Rumor: Silva vs. Akiyama in April?

The MMA rumor mill is pointing towards a different date for the probable fight between Yoshihiro Akiyama and Wanderlei Silva.

These two were expected to fight at UFC 115 in Vancouver this June. However, recent reports have indicated that the Vancouver location may be in doubt and with that uncertainty rumors are sharpening towards a possible Silva-Akiyama fight as part of an April 17th fight card to counter CBS' Strikeforce card.

Mike Chiappetta recently addressed the rumors:

It will be interesting to see if the UFC pulls the trigger on counter programming for the 17th. Zuffa is currently running a lot of shows this spring thanks to the backlog of talent and a counter show may deplete the talent on the turnover once the peek is over (middle summer).

Yet, Zuffa may see weakness in a CBS card not headlined by Fedor and may attack hoping that they can siphon off enough viewers to force (more) bad decisions in the Strikeforce/Showtime/CBS circle. Still, the UFC has only aired one true counter event and that was when Affliction made their debut and the UFC had Anderson Silva to jump up to light heavyweight on a Spike card. That incident was pay-per view versus cable television rather than network television vs. cable, which opens up a host of uncertainties. 

Obviously, being on cable reduces the ratings required to declare victory but that doesn't mean going head-to-head won't be risky. With most of the UFC's top talent already scheduled to fight they will be pressed to find fighters that can fight meaningful bouts while still draw in eyeballs with their star power. That is one reason why so many people believe Silva vs. Akiyama makes sense for a possible counter card, especially if it is spun as a possible number one contender bout (sorry Vitor).

The other rumor that exists out in the electronic ether is that the UFC will pull Kimbo Slice from UFC 113 and match him against James Toney on a Spike card. While that would certainly raise the ratings (Kimbo is still the biggest television draw in MMA) the UFC risks what Iole talked about yesterday. Not to mention MMA fans would witness a bizarre change of philosophy with Strikeforce putting on meaningful fights with top fighters while the UFC would be going to the "freak fight" well.