The Champion: Anderson Silva
The Top Contender: ?
The Next Tier:
· Yushin Okami
· Nate Marquardt
· Michael Bisping
· Dan Henderson
· Demian Maia
· Thales Leites
· Patrick Cote
· Chael Sonnen
On the Rise:
· Demian Maia
· Michael Bisping
Other Notables:
· Denis Kang
· Rousimar Palhares
· Martin Kampmann
· Chris Leben
· Ricardo Almeida
· Nate Quarry
· Jason MacDonald
· Wilson Gouveia
· Goran Reljic
· Dan Miller
· Dean Lister
· Kendall Grove
· Alan Belcher
· Ed Herman
· Jorge Rivera
· Alessio Sakara
· C.B. Dolloway
· Mike Massenzio
· Matt Horwich
· Jake Rosholt
· Amir Sadollah
Scheduled Fights:
· Nate Loughran vs. Tim Credeur at UFC Fight Night 16 on December 10
· Jason MacDonald vs. Wilson Gouveia at TUF 8 Finale on December 13
· Yushin Okami vs. Dean Lister at UFC 92 on December 27
· C.B. Dolloway vs. Mike Massenzio at UFC 92 on December 27
· Denis Kang vs. Alan Belcher at UFC 93 on January 17
Match Ups I’d Like to See:
· Yushin Okami vs. Anderson Silva
· Thales Leites vs. Rousimar Palhares
· Demian Maia vs. Michael Bisping
Other Thoughts:
· The UFC Middleweight division is very, very underrated! I believe it is because of Anderson Silva’s dominance. The middleweight division does not have a clear number 1 contender, but from top to bottom I would put this division with any. Albeit, the UFC’s competitors have some middleweight talents in the likes of guys like Gegard Mousasi, Jacare, Vitor Belfort, Matt Lindland, Jorge Santiago,and Kazuo Misaki. Not to mention the few solid middleweights from EliteXC such as Robbie Lawler, Joey Villasenor, Scott Smith, Frank Shamrock and Benji Radach. The UFC is sure to pick some of those guys up
· Rumor has it the UFC is in negotiations with top middleweight Yoshihio Akiyama. I do not know if they call pull him away from DREAM and Sengoku, but that would be a huge add.
· The middleweight division is growing with adds like signing Denis Kang, the move of WEC’s division which will add Chael Sonnen and Jake Rosholt as well as guys like Aaron Simpson and Danillo Vilefort likely to come over.
· Paulo Filho will not be in the UFC…yet.
· TUF 9 will feature middleweight coaches with Michael Bisping being a lock. The other names being thrown around are Dan Henderson, Rich Franklin, Nate Marquardt and even Demian Maia
Filed under: Alan Belcher, Alessio Sakara, Amir Sadollah, Anderson Silva, C.B. Dolloway, Chael Sonnen, Chris Leben, Dan Henderson, Dan Miller, David Loiseau, Dean Lister, Demian Maia, Denis Kang, Drew McFedries, Ed Hermann, Frank Shamrock, Gegard Mousasi, Georges St. Pierre, Goran Reljic, Jake Rosholt, Jason MacDonald, Joey Villasenor, Jorge Rivera, Kalib Starnes, Kazuo Misaki, Kendall Grove, Martin Kampmann, Matt Horwich, Matt Lindland, Matthew Riddle, Michael Bisping, Mike Massenzio, Murilio "Ninja" Rua, Nate Marquardt, Nate Quarry, Patrick Cote, Paulo Filho, Ricardo Almeida, Rich Franklin, Robbie Lawler, Ronaldo "Jacare" de Souza, Rousimar Palhares, Scott Smith, Thales Leites, Tim Credeur, TUF 9: U.K. vs. USA, UFC 93, UFC 94: St. Pierre vs. Penn II, UFC Fight Night 16, Vitor Belfort, Wilson Gouveia, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Yushin Okami | Tagged: Alan Belcher, Alessio Sakara, Amir Sadollah, Anderson Silva, C.B. Dolloway, Chael Sonnen, Chris Leben, Dan Henderson, Dan Miller, Dean Lister, Demian Maia, Denis Kang, Ed Herman, Gegard Mousasi, Goran Reljic, Jake Rosholt, Jason MacDonald, Jorge Rivera, Kendall Grove, Martin Kampmann, Matt Horwich, Michael Bisping, Mike Massenzio, Nate Marquardt, Nate Quarry, Patrick Cote, Ricardo Almeida, Rich Franklin, Robbie Lawler, Ronaldo "Jacare" de Souza, Rousimar Palhares, Thales Leites, Tim Credeur, UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008, UFC 93, UFC Fight Night 16, Wilson Gouveia, Yushin Okami | Leave a comment »