fight.  It is not going to help me that much.  That fight, he fought completely differently than I am going to fight him. It doesn’t help me that much to watch that fight. There were other fights more valuable for me to watch.”

If he gets past Japan’s most successful UFC fighter, Marquardt is quite confident about facing Anderson Silva, should he defend the title against Vitor Belfort.  He feels Silva has always had holes in his game yet only since his narrow title defense victory over Chael Sonnen has the mainstream MMA media taken notice of the “The Spider’s” flaws.

“It’s been known to me that Anderson has holes in his game and if anything it has been eye opening for the media because they put him on this pedestal as if he was unbeatable.  Chael was able to expose, obviously that he is susceptible to take downs, and ground and pound and even if someone lands on a punch he gets wobbled.”

But first things first, and Marquardt has a giant obstacle in Okami blocking his second-chance title shot.  Will this go to the ground or stay standing … Marquardt didn’t divulge particulars, but sounded quite confident in his general game-plan.

“I fight best when I look for the opening and wait for the opening to come and then I capitalize and go for the finish 100%.   That how I fight best, how I do the most damage and this fight is not going to be any different.

—

How does Marquardt beat Okami?  We want to hear your prediction?  Which fight at UFC 122 has got you fired up.

According to the Graciemag article, the UFC is looking at a possible November event in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro. The HSBC Arena is currently the rumored venue of choice for an event that is supposedly going to be called “Ultimate Brazil”. The first “Ultimate Brazil”, also known as “UFC Brazil” and UFC 17.5, took place over twelve years ago in a Brazilian gymnasium. The event featured such notable fights as Vitor Belfort TKO’ing Wanderlei Silva and Pedro Rizzo KO’ing David Abbott.

I think Brazil could easily become a major player in the UFC’s international excursions in the very near future. The UFC has left Brazil untapped for over a decade, and it’s high time that they test the waters once again. No matter what card they put together, I think the UFC will be very successful in their first UFC show.

But if you want my opinion? I say stop making “Brazil vs. USA” cards in principal and start putting them into practice. What I mean is that the UFC has made several notable Pay-Per-View events in recent history that have been filled with Brazilian fighters taking on American fighters, but they’ve never come out and directly marketed the “country vs. country” dynamic. For the UFC’s first show in Brazil, I’m calling for a “Brazil vs. USA” card so blatant that I’d even want it to be called “Brazil vs. USA”.

Not only that, but just imagine the type of fights that the UFC could put together if they truly want to make this foray into Brazil a resounding success. We could see the third encounter between Lyoto Machida and Mauricio Rua. We could get Wanderlei Silva facing off against Vitor Belfort once again, after all this time. How about a rematch between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Frank Mir? And if the UFC really wanted to ensure a sell-out, they could book the match that practically everyone in the world wants to see: Chael Sonnen vs. Anderson Silva 2. If the card really does take place in November, Chael’s one-year suspension (if he does end up serving the entire length of the suspension) would have ended with more than enough time to prepare for this rematch.

I know I could be accused of getting my hopes up, and rightly so, but it’s hard not to when I think of all the great Brazilian stars competing in the UFC and how the UFC always tries to fill the first card in a new market with talent that’s native to that region. Depending on how big of a statement the UFC wants to make when they return to Brazil, we could end up getting one of the best events of the past several years. It may be a year away, but I can’t wait to see this card come to fruition and I look forward to seeing what big-name athletes the UFC brings to the table when they return to Brazil.

And what about you, fans and friends? How excited are you about the UFC returning to Brazil, and what fights would you like to see?

There’s some novelty in the fight. They were both friends. They’ve trained together before, and rumor has it that Belfort used to get the better of Silva during their training sessions. Though if there was an validity to those rumors, they have surely all been put to rest due to the dominance that Anderson, the UFC’s middleweight champion has displayed inside the octagon.

Belfort has competed in the middleweight division in two of his last three fights, however in his return to the octagon he came in at 195-pounds for a catch-weight contest opposite of former champion Rich Franklin. At UFC 103, Belfort was able to dispatch of Franklin inside of the first-round via knockout.

Some may question the UFC’s ethics in pitting Silva against Belfort, whom was out of commission for over a year due to injury, make no mistake that Vitor is ready to shock the world and defeat who he considers to be the best fighter on the planet.

