Friday Fight Announcement Frenzy: A Brief Recap of Upcoming UFCs

by Scott Haber on Oct 17, 2009 8:50 AM EDT Comment 24 comments

Promoted from the FanPosts by Kid Nate.

Yesterday saw the MMA blogosphere bombarded by a bevy of rumored fights on future UFC cards, coming from a wide variety of sources. I thought it would be helpful to compile them all in one place:

UFC 108 - January 2nd in Las Vegas

Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort

Thiago Silva vs. Rashad Evans

Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Junior Dos Santos

Carlos Condit vs. Paul Daley

Tyson Griffin vs. Jim Miller

Joe Lauzon vs. Sam Stout

Dan Lauzon vs. Cole Miller

UFC Fight Night 20 - January 11th in Fairfax, Virginia (location likely)

Josh Koscheck vs. Mike Pierce

Chris Leben vs. Jay Silva

Rory MacDonald vs. Mike Guymon

Rick Story vs. Jesse Lennox

Efrain Escudero vs. Nik Lentz

Aaron Simpson vs. Tom Lawlor

UFC 109 or 110 - February 6th in Las Vegas - a rumored January 30th event date has not yet been confirmed, but would serve as UFC 109 if it pans out, with the February 6th date becoming 110.

Matt Hughes vs. TBA

Matt Serra vs. Frank Trigg

Dan Miller vs. Demian Maia

UFC 110 or 111 - February 21st in Sydney, Australia

Wanderlei Silva vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama

HT: MMA Mania, FanHouse, MMA Junkie, MMA Weekly, MMA Recap, Aaron Simpson's Facebook, Josh Koscheck's Twitter

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Bloody Elbow readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloody Elbow editors or staff.

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Comments

Everytime I see that Silva/Akiyama fight in writing I like it more and more.

We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.

by Robert Downey Sr. on Oct 17, 2009 8:57 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Theres something sexy about it huh?

for all intents and purposes, just consider all my posts as works of satire.

by Bandaka on Oct 17, 2009 9:09 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs

I see what you did there.

We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.

by Robert Downey Sr. on Oct 17, 2009 9:10 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

UFN 20 is looking pretty good. I hope they all stay on that card and don’t get moved.

by swells2048 on Oct 17, 2009 9:46 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

108 looks awesome.

I love me some Sexyama!

by pud333 on Oct 17, 2009 1:14 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Personally I would have preferred Maia/Akiyama and Silva against somebody along Miller’s lines. Maia should be kept near the upper echelons of the MW division against a higher-profile guy with good enough striking to keep him working that aspect of his game. Silva could use a less challenging opponent to ease his way into the MW class, particularly when the cut to 195 didn’t look easy for him.

I mean, Maia loses to one top 5 guy at MW, and he’s fighting a guy (Miller) who just lost to a guy he demolished (Sonnen). Meanwhile, Silva/Akiyama guarantees that one of their potential big draws loses. In Silva’s case, it would be three straight. I don’t get it.

by JRN on Oct 17, 2009 2:03 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

By matching Maia against Miller, a guy Maia severely outclasses in Miller’s own strong suit, Maia is allowed a little leeway to go ahead and work on his striking in the ring while having an out if things get rough, compounded by the fact that Miller isn’t suspected of having great striking or power. And Akiyama/Wand is going to be a balls-out war that will show to what extent Wanderlei’s striking has deteriorated and to what extent Akiyama is coming along in his development. It’s great matchmaking.

"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito Ortiz on Vitor Belfort at Affliction:DOR

by Rundownloser on Oct 17, 2009 2:42 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The Wandy/Sexy fight is gonna kick ass. I am just as excited, if not more for that fight as I am for the Silva/Belfort bout. I love Wandy, but I’ll be rooting for Sexy in this one.

I love me some Sexyama!

by pud333 on Oct 17, 2009 3:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

If I’m Joe Silva, and I want Maia to make sure he’s working on his striking, I don’t give him an opponent with that “isn’t suspected of having great striking or power.” I give him somebody who can threaten him there, and somebody that won’t be a pushover on the mat, either, so that he’ll have to contend in that area at one point or another. Yoshihiro Akiyama fits perfectly.

Meanwhile, I’d probably also want to preserve Wanderlei Silva’s drawing power while I still can, particularly when he’s transitioning to a weight class that might be tough for him to make the first time out. This would mean giving him a relatively easy inaugural fight at 185 so he doesn’t lose his first MW fight and his third straight UFC fight.

I might not give him Jim Miller, who would be most interested in putting Wand on his back. I’d go for Alessio Sakara. Sakara just beat Thales Leites (questionable decision, sure, but a win is a win), which actually makes him a borderline top 10 middleweight, and he plays right into Wanderlei’s style. We’re talking about a guy who lost to Houston Alexander, so he’s no great threat. Perfect showcase fight for Wanderlei’s first go at 185.

