For a long time now fans have been clamoring to see the pound for pound best fighter in the world, Anderson Silva, take on his teammate and close friend, WEC middlweight champion Paulo Filho. Both fighters have dismissed the fight in the past, saying that they would never fight one another due to their friendship. But Ed Soares, the manager for both Anderson Silva as well as Paulo Filho was recently a guest on MMA Weekly Radio and did not rule out a possible fight between the two top middleweight fighters sometime down the road:

“If that’s the fight that the world wants to see, then I guess we’re going to have to sit back and talk about it,” Soares said. “I think that’s going to be a hard one to get across to both sides. They’re friends, they’ve been together. But at the end of the day, it’s a business, and sometimes you’ve gotta go in there, and you shake hands. They’ve been on each other for free in training. I can just tell you that it would really have to be something that makes sense for both guys.”

Keep your fingers crossed, ladies and gentlemen. Before that fight comes close to happening however, Filho needs to take care of business against Chael Sonnen at WEC 36 in September. Filho is one of the only people at middleweight that many people believe can truly test Anderson Silva. It’s a fight that hardcores would drool over. Here’s to hoping that the two can come to a compromise as competitors and athletes.

HT: AOL Fanhouse

The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that the UFC has informed them that UFC 90 will be held on October 25 in Chicago at Allstate Arena and will be headlined by a middleweight title fight between current champion Anderson Silva and challenger Patrick Cote. Silva was originally supposed to face off against Yushin Okami but Okami broke his hand in training and Cote has been moved up into his spot. Patrick Cote, in comments made to the Sun-Times, is already starting the trash talk:

‘‘I’m telling all my friends to bet on me,’’ Cote said, ‘‘because they’re going to make a lot of money.’’

‘‘This guy will need 10 punches to my face to knock me out, and I’ll just need one,’’ Cote said. ‘‘I have a good chance. He won’t exchange with me, and I’m not scared of him.

‘‘He wins a lot of his fights before they start because his opponents are intimidated and scared of him. I’m not scared of anyone in my weight class, especially him.’’

Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t the man that Silva just annihilated, James Irvin, have something similar to say? Something about “I’ll take 30 of his punches to land 10 of my own”? A word of advice for Patrick Cote: let sleeping dogs lie, my friend. If there’s one thing in the UFC’s middleweight division that you do not want to do, it’s piss off Anderson Silva. We saw Silva pissed off at the beginning of the second round of his fight against Dan Henderson because Henderson more or less layed on him for the first round. Silva didn’t like that, and in response, he went to work on Henderson with a barrage of strikes before choking him out. I understand that Cote wants to talk a big game to put hype behind a fight that otherwise has no hype around it, but I have a feeling that he will learn a serious lesson inside the cage.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com has updated its rankings. With three major events held over the weekend (UFN 14, Affliction: Banned, and DREAM.5), there was cause for significant movement in almost every weight class.

Below is our new top-ten pound-for-pound list. And after Anderson Silva’s dominant win in a new weight class, I felt compelled to move him to the top of my list.

After the top-ten list, you will find a summary of changes made to the top-ten rankings in each individual weight class. To see the rankings in their entirety, just click here.