“Right now we’re just picking up, we’re studying… my friend Greg from the UFC got all the tapes (of) Anderson Silva, so I’m start studying all of his moves and go from there”, said the former light heavyweight champion backstage with MMA Heat’s Karyn Bryan post-UFC 121 last Saturday.

“We’re going do like 8-9 week camp and we’re going to move forward”.

Silva was last seen in action against the besmirched Chael Sonnen (who recently was pegged in controversy after testing positive for steroids) at UFC 117, where the champion was dominated for four and a half rounds before pulling off the “hail Mary” triangle choke in the last few moments of the fifth round, retaining his title in what was one of the greatest finishes of any fighter in UFC history.

“He’s a great fighter. He pulled it off, and he did a great job”, said the 33-year-old of Silva’s submission win.

“Both guys fought hard and fought well, and it was he pulled off the triangle at the right time and he won the fight. (I wish) all the best for Anderson Silva. He did great, he did an amazing job–he’s been doing an amazing job. What can I say? He’s the champion. He’s the pound-for-pound the best fighter in the world, and I’m going to have the chance to fight him and I just want to thank him and his camp, the UFC, and I’m going to do my best.”

Vitor will have his chance at middleweight infamy when he takes on “The Spider” on Superbowl weekend in February, headlining UFC 126.

So, MMA peeps, what do you make of Vitor’s chances against Silva? More than adequate? Less than? Do you think Belfort can pull of the upset here? A big LOL at Karyn Bryant’s face. Sound off in the comment section below.

5. Demian Maia

If Bisping wants to prove once and for all that he’s truly ready for top-level competition, he needs to face a top-level grappler. Maia has fallen from grace pretty hard, but he’s still a submission expert and Bisping would be in a lot of danger if it ever got to the ground. This fight would be a perfect showcase of Bisping’s well-roundedness if he wins it, so it’s definitely good enough to make this list.

4. Nate Marquardt

This is assuming that Nate Marquardt loses to Yushin Okami at UFC 122. I think a win over Marquardt would be huge for “The Count” and immediately put him into title contention. Marquardt has been looking fantastic in his fights lately; this would be a tough all-out war that would earn Bisping a lot of credibility if he won it.

3. Chris Leben

This is the perfect rematch: both men are at very different points in their careers than when they first met, and both men have displayed some interesting improvements since that first encounter. They’ve always been good strikers, yet we’ve recently seen how well-rounded both men are. This would still be a war, but it would be a lot more technical than I think a lot of people would give both fighters credit for leading up to this second fight.

2. Vitor Belfort

This is assuming that Belfort loses to Anderson Silva at UFC 126. I personally think a win over Belfort as he is now (a resurgent “Phenom”) would be as big for Bisping as a win over Dan Henderson would have been if Bisping beat Henderson at UFC 100. Bisping would enter top-division status with a roar and not a whisper if he managed to take down Vitor Belfort. This would likely be the toughest test for him out of anyone on this list, but it comes in at number two simply because I think my top pick is one that everybody wants to see.

And of course my number one pick goes to…

1. Wanderlei Silva

As a huge fan of Wanderlei Silva, I say this with absolutely no malice: Silva only won the first fight with Bisping because he stole some rounds with his round-ending flurries, and I think Bisping can beat and even KO “The Axe Murderer”. If Bisping fights in a style designed to drain Wanderlei’s energy, and if he avoids any and all flurries towards the end of the round, Bisping will be able to tee off on Silva at will by the third round, and Silva’s chin simply isn’t what it once was. This would be a huge rematch for both men, and I think nothing would erase the errors of the past for Michael Bisping quite like a big win over Wanderlei Silva.

But what about you, fans and friends? Who would you like to see Michael Bisping get in the Octagon against, and what did you think of my picks?

While the event, which was to be a pay-per-view card, was under consideration by the promotion, has now been dubbed null altogether.

UFC 125, which is expected to be headlined by current lightweight champion Frankie Edgar defending his title in a rematch against fellow wrestler Gray Maynard, will be taking place on January 1 of the new year, and now what was originally considered to be UFC 127, will now become 126.

Somewhat confusing, I know.

