Dana on Silva moving to 205 after fighting Sonnen/Belfort

Post #1 » by **Headliner** » Sat May 8, 2010 1:40 am

White: If Silva beats Sonnen and Belfort, he'll need to vacate title to compete at 205
MONTREAL – With any fighter in any division, looking beyond that competitor's next matchup is never a safe thing to do.

That's true even with the seemingly unbeatable UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva (26-4 MMA, 11-0 UFC), who faces top contender Chael Sonnen (24-10-1 MMA, 4-3 UFC) at UFC 117 in August.

But when you're 11-0 in the UFC, a different set of rules tends to apply. And while UFC president Dana White believes Sonnen may prove Silva's toughest test in recent memory, he does have an idea of where a win would take "The Spider."

"In my opinion, [Anderson's"> got Chael, who's earned that title shot, and he's got Vitor Belfort," White said on Thursday. "Once he fights those two guys, he's cleaned out that division, and I will press very hard for him to move to 205 pounds."

Don't think for a minute that White is looking past Sonnen. The outspoken Oregonian has turned heads in recent months with five wins in six fights – a run that includes one-sided victories over top contenders Nate Marquardt, Yushin Okami and Dan Miller.

It's just that Belfort (19-8 MMA, 8-4 UFC), the hard-hitting Brazilian, was already scheduled to face Silva in April before an injury to "The Phenom" allowed Maia to step in.

Despite the fact that Belfort has yet to compete in the UFC at 185 pounds, and despite the fact that Silva's camp openly questioned Belfort's worthiness as a title challenger, White believes it's the next logical matchup if the champion retains his belt.

"Vitor is a worthy opponent that I think people will want to see," White said. "He's a former champion at 205 pounds. He's a legend in the sport. I've had my issues with Vitor in the past, too, but to say that Vitor isn't a top contender at 185 is crazy.

"I'm just saying, in my opinion, [Anderson's"> got two more fights at 185."

Some MMA pundits have suggested that Silva is already at a point where a move to light heavyweight is necessity. They argue that Silva's complacency in recent outings proves he needs a tougher challenge, or that he should be forced in the division as a means of punishment for his recent sub-par performances. They say there are no big-money fights left in the wight class.

White said neither of those is the right reason for a switch.

"I believe that when you make a move like that, for me, it's always all about legacy," White said. "It's never about money or any of that [expletive">, so you have to clean out the division."

And White believes Silva is two wins away from that mark. In the end, it's Silva's decision to make, but White makes clear what he'll be suggesting for his middleweight champ.

Of course, there's one caveat.

"What he wants to do I think is keep his 185-pound title and fight at 205, which you can't do," White said. "You have to vacate that title and move up."

Post #2 » by **Walt Cronkite** » Sat May 8, 2010 3:10 am

I don't think it's a good idea to have Silva vacate the MW title to move up to LHW. If he wins the LHW title, then fine, have the MW title vacated, but if he moves up and can't claim the belt, then maybe he's just the UFC GOAT MW? I guess it's a good story for him to have to recapture the MW title after a failed LHW title run, just seems like an arbitrary decision for Dana to make as a qualifier to the class change.

Post #3 » by **Shaazzam** » Sat May 8, 2010 4:51 pm

I think he'll then move on to clean out the LHW division.

But if he vactes his belt after two ifghts, isn't his deal with the UFC finished? The champion clause won't be in play and that fulfills his contract numbers wise, doesn't it?

CapeCrusader · Post #4 » by **CapeCrusader** » Sun May 9, 2010 11:38 pm

After he beats Sonnen i think he should move up to LHW on his own. Especially now with Machida not champ no more...it would be a great time for Anderson to go up and face better talent.

REDDzone · Post #5 » by **REDDzone** » Sun May 9, 2010 11:45 pm

Don't like the idea of him "needing" to vacate it, although there are a ton of matchups for Anderson that I would loveeeeeeeee to see at 205 (Shogun/Silva would be outstanding).

cowboyronnie · Post #6 » by **cowboyronnie** » Sun May 9, 2010 11:53 pm

Shogun vs Silva would be the GOAT.

Post #7 » by **CPT** » Mon May 10, 2010 12:25 am

Yep. Shogun vs. Silva has become the fight I want to see most. At least, the one with the most realistic chance of happening.

I think they will hold off on it for a while though. Let Silva get through Sonnen, and probably Belfort (would still like to see Vitor fight someone else first, if only to stay busy), and let Shogun successfully defend once or twice as well (Rashad/Rampage winner, um...?).

Post #8 » by **Shaazzam** » Mon May 10, 2010 12:48 am

cowboyronnie wrote:Shogun vs Silva would be the GOAT.

Yeah man. About five minutes after Macheda was twitching on the canvas I was shouting for that fight.

Post #9 » by **Headliner** » Mon May 10, 2010 1:06 am

LOL that's a sweet sig.

And ya, Silva needs to move up now. Silva vs Shogun would be sick. After that...Silva vs Page, Vs Evans... man oh man.

cowboyronnie · Post #10 » by **cowboyronnie** » Mon May 10, 2010 1:47 am

Screw Sonnen, I say. Give him an apology and some NASCAR tickets, Silva is wanted elsewhere.

Post #11 » by **blkout** » Mon May 10, 2010 1:38 pm

cowboyronnie wrote:Screw Sonnen, I say. Give him an apology and some NASCAR tickets, Silva is wanted elsewhere.

+1. Whenever he talks about how he plans on taking it to Silva and not being afraid etc, the only reason anyone gets excited about it is because they know they're going to see a pretty quick knock-out.