5 Oz. Top 10 Pound-for-Pound:

1. Anderson Silva - I’ve been impressed with Anderson Silva before he ever set foot in the UFC. However, I didn’t have him ranked as my top pound-for-pound fighter until now. He’s dominated the middle class and showed at UFC Fight Night 14 that he’s also a threat at light heavyweight as well. He not only beat James Irvin, he did it with one punch in 61 seconds. While his wrestling game might not be the best, aside from Travis Lutter, who has been able to expose it?
2. Fedor Emelianenko - Based on pure fighting ability, a case could be made that Fedor belongs at number one. Is there a human being a live that can take him? The complaint against Fedor was that he wasn’t fighting top contenders. Well, he makes a huge jump in the 5 Oz. pound-for-pound rankings because he posted a dominant victory at Affliction: Banned against a top ten heavyweight in Tim Sylvia in just 36 seconds.
3. Georges St. Pierre - Due to no fault of his own, he drops. I just couldn’t find a reason to keep him ranked ahead of Fedor and Silva following their outstanding performances. If St. Pierre can up the stakes and defeat Jon Fitch in dominant fashion, it could provide reason to move him back up the rankings.
4. B.J. Penn - He is an amazing pure fighter and he’s fighting frequently again and dominating the way he’s supposed to. Wins over Jens Pulver, Joe Stevenson, and Sean Sherk are all considered quality victories. He has the ability and he once again has the credentials.
5. Urijah Faber - The complaint that Faber wasn’t beating the top fighters in his class is no longer valid following back-to-back wins over Jeff Curran and Jens Pulver. Pulver took Faber the distance, but that’s more a testament to Pulver’s ability than a knock against Faber. Faber looked great in that fight and showed his striking prowess is beginning to rival his ability on the ground.
6. Miguel Torres - Torres is the most underrated fighter in MMA and made a huge jump in my top 10 following his amazing win over Yoshiro Maeda. Torres’ grappling ability is world class but his striking also is world class as well. How do you gameplan for a fighter that is world class in every possible area a fight can go? I don’t think there is anyone at 135 pounds that can touch this guy right now.
7. Randy Couture - I had no choice but to move him down. Yes, he’s much better than the seventh-ranked best fighter in the world, but it’s almost been a year since his last fight. The longer he stays away, the harder it becomes to justify a top ten ranking.
8. Forrest Griffin - This may seem like an awkward spot for Griffin considering he doesn’t have the dynamic abilities normally reserved for top ten pound-for-pound fighters. He’s not a jiu-jitsu savant; not a world class striker; nor is he an accomplished wrestler. Griffin is simply good at fighting. He is world class when it comes to intangibles; few fighters work harder in the gym and few fighters can absorb the punishment that he absorbs. Critics can snicker at this ranking all they want, but the bottom line is that Griffin is in sole possession of the most prestigious title in all of MMA and that alone should account for something.
9. Lyoto Machida - Moving him into the top-ten became a no-brainer after his decisive win over Tito Ortiz at UFC 84. His resume is impressive, as he is undefeated and has wins over top ten fighters in my 185 lbs. and 205 lbs. rankings. From a pure fighting standpoint, Machida’s standup skills are strong and his ground skills are underrated. You may not like his fighting style, but you can’t deny the fact that he is without question one of the top fighters in the world.
10. Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto - As an overall fighter, Yamamoto is amazing. If we did a top ten pound-for-pound best fighters list that only looked at ability and technique, he’d be top ten without question. However, his recent injury is not going to help his stock considering he just recently came back from a long layoff. If someone on the cusp of the P4P top ten makes a strong run, they could debut at Yamamoto’s expense.

Read the rest of this entry »

MMA Rated conducted an interview with Brandon Vera where he puts to rest rumors that he dodged a fight against Lyoto Machida at the July 19th UFC Fight Night 15 show as well as confirms that he was offered a fight against Wanderlei Silva and Dan Henderson but says they were in no shape to take the fight at that time.

After turning down a potential proposed light heavyweight bout vs. Brandon Vera at UFC Fight Night 14 on July 19, attention has turned to Wanderlei Silva’s next fight, which could take place in the fall.

According to the June 23 print edition of the Wrestling Observer, Silva’s likely next opponent is undefeated light heavyweight prospect Thiago Silva. The bout could take place in October despite the fact that Wanderlei Silva has reportedly asked not to be scheduled to fight again until December.

The Observer indicated that Wanderlei Silva was given a choice of facing either Thiago Silva or Lyoto Machida. A specific reason for while Thiago Silva is considered the more likely option than Machida was not given, although Dave Meltzer indicated that the UFC is having trouble finding willing opponents for Machida.

Silva returned to the UFC this past December following a nine-year stint in PRIDE. The fighter affectionately known as “The Axe Murderer” lost his re-debut at UFC 79, dropping a unanimous decision to Chuck Liddell. Silva bounced back with a win at UFC 84 in May, needing just 36 seconds to knock out Keith Jardine.

Thiago Silva is 4-0 since entering the UFC and holds notable wins over James Irvin, Tomasz Drwal, and Houston Alexander. He most recently fought at UFC 84 in May, where he submitted Antonio Mendes in the first round via punches.

Over the past few months, there has been a lot of talk of Wanderlei Silva moving to middleweight.

That possibility was put to rest for the time being.

There is one interesting fight for Wanderlei Silva at 185. There are many interesting fights for Wanderlei at 205,” said Dana White.