But, UFC 126, which will be taking place on February 5. at the MGM Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., is expected to be a star studded affair, and one of the largest events coming up in the immediate future. A middleweight title fight, which has been anticipated for sometime, is expected to pit Brazillians and former teammates against one another, when current 185-pound kingpin Anderson Silva attempts to defend his title for a record 8th time opposite of former light heavyweight champion, Vitor Belfort.

The two talented strikers are expected to take headlining duties over the super bowl weekend card, according to MMAJunkie.com which first reported the news of the canceled Jan. 29 event.

Also on the card, former champions Forrest Griffin and Rich Franklin will meet in a light heavyweight match up, which will propel the winner closer to title contention. The bout is expected to be the co-headliner of the evening.

Talented wrestlers and budding contenders Ryan Bader and 205-spitfire Jon Jones will also grace the card alongside an explosive lightweight match up between Evan Dunham and former lightweight title challenger, Kenny Florian.

So, MMA peeps, what do you think of the mix up? For those having planned to attend the Jan. 29 event, you might want to recall your travel agent. Sound off in the comment section below.

The headliner, a rumored bout pitting UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva against former teammate Vitor Belfort is tentatively scheduled for the event, as well as light heavyweight bouts pitting former champions Forrest Griffin and Rich Franklin against one another, as well as Ryan Bader versus phenom, Jon “Bones” Jones.

Said lightweight match up, which will be Kenny Florian against Evan Dunham, is a fight that no true mixed martial arts fan would want to pass up.

Florian was last seen in action when he faced the talented and suffocating wrestler in Gray Maynard, in Kenny’s own backyard of Boston, Mass., for UFC 118. Against Maynard, “Ken-Flo” never pulled the trigger, and was taken down almost at will, over and over again. The uninspired loss snapped a two-fight win streak for Kenny, and also had him elude a third run at the lightweight title. He was unsuccessful in his initial attempt to capture the gold at UFC 63 against Sean Sherk, for the vacant title, then lost against former kingpin BJ Penn at UFC 101, by fourth-round rear-naked choke.

Dunham, meanwhile, is on the upswing of his career, despite coming on the heels of a loss in his last UFC outing–his first loss in his MMA career at that.

Undefeated as a professional heading into UFC 119, Dunham had impressed many, by seemingly coming out of nowhere with his rise above the heap in the lightweight division. Wins over season 8 winner of “The Ultimate Fighter”: Efrain Escudero, Marcus Aurelio, and perennial contender Tyson Griffin cemented his spot as the next big thing in the 155-pound ranks. With the very controversial loss to Sean Sherk, which saw the Xtreme Couture product dominate the former champion standing up with effective combination’s (kicks and knees galore) as well several submission attempts, his star has only grew brighter.

Florian, albeit “choking” in big fights (ala Dana White), is talented nonetheless. An adept Muay Thai striker with a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Kenny has been a thorn in the side of several up-and-coming fighters in the lightweight division, including notables Clay Guida, Joe Lauzon, and former PRIDE champion Takanori Gomi–all of whom, the Boston native has finished.

The part-time ESPN personality announced the news on “MMA Live” just yesterday, saying “We’ve verbally agreed to fight Evan Dunham, which is great news. Phenomenal opponent, which I’m very excited about, and it looks like it may happen on Super Bowl weekend”.

UFC 127 takes place on February 5th, at the MGM Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

So, MMA peeps, what do you make of the match up? Who do you think takes this fight, in what has the potential to be an early candidate for “Fight of the Night”. Sound off in the comment section below.

Previously mentioned, the main event of the evening is looking like it will be a battle between Brazilians when Vitor Belfort challenges former teammate Anderson Silva for the ufc middleweight title. Also on the card, a battle between light heavyweights Ryan Bader and Jon Jones will battle it out for top contenders status in a stacked 205-pound division.

Seemingly a shoe in for co-main event honors, the bout was trumped when a recent news breaker was published, which will garner a lot of attention come fight time.

MMAJunkie.com has recently reported that a battle between former champions is in place, when Forrest Griffin (a former light heavyweight champion) will do battle with Rich Franklin (former middleweight champion).

Franklin is coming off a devastating knockout over UFC Hall of Famer, Chuck Liddell, last June, at UFC 115. Then dramatic ending came when it appeared that Franklin was on the ropes in the waning moments of the fight, as he was reeling back against the cage, Franklin uncorked a right hand that put “The Iceman” down and out. The win helped Rich bounce back from a knockout loss to Vitor Belfort at UFC 103 in September of last year.

