Kimura

...challenge Anderson Silva for the Middleweight crown? I could actually see the UFC bring Victor Belfort back. The guy has looked really good in his last two fights, beating Terry Martin and Matt Lindland. He seems to be back on track and he's on a 4 fights winning streak.

I know Anderson Silva would still be the favourite, but I could see Belfort pull an upset here. Also, there's no one in the UFC right now, that can really challenge The Spider. Bisping could, but he is fighting Hendo.

So what do you guys think?

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da one enigma

I don't think Bisping would have much of a shot against Anderson. He hasn't developed enough as of yet. Unfortunately, I don't see him making it past Hendo either at the end of the TUF season. I think it's going to be a big setback for the Count.

As for Belfort coming over to challenge The Spider, I think it's a good idea. I don't really think anyone in UFC's middleweight division, that Silva hasn't already beaten, can really give him a run for his money except for maybe Demian Maia, who I think would get mauled anyway. Belfort has the best chance of any middleweight in the world of beating Silva.

...But i still see him losing.

Dmac

Leave it to Bisping to prove everyone wrong, I see him taking the decision, split or unanimous I don't know but decision none the less.

As for Belfort, I really don't think he could hack it at the top level anymore, I have seen him fighting aroudn the smaller orgs and until he retires I think that is fine for him.

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Twist of lEMOn

Bisping gets KO'd within two rounds, if Hendo couldn't last, a guy who gets rocked by the likes of Elvis Sinosic and Matt Hamill wont last to a 5 round decision.

Belfort would at least be a interesting challenge, hes got the size to get some sort of a advantage and wont stand around a lot like James Irvin did. I'd like to see it at some point.

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Dmac

Last time I checked, it says he beat both Hammil and Sinosic and... why would a none title be 5 rounds Shawn?

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Kimura

To be fair, he clearly lost to Matt Hamill. That was the worst judging ever.

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Dmac

I don't beleive I said he did, I said that it says he won.

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Kimura

Yes I guess you did.

I know Bisping gets a lot of heat in the MMA community, but most of it is undeserved.

The guy is 17 and 1 and his only loss came against the current UFC Lightheavyweight Champion. That match was really close and some people even think he actually won that fight.

He also showed a lot of resiliency against Elvis. He was rocked in that fight and still managed to comeback and win.

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Dmac

You need to tell me, I'm a big Bisping fan.

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Bigpapa42

I do think a Belfort-Silva fight could be very interesting. I don't know that Belfort would be the man to topple Silva, but he has the tools to make it interesting. Belfort is a Gracia black belt, so he wouldn't be at a disadvantage if it goes to ground. As for standing, Belfort's hand-speed and power might be able to counter Silva's accuracy, speed, power, and unreal Muay Thai. I would say Belfort woudl be a more interesting match-up to Silva than most anyone that the UFC has at middleweight, and that includes Bisping.

Belfort is interesting. He's a fighter who has gone from overrated to underrated, and his impressive win over Lindland could push him back into overrated. He's a guy who has always been on the cusp of being top level fighter, but never quite there. All 8 of his losses have come against top-level fighters (assuming you consider Tito Ortiz that). That's understandable. The problem is that few of his wins have come over those top-level fighters. Only his wins over Wanderlei Silva, Randy Couture, and now arguably Lindland. Its been a long while since Belfort had a win over a really note-worthy opponent. Lindland is arguably a quality win for much the same reason, as Lindland has few wins of note in the past few years. I think Belfort is a really good fighter who's not quite great, and part of the reason is that he lacks the consistency required. And as for Belfort being "old", he's only 31. Two years older than Bisping and a year younger than Hammill.

Ah, Bisping. Common topic of arguement for MMA fans. I think it comes down to the fact that he has name recognition (TUF, plus headlining some lesser shows) which leads to some believing he's an established top-level fighter. The doubters - which I guess you could lump me into - will argue that he's not a top level fighter because he quite simply has not proven it yet. Its not that I think Bisping is untalented or incapable of becoming a top-level fighter, just that I think he has to prove it first. What wins of note does he have? Bisping has faced one top-level fighter in Evans, and he lost. Split decision, but he lost. His biggest wins are over Matt Hammill and Chris Leben. Both are solid fighters but nothing above UFC average. And I say that because despite some potential (moreso for Hammil), neither have any real wins of note. Leben is closest with a win over Cote, who's somewhat above average but kind of inconsistent (and a bit overrated since he got a title shot against Silva that he didn't earn).

I feel that the UFC has done with Bisping much the same as they did with Roger Huerta - put him against a series of relatively mediocre opponents who he should beat (on paper, at least) to build him up. They're trying to appeal to a particular demographic with both - British fans with Bisping, Hispanic fans with Huerta. When Heurta got matched against a top caliber opponent (supposedly because he asked for big money on his new contract), he got exposed. Florian, like Sherk, is a class below BJ Penn at LW but a class above pretty much everyone else in the weight division. Heurta looked relatively out of his depth against Florian. Will the same thing happen to Bisping? I'm not sure. Bisping's UFC opponents have, for the most part, been a bit better quality than Heurta's were prior to Florian. Now, if Bisping gets a win over Henderson, I'll be impressed. That would obviously be a quality win, despite Hendo's age. But until that happens, I'll continue to believe Bisping is just a decent fighter with potential who has yet to prove he's more than that.

Now, as for Belfort and the UFC, I don't see it as likely. Simple reason - money. Belfort got $200k for the Affliction fight. Dont' know the breakdown - could be $100k for show and $100k for win, $150k for show and $50k for win, or even just $200k outright. But that's a sizable payday - there are not too many UFC fighters getting that. In name value, I think Belfort could be comparable to Bisping. I'm not sure exactly what Bisping is making right now, as the last fight with released figures was way back in December 2006, when he made $24k ($12k show + $12k win). He's been given a new contract since, so I'm guessing he's making much more. Let's say Bisping gets $100k per fight ($50k show + $50k win), which puts him on a similar level to the likes of Florian and Gonzaga. If that was the case, signing Belfort for his current payrate would mean twice as much as Bisping for a fighter with a similar profile. If Belfort signs a multi-fight deal for big money, then loses against Silva, he basically becomes a highly-paid gatekeeper. It doesn't make financial sense. And there isn't that much reason for Belfort to take a big paycut, because even if Affliction folds, there are still Japanese promotions paying money. Plus Japan offers the appeal of big money sponsorships compared to America. Its the same reason that the UFC probably won't go after any of the top quality middleweights out there who could probably offer Silva a better fight than almost anyone else the UFC has.

The UFC is in a pretty safe place with this. If Bisping beats Henderson, he's legitimately earned a shot at Silva. Bisping-Silva is a money fight for the UFC. Not quite a superfight, unless Bisping also beat Franklin first (highly unlikely). If Bisping loses to Henderson, they can do something like a Silva-Henderson rematch, a Silva-GSP superfight, or just keep putting mid-level fighters in there against Silva to destroy to keep building his superhuman aura further. Any which way, the UFC is going to keep selling PPVs and keep making money.