We may have to wait until 2010 for Anderson Silva to move to 205
by Zak Woods on Aug 11, 2009 10:01 AM EDT
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PrintDan Wetzel's column set off a fire storm of speculation when he wrote about the possibility of Anderson Silva abandoning the middleweight division for a permanent move to light heavyweight. While Silva certainly has the right and the ability to make the move it doesn't make a whole ton of sense for the UFC right now.
Currently the UFC is without main events for UFC 105 and 106. With Georges St. Pierre out due to an injury and the heavyweight title picture still cloudy the headliners for these two bouts will most likely fall to the middleweight and lightweight champions. UFC 105 may not need a title fight as it is an English fight card and Michael Bisping is rumored to be the headliner.
If we assume that the UFC will want to use Anderson as a headliner for a fight card later this year then it further reduces the likelyhood of move to 205lbs.
Since Silva already defeated the #4 ranked light heavyweight it seems safe to assume that the UFC will have to give him an upper echelon fighter. Here are the top-ten UFC light heavyweights according to SBN/USA Today's Consensus Rankings (just the UFC fighters).
- Lyoto Machida
- Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
- Rashad Evans
- Forrest Griffin
- Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
- Keith Jardine
- Luiz Cane
- Rich Franklin
- Thiago Silva
- Chuck Liddell
Seven of the top-ten UFC light heavyweights are already scheduled to fight (six are fighting one another).
- Thiago Silva vs. Keith Jardine at UFC 102 August 29th.
- Rich Franklin vs. Vitor Belfort at UFC 103 on September 19th.
- Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 104 on October 24th.
- Rashad Evans vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at UFC 107 on December 12th (rumored date).
Add Chuck Liddell to the list as he is on record saying he doesn't want to fight again until 2010. It also seems prudent to take Rich Franklin out of the running as he is 0-2 against Silva already.
Realistically the only two fighters on the list that would have enough time to fight Anderson in November would be the winner of Thiago Silva vs. Keith Jardine. Not exactly a sexy match-up for a fighter that just crushed the former light heavyweight champion.
The dark horse candidate to fight Anderson Silva at 205lbs. in 2009 would have to be Wanderlei Silva. A fight between the two Silvas would work as a main event for UFC 106 as Wanderlei has been trash talking Anderson for a some time now. Though the UFC would lose Michael Bisping's rumored opponent for UFC 105 but he could fight the loser of Maia vs. Marquardt or a lightweight title fight could swoop in to be the main event.
Ultimately the calender at 205lbs. is just too crowded for an immediate move up in weight. It makes far more sense for Anderson stay at 185lbs. and fight Dan Henderson at UFC 106. Besides that extra time could garner Silva with two new opponents, the winner of Maia vs. Marquardt and possibly Vitor Belfort.
We will just have to wait a little longer to see Silva permanently at 205.
[Update: Note by Zak Woods, 08/11/09 6:37 PM EDT ]
Ed Soares, Anderson Silva's manager, walked back from the possibility of a permanent move to 205lbs. in the immediate future.
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i just can’t see the axe murderer taking it to the spyder…..much as i love vanderlei…..he would pick him apart
Gatti. Dekkers. Pele. Aoki. Kang. Vanderlei.
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by theworldsoldestsport on Aug 11, 2009 10:12 AM EDT reply actions
yeah
totally a dark horse candidate as i thik Bisping-Wandy is a better fight for each division.
Really I see no reason why Anderson should leave 185. He can fight Hendo, winner of Maia-Marquardt, Belfort and Okami. That’s two years of meaningful/interesting fights
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Also
Him moving to 205 and dropping the MW title would let him out of the champion’s clause in his contract…
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hmmm didn’t consider that,
are we sure the wording is such that if your a former champion you can leave once ur contract is expired?
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This is something I’ve been wondering for a while now. I’ve seen it mentioned several times now that Silva might be considering abandoning his title just to avoid the Champions clause, but nobody seems to have the actual wording of that clause. I find it a little hard to believe that the UFC, so meticulous in drafting these things in the first place, would not have considered the possibility of somebody trying exactly that to avoid the clause. I’d be really interested in seeing what it actually says and whether just abandoning the title would be such an easy loophole.
by Kierkegaard on Aug 11, 2009 12:50 PM EDT up reply actions
would be really interesting to see several things in a legal debate if one were to occur,
1. If in the US would US courts honor the championship clause? (i dont think so)
2. if Silva leaves to fight in Brazil/Japan would the foreign courts honor the UFC legal opposition?
3. What legal basis would Zuffa use for exclusive permanent rights to a fighter after they become champion.
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It’s definitely interesting. I think it’s enforceability depends a lot on what it actually says — which we still don’t seem to know. Courts do enforce non-compete provisions all the time, at least up to a point. The champions clause seems to me pretty comparable in a lot of ways.
Abandoning a title just to get out of the championship clause is something that I’m sure Zuffa hasn’t given much consideration to. Otherwise, Dana would have been taken aback when Ed Soares and Anderson mentioned it as a possibility — instead, he salivated at the prospect of opening the division back up.
Crazy concept but A.Silva and Fedor are the only ones talented enough to exploit this potential loophole.
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for there ever to be a union/guild it is going to take a super star to make it happen
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Every other fighter in the world dreams of winning a UFC title and defending it. Absolutely insane that somebody would just want to dump it like an old pair of shoes.
Dana White should just bend and make the RJJ-Silva fight happen. It’s going to happen regardless, why would you let it take place under another roof?
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Abandoning a title just to get out of the championship clause is something that I’m sure Zuffa hasn’t given much consideration to. Otherwise, Dana would have been taken aback when Ed Soares and Anderson mentioned it as a possibility — instead, he salivated at the prospect of opening the division back up.
See, I had the exact opposite reaction. It seemed to me that Dana’s quick “salivation” at the prospect might just as well have indicated that Zuffa has considered it and that abandoning the title like that doesn’t automatically loophole someone out of the champions clause; otherwise, Dana would have paused or been hesitant to just jump at embracing the loophole.
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