Anderson Silva Cool to Belfort Bout
Jake Rossen Oct 14, 2009
On a bad day, nothing less than Mothra would appear to get Anderson
Silva out of bed in the morning. The UFC’s middleweight
champion and manager Ed Soares told MMA Weekly that they take some
issue with Vitor
Belfort being chosen as Silva’s next contender. (The bout is
rumored for January 2.)
“Vitor has not fought in the UFC at 185 pounds,” Soares said. “Now, I know people can say Anderson fought for the belt after one fight, and that’s true, but he fought at 185 pounds. At 195 pounds, he [Belfort] didn’t make weight, at first. So he couldn’t make weight at 195 pounds, but now he’s going to fight for the title at 185 pounds?”
That might be construed as unfair: while Belfort did come in over the 195 catch weight limit for Franklin, he had also been preparing to fight Fedor Emelianenko in a heavyweight contest the previous month. Prior to that, he had no issues clocking in at 185 for fights with Matt Lindland and Terry Martin.
Soares maintains the winner of a Nate Marquardt/Dan Henderson fight deserves the honor, but there’s little reason why Silva can’t occupy himself with Belfort while those two pummel each other. Better, a Belfort bout is going to be an easier sell -- which could mean more money if Silva has a revenue share -- than a rematch against a guy he previously obliterated.
“Vitor has not fought in the UFC at 185 pounds,” Soares said. “Now, I know people can say Anderson fought for the belt after one fight, and that’s true, but he fought at 185 pounds. At 195 pounds, he [Belfort] didn’t make weight, at first. So he couldn’t make weight at 195 pounds, but now he’s going to fight for the title at 185 pounds?”
That might be construed as unfair: while Belfort did come in over the 195 catch weight limit for Franklin, he had also been preparing to fight Fedor Emelianenko in a heavyweight contest the previous month. Prior to that, he had no issues clocking in at 185 for fights with Matt Lindland and Terry Martin.
Soares maintains the winner of a Nate Marquardt/Dan Henderson fight deserves the honor, but there’s little reason why Silva can’t occupy himself with Belfort while those two pummel each other. Better, a Belfort bout is going to be an easier sell -- which could mean more money if Silva has a revenue share -- than a rematch against a guy he previously obliterated.
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