Belfort vs Silva In The Works
by Robert Sargent
Following his destruction of Rich "Ace" Franklin at UFC 103, Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort has emerged as the frontrunner to next challenge Anderson "The Spider" Silva for the UFC Middleweight Championship at an event sometime early next year.
Top contenders Dan "Hendo" Henderson and Nate "The Great" Marquardt are expected to face each other to determine the next title challenger after Belfort.
Belfort (19-8-0) made short work of Franklin, a former UFC Middleweight Champion himself, at UFC 103 last night and his convincing victory sent a message to UFC management and the rest of the middleweight division. Prior to the fight with Franklin, Belfort had already been mentioned as a potential challenger for Silva if he was victorious and that now seems to be the plan.
Silva will be sidelined until early 2010 due to impending surgery on his injured elbow, but should be ready to return by January or early February. The fight with Belfort, who is a good friend of Silva's, would take place then.
The rumoured title eliminator bout between Henderson and Marquardt could prove to be tricky, as Henderson is currently without a contract and has thus far resisted the UFC's efforts to sign him to a new deal. He has previously stated that he feels that he should be the next challenger for Silva and sees little merit in a bout with Marquardt. However, UFC President Dana White was confident that he could work out a new deal with Henderson that would set the stage for a showdown with Marquardt.
Both Henderson (25-7-0) and Marquardt (29-8-2) are coming off of knockout victories. Henderson brutally dispatched of Michael "The Count" Bisping at UFC 100, while Marquardt iced then-undefeated jiu-jitsu ace Demian Maia in just 21 seconds at UFC 102.
Should the fight go ahead, a bout between Henderson and Marquardt would be a very interesting one. Henderson holds a significant advantage in wrestling and one-punch knockout power, but Marquardt's ground skills are excellent and he has worked diligently to improve his striking techniques. His defeat of Wilson Gouveia was incredibly impressive.
In other post-UFC 103 news, Paul "Semtex" Daley's victory over top contender Martin "The Hitman" Kampmann may have put him in line for a title eliminator bout with Mike "Quick" Swick at some point in the coming months. Dana White was very impressed with Daley's debut as a late replacement and paved the way for a future fight against Kampmann's original opponent for the event, Swick.
Daley (22-8-2) stopped Kampmann with strikes in the first round, but he was unable to knock Kampmann down at any point in the fight. Even in defeat, Kampmann put on a very solid performance and showed a great chin, but Daley put the welterweight division on notice that a new contender was in town.
Swick (14-2-0) was rumoured to be competing at UFC 104, possibly against Matt Hughes, but that is no longer set to take place. He is currently recovering from a concussion suffered in training, which forced him out of the UFC 103 bout with Kampmann, and could face Daley at some point later this year. The winner of that fight would then go on to face UFC Welterweight Champion Georges "Rush" St. Pierre next year.