With his complete domination of Keith Jardine at UFC 84, Silva has put himself back in the main event picture for a possible rematch with Chuck Liddell or, with a few more wins, a potential light heavyweight title shot sometime in 2009.

White was also not against another bout with Liddell.

A Chuck Liddell - Wanderlei Silva fight could happen again,” said White.

Silva, however, did not completely rule out a switch in the future.

I could make 185,” said Silva.

I know the UFC’s top weight class has always been the light heavyweight division, but the middleweight division is badly in need of an injection of some sort of talent. Fellow Brazilian Anderson Silva has just demolished the competition to the point where there really isn’t anyone interesting for him to fight. Clearly, a Silva vs. Silva fight (if the fighters are willing to do it) is much more intriguing option than an Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami match.

Plus, a fight with Rich Franklin or a rematch with Dan Henderson definitely has some luster to it.

Even though the Liddell fight is a much bigger attraction, the opportunity to help save a division could be a much better choice. Wanderlei Silva can either be a small fish in a big pond (205) or a big fish in a small pond (185).

Click here for more 5 Oz. of Pain UFC 84-related content.

Some very intriguing audio from the UFC’s conference call this week to promote UFC 84 has surfaced on the Internet.

The audio, which can be heard by clicking here, consists of Canadian Press reporter Neil Davidson asking UFC president Dana White about the recent cuts made by the promotion.

“Is there an ongoing, sort of, pruning of your roster right now?,” Davidson began to ask. “There have been some fighters that have been let go; Travis Lutter, Joe Doerksen, (and) Jake O’Brien. How would you describe this? Is this business as usual or did you just get to the point where you had to reduce (the roster). Is there more change than normal?,” asked Davidson.

To which White responded:

“Yeah, no, it’s nothing abnormal at all. At the end the day, the UFC, like I say all the time, it’s the place where all of the best fighters in the world fight. After you lose a few, or whatever, you have to go back down and get some wins and come back.”

Later, White had some very vague yet ominous words about light heavyweight Wanderlei Silva.

“Wanderlei Silva obviously though has to get a win,” White stated. “I mean, this guy has to win some fights here to stay in the UFC.”

No, White didn’t say that Silva will be cut if he loses to Keith Jardine next Saturday in Las Vegas. However, he does have a six-figure guarantee and the UFC is indeed trimming its roster. Nothing is for certain, but if Silva doesn’t beat Jardine, would it be a shock if the UFC released him? If a fighter loses two consecutive fights, the UFC has the option to cut the contract. At the very least, I would think that the UFC would ask Silva to re-negotiate his current deal.

Here’s a nice little sampler for UFC 84: Ill Will on May 24th with some hype for the main three fights: BJ Penn vs. Sean Sherk, Tito Ortiz vs. Lyoto Machida, and Keith Jardine vs. Wanderlei Silva. If you’re not at least pumped for Penn vs. Sherk, then I don’t know if you’re a fan of mixed martial arts.

HT: Bloody Elbow

You gotta see this. Wanderlei Silva working out in snorkel gear.

Thanks to Raw Vegas for the vid.

Check out more Wanderlei Silva content on FiveOuncesofPain.com

According to Wanderlei Silva’s personal blog, he is signing the bout agreement to fight Keith Jardine at UFC 84. MMA Weekly has the translation from Silva’s blog:

“I’m leaving right now to sign the Jardine fight contract and you are the first ones to know officially,” said Silva on his website on Friday. “I am starting to train hard again to be able to get the victory.”

“This week I went to talk to (Randy) Couture and I’ve asked him to be my new coach. He was very happy with my wish and he will teach me some wrestling. I’ll be doing the fighting training with his athletes in a time where everybody train together.”

So there you have it. Looks like we can stop speculating now as it looks like this fight is almost a certainty. Certainly another good fight to look forward to and it’s no cupcake fight for either guy. It will be interesting to see how Jardine’s kicks will affect Wanderlei’s game during the fight. Will they have the same effect that they did on Chuck Liddell?

Liddell is a guy that likes to reset and then let his hands go and Jardine’s kicks always made him stop and reset. With Wanderlei, he has a style where he comes right at you so he may be willing to eat a lot of kicks in order to close the distance on Jardine. Let’s also not forget that Jardine was manhandled in the clinch by Houston Alexander. Silva’s clinch game is lightyears ahead of Houston’s.

Former Pride middleweight champion (205 lbs.), Wanderlei Silva has hinted at a move to middleweight on his official website.

The following has been translated on WanderleiSilva.com.br:

There will be a fight of Anderson Silva against Dan Henderson that will be a great fight, and if Dan Henderson wins it, I don’t think twice about lowering my weight to fight him,

This is a little surprising considering that the ‘Axe Murderer’ has stated previously in an interview with Yahoo! Sports that he couldn’t cut to middleweight as it would be too much weight to cut.

According to GracieMag.com, Silva’s physical trainer, Rafael Alejarra has also said that the Pride legend is considering a move to middleweight.

From Rafael Alejarra on GracieMag.com:

Wanderlei made the most of his holidays to rest his body and mind. But we’ve already done a bit of training this weekend and starting tomorrow things will pick up. As we only just got back now and today is a holiday here (Las Vegas) we can’t confirm anything about the next fight, if just because there is the chance Wand will drop down in weight. Every fight and adversary is different, which is why we have to wait to define our training plan. If he should drop to middleweight, we will work on his losing weight and preserving his muscle mass, losing only water and fat and not strength and size, since he normally weight 98 kilos (216 lbs.). But nothing’s for sure yet, we’ll wait and see.

Read more Wanderlei Silva content on FiveOuncesOfPain.com.

At the UFC 81 press conference, Dana White came very close to announcing who Wanderlei Silva’s next opponent would be - stopping short at the last second per Joe Silva’s urging.

One thing White did confirm though was when the match-up will take place.

Wanderlei Silva will be fighting on the May card,” White said.

Earlier in the evening, I spoke with Keith Jardine. Jardine stated the following about his future:

The UFC wants me to have a high profile big fight - a main event quality fight. So, it should be somebody really good - hopefully in May,” said Jardine.

Looking at the list of potential opponents for Jardine in May, I can only see one fighter that is not busy who fits the profile of being a main event or co-main event fight. That is Wanderlei Silva. The fact that Silva is also scheduled to be fighting in May appears to make the match-up all the more likely.

Jardine and Silva would make for an excellent battle. For Jardine, a victory would have to put him in position to challenge Forrest Griffin if (and that is a very big if) Griffin defeats Rampage Jackson for the UFC light heavyweight championship. For Silva, he will have the opportunity to be at the top of another UFC card with an opponent he is guaranteed to make an exciting fight with.

When: May 24, ‘08
Where: Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand
Watch: PPV

Main Event is the Lightweight Title grudge match between Interim champ BJ Penn and suspended champ Sean Sherk.

Here’s the latest on the UFC 84 event:

Main Card
• B.J. Penn vs. Sean Sherk (UFC Lightweight Title)
• Wanderlei Silva vs. Keith Jardine
• Tito Ortiz vs. Lyoto Machida
• Antonio Mendes vs. Thiago Silva
• Goran Reljic vs. Wilson Gouveia

Prelim Card

• Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura
• Dong-Hyun Kim vs. Jason Tan
• Shane Carwin vs. Christian Wellisch
• Ivan Salaverry vs. Rousimar Palhares
• Jeremy Stephens vs. Terry Etim
• John Koppenhaver vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida

Fight card subject to change; bouts will be added as we confirm them.

Check out more UFC 84 content on 5 Oz. of Pain.

Dave Meltzer thinks that these are the two most likely matchups for “The Iceman”:

UFC has yet to decide what is next for Liddell, but the two most viable options are a rematch with Keith Jardine, who upset Liddell via split decision Sept. 22, or coming right back with another match with Silva, with the odds stronger in the direction of the latter match.

It’s hard to understand why either of these fights would be the most viable options. Keith Jardine elevated himself when he beat Chuck Liddell in September. Why should he have to fight him again so soon?

As for a potential rematch with Wanderlei Silva, why make it so soon? Why not wait to have the fight at a later date when a title shot or a title itself is on the line? Sure, everyone would love to see those two go at it again but let’s not milk the money cow dry here. A rematch between Liddell and Silva is a fight that Dana White and company can put in their back pocket for use at a later date in time. Everyone wants to see them go at it again so the fight will sell whether it has title implications or not. And if the fight does end up having title implications then that’s even better for the UFC and company.

My personal view is that the UFC has already decided to give Chuck another title shot granted he beats his next opponent. His next opponent won’t be someone as tough as Silva or Jardine because the UFC wants their guy to have another chance to wear the gold. They’ve spent years building Liddell into a star and during mixed martial arts’ biggest year ever, Chuck Liddell was on the backburner for much of it following two consecutive losses. That’s why they won’t have him fight Silva or Jardine. Too much of a risk for their golden boy.

Check out more Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva content on FiveOuncesofPain.com

In Jake Rossen’s latest Sherdog.com column, he assumes the role of fantasy matchmaker and unveils eight matches he’d like to see happen in 2008.

Leading off the list is a proposed match between Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort, at 185 lbs. Rossen’s pitch for this match is yet another public call for Silva to move from middleweight:

Like a vegetarian at a pig roast, doubters of Wanderlei Silva (Pictures)’s abilities have long been accused of obnoxious counter-thinking. But while he put up a spectacularly courageous fight against Chuck Liddell (Pictures) in December, the Axe Murderer’s prospects as a light heavyweight seem modest at best.

Against Tito Ortiz (Pictures) or Rashad Evans (Pictures), a decision loss seems a likely outcome, the template of which was set by Ortiz in 2000 and Ricardo Arona (Pictures) in 2005; against calculating strikers like Liddell, Silva might find himself perpetually stuck outside the pocket.

An inflated 205er (and you can read as much subtext into that as you wish), Silva’s frame seems more naturally suited for 185 pounds. With the recognizable Vitor Belfort (Pictures) considering a similar drop, now seems like a reasonable time for a rematch of their classic 1998 fight, one which saw the mythical “old Vitor” slice through Silva’s defenses like a broadsword.

First, I couldn’t disagree more with Rossen’s statement that a potential match between Evans and Silva would likely result in a decision loss for Silva. Silva had trouble with Chuck Liddell because of Liddell’s reach advantage. Evans would not have that advantage. Silva could sit in the pocket and punish Evans without having to worry about paying too steep of a price.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REMAINDER OF THIS ARTICLE ON SAM CAPLAN’S PROELITE.COM BLOG

Former Pride Middleweight Champion, Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva has posted a blog entry on his website regarding his fight with former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell.

In a translated excerpt from the blog entry, Silva really doesn’t seem to show any disappointment in losing and just seems to be pleased in that it was a good fight and he was able to please his fans.

I really did give it my best and I’m here to prove I’ll take on anyone at all to prove Brazilians are macho and go all the way to the end. I’d like to thank all my fans. Were you excited? I’m just happy to have made you all enthusiastic!! It was worth it for the fans, my crew…and now let’s go for the next one!!

It is good to see that Silva still appears energetic to fight and I for one can’t wait to see him back in there. If you can read Portuguese you can read more of that blog at his official website.

Read More On FiveOuncesOfPain.com.

Dana White was very excited when speaking about the Chuck Liddell - Wanderlei Silva match. After hearing White’s comments, I would not be surprised at all if Liddell and Silva met again.

“Chuck and Wanderlei was a great fight. If Chuck and Wanderlei makes sense again, and the fans want it, we’ll do it,” White said.

With the UFC spending so much time and effort putting the first fight together, I can clearly see the company’s motivation in signing a rematch. A lot of that will depend on the buy-rates for UFC 79. Nevertheless, Liddell and Silva was a classic. The fight easily met expectations if not exceed them.

Any fight Liddell is in instantly becomes a match in the main event or the semi main-event. Looking down the roster of light heavyweights right now, the name that really pops out as a viable opponent for Liddell is Lyoto Machida. While that would be an interesting fight for true MMA fans. I don’t know that it would be the draw that Liddell-Silva II would be.

With Silva being new to the UFC, there are a lot more potential options available - a Tito Ortiz rematch? maybe Houston Alexander if he gets an impressive win under his belt? Even Stephan Bonnar has talked about fighting Silva.

Of all those names though, Liddell appears to be the one that jumps out the most. With everyone already seeing the great match-up the first fight was, the rematch may be inevitable.

The video is branded UFC.com, but it appears on ESPN.com with embed code so I’m thinking this video is fair game.

In this video, Chuck Liddell talks about his strategy and whether the decision to shoot for takedowns vs. Wanderlei Silva was made before or during the fight.