Forrest, meanwhile, was last seen in action at UFC 106, in November of last year. There, Griffin met with rival Tito Ortiz. The two had met a few years back, in April of 2006 at UFC 59, where Ortiz had won a very controversial split-decision victory. Forrest was then sent on the fast track towards the top of the weight class and eventually became the 205-pound champion. He proved to be victorious over Tito, gaining a bit of revenge over his rival, and evening the score. The win helped snap a two-fight losing streak that Griffin has sustained against Rashad Evans, in an unsuccessful attempt to defend his title, and than a knockout loss to current UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, at UFC 101.

So, MMA peeps, what do you think of the match up? Sound off in the comments section below.

The Ed-Chael feud had been well documented in the lead up heading into ufc 117 where Chael faced Soares’ client Anderson Silva just last August. After many outlandish claims directed towards Soares himself and Anderson Silva primarily, it was later discovered that after failing to capture the UFC middleweight title from “The Spider” after a dominant four-rounds turned in (before the Brazilian submitted Sonnen with a late-rally fifth-round arm bar), Sonnen was found to have been possibly under the influence of performance enhancing drugs.

Despite the fall out, and all of the negative tension shared in the media, Ed sympathizes with Sonnen and even goes as far as to say that his ‘friend’ is innocent of said allegations.

“I really feel sorry for Chael, being in this situation”, stated Soares in a recent interview with MMAWeekly.com.

“Chael’s not a bad person. He’s got a family, he’s got things (to take care of). On top of all the financial burden that this gonna put on, just for his reputation. And, unfortunately, the great performance he put on in August will now be tarnished because of this.”

While Ed (who’s management company also has under wraps some of the sports best including the Nogueria brothers, Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Rafael “Feijao” and WEC featherweight champion Jose Aldo) recognizes the burden that Sonnen must be feeling, he relays some short-changed resentment that Anderson Silva himself is feeling in lieu of the situation.

“It’s just a bummer all the way around. It’s a bummer for Anderson–and it’s a bummer for the UFC and for the fans, because I do believe it was a rematch that a lot of people wanted to watch”, began Soares. “And it would have been a big fight, and unfortunately, there’s a lot of money left on the table, because I think it would have been a big pay-per-view, big sales, and everyone would have made a lot of money. It’s unfortunate, but I just wish Chael all the best, and hopefully he’s able to clear all this stuff up”.

Sonnen was tagged as the next immediate challenger to Silva’s title, however since the allegations, the UFC botched a potential title fight that was tentatively scheduled for UFC 127 seeing as how the Oregon native can very well be sticking with his year long suspension, which runs until September 2 of next year (unless otherwise overturned and appealed) and replaced Chael with Brazilian striker and former UFC light heavyweight champion, Vitor Belfort. Regardless, Soares simply wishes Sonnen the best and hopes matters are resolved from what his instincts tell him that the situation at hand isn’t exactly what it appears to be.

“I personally don’t believe that it is what it looks like”, said Ed. “I don’t know Chael great, but I do like Chael. Chael, I consider him a friend. He’s cool. We talk once in a while. I just don’t see him doing that (PED’s). I don’t know all the details of it; it really took me by surprise when I heard the news.”

So, MMA peeps, what do you make of the news? Do you side with Soares, and sympathize with Chael? Do you feel he is guilty until otherwise proven innocent? The California State Athletic Commission, which served Sonnen with his year-long suspension following his bout with Silva at UFC 117 in Oakland, Calif., has a history with supposed-botched test results. Just ask Sean Sherk, who till this day refutes the claims that he was under the influence of PED’s. Sound off in the comments section below.

In what will go down as one of the better fights in 2010, Sonnen put up an almost savage-like beat down on the reigning defending middleweight champion, however the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt battled back from adversity after being taken down and pummeled for four-and-a-half rounds, and submitted his rival with a triangle choke.

Why the stoppage was marred in controversy for a short period of time, Sonnen’s post-fight drug test will blemish his career for the rest of his life. Following the loss, a spirited one at that, the former Olympic wrestling hopeful, was found to have under the influence of performance enhancing substances due to highly elevated testosterone levels, according to the California State Athletic Commission.