And if Sakara were to win, he’d have two good middleweight victories in a row, making him a perfect rehab fight for Bisping, the loser of Belfort/Silva, the loser of Okami/Sonnen, a returning Patrick Cote, or even Nate Quarry.

by JRN on Oct 17, 2009 3:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

If drawing power is dampened by losses, then how is Randy a draw? Or Tito? Win/loss ratio isn’t as important to casuals. Wanderlei is fine.

Miller will threaten Maia standing, but not enough that Maia has to use his grappling as his plan A. To be Akiyama, he would have to use it as his plan A, which is to say, he wouldn’t get to focus on his striking and improve it.

"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito Ortiz on Vitor Belfort at Affliction:DOR

by Rundownloser on Oct 18, 2009 4:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

If drawing power is dampened by losses, then how is Randy a draw? Or Tito? Win/loss ratio isn’t as important to casuals. Wanderlei is fine.

People saw Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz win very high-profile fights in the UFC. They saw Randy beat Liddell (some of them, anyway) and Sylvia, and they at least saw the Ortiz/Shamrock feud, which was hugely hyped.

Wanderlei’s main claim to fame lies in his success in Japan, which the “casuals” by definition did not see, except for maybe some highlights on youtube. What they have seen is him losing 3 of 4 fights, including a first-round knockout loss in his last one. Wand doesn’t have the self-promoting instincts and minor celebrity status of Ortiz or the perpetually “inspring” backdrop of old man Couture. If he doesn’t start winning, I think his days as a viable headliner are numbered.

My feeling about Maia is that he’ll never use striking as a major part of his offense. Protracted striking exchanges will probably never be regular features of Demian Maia fights. Grappling will always be Plan A, and with good reason. What he needs is better defense and timing in the striking he does use to set up clinches and takedowns. If he doesn’t feel threatened by his opponent’s standup, then he might not feel as compelled to tighten up those aspects of his game; he could just use the same approach that worked on the likes of Ed Herman and Jason MacDonald. Akiyama is a different kind of opponent, which is what Maia needs right now.

by JRN on Oct 18, 2009 6:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

As to your first point: Touche, but Wanderlei’s main claim to fame is his brutal fighting style, which hasn’t changed. Every fighter has a niche(s)/role(s) that he fills. As you mentioned, Randy has the against-all-odds/inspirational angle; Fedor has the unbeatable angle; Tito, the shit-talker, etc. Wanderlei is the guy who goes buckwild in the cage and either KO’s or gets KO’d. Him losing fits within that framework, and therefore his drawing power shouldn’t be affected too greatly.

As to your second point: I’m not suggesting that Maia should be using his striking as a plan A. But right now, he can’t even use it as a plan D. If he can’t get the thing to the ground, and quick, he doesn’t yet have the sort of striking to a) threaten his opponent enough to increase his chances of a successful clinch or takedown or b) survive standing. Only by having these safer sorts of fights can he begin to build the sort of striking aspect of his game that he’ll need to take on the likes of Nate Marquardt, et al.

"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito Ortiz on Vitor Belfort at Affliction:DOR

by Rundownloser on Oct 19, 2009 1:18 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wanderlei is the guy who goes buckwild in the cage and either KO’s or gets KO’d. Him losing fits within that framework, and therefore his drawing power shouldn’t be affected too greatly.

The UFC has plenty of these guys, though. Can Houston Alexander headline a PPV? Can Chris Leben? The more Wanderlei loses, the closer he gets to their status.

Only by having these safer sorts of fights can [Maia] begin to build the sort of striking aspect of his game that he’ll need to take on the likes of Nate Marquardt, et al

He’s had those safer fights already: Ryan Jensen, Ed Herman, Jason MacDonald, Nate Quarry, and Chael Sonnen. All those guys have better standup than Maia, but he still made a bush league mistake and got drilled by Nate Marquardt. He needs bigger challenges. (Though I guess we won’t know how much of a challenge Miller is until they fight.)

by JRN on Oct 19, 2009 5:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wikipedia has breaking news regarding UFC 111

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=UFC_111&oldid=320447369

October 11th, 2009: The day Justin Forsett became loved by Seahawks fans forever.

by SSreporters on Oct 17, 2009 2:58 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

lolacaust *note nick diaz only lost to Buddha cause hes a wrestler

by mr. gogoplata on Oct 17, 2009 4:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

UFC 111 is an upcoming mixed martial arts event to be held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Its main event will feature Jesus vs. Mohammed to determine who is the true ruler of the universe. Chuck Norris is signed on to be a guest referee

Just remember. Jesus didn’t tap.

"Never underestimate the predictability of stupidity." - Bullet Tooth Tony
@deowade

by Deo Wade on Oct 17, 2009 6:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

NO SPOILERS

by JRN on Oct 18, 2009 11:58 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

shocking

but no seagal? he has that new cop show “Lawman” comimg out on A+E where he really is a cop. 1 perp asks for his autograph-pretty cool. ufc 112 should headline bear grylls vs oprah. :)

by bdw on Oct 18, 2009 9:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs