Everything surrounding UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva lately has swirled about anything but defending his 185-pound divisional title, and everything points to the likelihood that he won’t be defending the belt anytime soon.
The last time he did so was earlier this year in July in a rematch against Chael Sonnen. He won the fight then went on to help save UFC 153 from cancellation by fighting Stephan Bonnar in a 205-pound non-title bout.
Silva has since indicated that he’s got several personal projects that he wants to focus on, plus, he has a target on Georges St-Pierre as his next opponent. If he does get the fight with St-Pierre, it would be a superfight, not a title bout.
If he doesn’t intend to defend the belt anytime in the near future – we’re already going on nearly five months without any word of a title defense in view – should an interim UFC middleweight champion be crowned?
Michael Bisping – the UFC’s self-proclaimed No. 1 middleweight contender – believes so. He’s scheduled to fight Vitor Belfort in January at UFC on FX 7 in Brazil, and feels that their fight is worthy of championship status.
“Me vs. Vitor Belfort in Brazil in January should be for the Interim Middleweight Title,” Bisping wrote in a Thanksgiving message to his fans this week. “With (Chris) Weidman out, I think me vs Vitor is a worthy Interim Title fight. Way more worthy than Urijah Favor’s 2354987th title shot and, and I would defend my Interim Title against all-comers and keep the division moving.”
Weidman has been regarded as the top contender to Silva’s title, or at least among the top two alongside Bisping, but he recently ended up on the sidelines with a shoulder injury.
Bisping feels like that leaves he and Belfort as the logical choice for an interim title bout. And he’s probably right… if there is to be one. To Read the Rest of the Story GO HERE
The last time he did so was earlier this year in July in a rematch against Chael Sonnen. He won the fight then went on to help save UFC 153 from cancellation by fighting Stephan Bonnar in a 205-pound non-title bout.
Silva has since indicated that he’s got several personal projects that he wants to focus on, plus, he has a target on Georges St-Pierre as his next opponent. If he does get the fight with St-Pierre, it would be a superfight, not a title bout.
If he doesn’t intend to defend the belt anytime in the near future – we’re already going on nearly five months without any word of a title defense in view – should an interim UFC middleweight champion be crowned?
Michael Bisping – the UFC’s self-proclaimed No. 1 middleweight contender – believes so. He’s scheduled to fight Vitor Belfort in January at UFC on FX 7 in Brazil, and feels that their fight is worthy of championship status.
“Me vs. Vitor Belfort in Brazil in January should be for the Interim Middleweight Title,” Bisping wrote in a Thanksgiving message to his fans this week. “With (Chris) Weidman out, I think me vs Vitor is a worthy Interim Title fight. Way more worthy than Urijah Favor’s 2354987th title shot and, and I would defend my Interim Title against all-comers and keep the division moving.”
Weidman has been regarded as the top contender to Silva’s title, or at least among the top two alongside Bisping, but he recently ended up on the sidelines with a shoulder injury.
Bisping feels like that leaves he and Belfort as the logical choice for an interim title bout. And he’s probably right… if there is to be one. To Read the Rest of the Story GO HERE
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