Belfort vs Bisping... who takes it?

[kaps]

Belfort was impressive, Bisping is a gatekeeper, Anderson would've killed him. I say Rockhold vs Weidman, winner gets Anderson....

[Redd Foxx]

Rockhold vs Weidman, winner gets Anderson....

Good call. Both guys are young and real hungry. I don't think Anderson has faced anyone like that in a long time and it could be trouble. Weidman takes him, IMO. Rockhold gives him a good fight but takes too many well-placed strikes.

[Anthony342]

Yeah props indeed. I wasn't expecting that. Really glad to be wrong about that fight. Good finish. So does this mean Vitor gets another shot at Silva for the middleweight title or does he move up to light heavy again? I only ask about light heavy because he was calling out Jones in the post fight interview.

Who gets the next title shot at Silva now? Weidman? I was thinking Weidman, then Bisping down the line, maybe Vitor, not sure now though, any news on that?

[Redd Foxx]

Yeah props indeed. I wasn't expecting that. Really glad to be wrong about that fight. Good finish. So does this mean Vitor gets another shot at Silva for the middleweight title or does he move up to light heavy again? I only ask about light heavy because he was calling out Jones in the post fight interview.

Who gets the next title shot at Silva now? Weidman? I was thinking Weidman, then Bisping down the line, maybe Vitor, not sure now though, any news on that?

Dana has said he doesn't want a Silva/Belfort rematch so Belfort is trying to go for Jones again. He's probably getting ready to retire and doesn't want to get stuck in a contendership limbo like Rich Franklin did. I think it's weak of Dana because nothing about the Silva fight lead us to believe that they couldn't be competitive in a rematch. It went down the exact way JDS v Velasquez did and we know how that rematch went. Actually, Vitor was caught by something unorthodox, so he has an even better excuse. The Jones fight is a less compelling rematch, IMO.

Silva is believed to be fighting Rockhold next, though nothing has been announced. He straight-up ducked Weidman. I think Silva has to be the most protected champ in UFC history. We've got Belfort, Weidman, and Lombard chomping at the bit but the easiest matchups for Silva move to the front. FFS, Bisping was about to get a title shot. I respect Rockhold but he's got a Forrest Griffin or Yushin Okami-like style (good at everything, great at none) which plays into Silva's strengths. Too bad Silva and Jacare are friends, as that would be a cool fight. Constantinos Phillipou is one of my faves but I think he's a tad one dimensional to rule a division.

[Anthony342]

Must be that whole 10 fight deal Silva signed. White probably wants Silva to get a few easy ones out of the way, for him anyway, until the last few fights on that contract, to keep him on top and selling tickets and PPVs.

[Redd Foxx]

Must be that whole 10 fight deal Silva signed. White probably wants Silva to get a few easy ones out of the way, for him anyway, until the last few fights on that contract, to keep him on top and selling tickets and PPVs.

He won't fight 10, IMO. UFC fighters can quit at any time to retire so long as they don't fight outside that org. That's why Rampage was able to quit before, but had to come back and finish his contract before fighting anywhere else. Signing him for 10 means he can't go anywhere else.

[Anthony342]

Yeah, but knowing Silva, he'll try and reach 10 fights. For years we've been hearing that Silva would retire after his last fight on his contract and that was sometime in
2010, then he went and signed two more deals with the UFC and at some point said he could fight until his mid 40s or 50, so based on past quotes, I think he might give it a shot and then maybe decide he's done a few fights in and call it a career.

Didn't the same thing happen with Matt Hughes? And I guess that means they can never fight anywhere right? Like, if someone has a contract, but then White decides they need to retire (as he often does) but then they want to make a comeback years later, does that mean their contract is still in place or does that ever expire? It should at some point, shouldn't it?

I mean, if athletes in other sports can retire and then make a comeback with another team, like Roger Clemens or Bret Favre, then why not MMA fighters? There's gotta be some kind of legal way out of that, if they really wanted to come back and the UFC didn't want them back. Or maybe someday, that'll happen to some fighter and they'll decide to take them to court so they can compete somewhere else if the UFC doesn't want them. There has to be a way is what I mean. It's like saying some guy retires from the Cardinals, but then he still had a contract so he can't come back and sign with the Dodgers, doesn't make much sense.