Sonnen has since refuted the claims and will be appealing the suspension handed out by the Commission, which if sustained will render him unable to fight until September 2 of next year.

Silva, though, a true sportsman, believes that it’s innocent until proven guilty, and doesn’t necessarily buy into all of the allegations.

“I’d give him the benefit of the doubt. I let the people decide”, said the UFC middleweight champion in a recent interview with Marcelo Alonso on behalf of Sherdog.com.

“I’m an athlete; he’s an athlete. We worked hard for the sport, so giving him the benefit of the doubt would be better than for me to speak any nonsense”, which is an stark contrast to Sonnen’s pre-fight hype leading to the pair’s August 7th affair, where Chael berated the champion with insults dating back to March of this year, even prior to his bout with former opponent Nate Marquardt–UFC 109.

With that said, though, Silva admires that Sonnen put up such a performance against him, but if he couldn’t get it done within 20 or so minutes he was given, than he doesn’t deserve a rematch, which prior to his failed drug screening, Sonnen had gained an immediate rematch slated for sometime next year. Silva is reportedly now facing former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort, tentatively scheduled for UFC 127 on February 5 of next year in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“In my opinion, he never deserved a rematch”, said Silva. “He stayed in the same position all fight. I don’t think he deserves a rematch. If he couldn’t win in 30 minutes with me injured, could he win in a rematch”, stated Anderson, who competed against the Team Quest product with fractured ribs leading into their bout. “Maybe, maybe not. But I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt”.

So, MMA peeps, what do you think of Silva’s position against Sonnen? Should Chael become resolved of all allegations stemming from his post-fight drug test, should he be entitled to a rematch? Sound off in the comments section below.

Here’s what he had to say: “[Anderson Silva's] rib is still very tender, still very sore. It’s still a little bit sore, but it’s healing up. It’s still not 100-percent. He needs to be training at least 10 weeks with his ribs not being hurt. They’re still tender, it really hurts to throw his knees and stuff like that. I think at this point we don’t know what date it’s going to be yet. It’s definitely going to be next year, we’re just not sure if it’s going to be on January 1 or Super Bowl.”

As a fan of both men I find it incredibly frustrating and more than a little ironic that fate seems to be against this match. What I find so ironic is that Belfort is such a good opponent, he’s got great name value and is a very good fighter, and now that the UFC’s Middleweight division has fully recuperated from the period of time where it looked like Anderson Silva had killed it dead and destroyed any worthwhile competition… no one involved can find a way for Silva to fight one of the main guys everyone wants to see him fight.

This is a Fight of the Year contender and the plug keeps getting pulled, seemingly at the very moment when the fight looked most likely. It’ll be a fight pitting Belfort’s precise and powerful boxing against Silva’s precise and powerful counter-striking. It may have lost a bit of its luster now that Chael Sonnen vs. Anderson Silva 2 has passed it up as a must-see fight, but it’s still one that I wouldn’t miss for the world.

That’s why I’ll endure the waiting game for this one time and time again. It’s an incredibly frustrating experience, but I just know that the pay-off will be huge. How could it not be? It’s one of my favorite fighters going up against my favorite fighter period. I consider Belfort a top-division athlete even if his cynics still hang on to the fact that he hasn’t had an official Middleweight fight in the UFC and is somehow undeserving of a title fight. And I consider Anderson Silva one of the greatest Mixed Martial Artists of all time. It’s going to be an epic showdown.

Ultimately, what I got from this new information from Soares is that there’s still hope left for UFC 127, but that “never say never” can apply to anything, including this fight being called off yet again. I sincerely hope this is just speculation by Soares and that Silva will be good to go by Super Bowl Weekend, but I don’t pretend to know Anderson Silva. Soares does, and if he says that Silva’s ribs still aren’t healed when it comes time to fight, I’m going to believe it. It’s going to be a tough pill to swallow, one that we as MMA fans have been forced to swallow time and time again, but ultimately I’d support Anderson Silva pulling out of UFC 127 if his ribs still aren’t fully healed.

And what do you think, fans and friends? Are you still cautiously optimistic despite this new report by Soares, or do you think that this was basically an unofficial announcement that the fight is now off?