Chuck Liddell vs. Anderson Silva, Forrest Griffin vs. Wanderlei Silva Possible In December
The UFC’s year-end event is typically the promotion’s most-stacked card of the year and this year should be no exception.
In the headline bout of the December 27th event, UFC 92, “The Ultimate Fighter 8″ coaches, interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and former heavyweight champion Frank Mir, are set to square off for the UFC’s heavyweight title and joining them with co-main event status could be one of three top matchups.
According to NBCSports.com the UFC is likely to sweeten the pot for UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre in an attempt to convince him take on UFC lightweight champion BJ Penn at the December event (as opposed to early-2009). However, if that bout fails to materialize UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva could return to the 205-pound light heavyweight division to take on former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell or newly-crowned light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin could put his title on the line against former PRIDE champion Wanderlei Silva.
“[Anderson Silva vs. Chuck Liddell] has a few obstacles in its path,” said the NBCSports.com report. “Liddell is fighting in September, so assuming he wins, he’d have enough time to recover. But Silva is competing on Oct. 25 against Patrick Cote. He’d have to come out of that match unscathed and take a fight with only two months to prepare against Liddell.”
“Some have suggested Forrest Griffin’s first title defense as a possibility, and the only contender that will be ready by Dec. 27 is Wanderlei Silva, so if Griffin were to defend the belt on that night, it would likely be against the “Axe Murderer”,” the report continued. “Silva, however, seems to be expecting to fight [Quinton] Rampage Jackson.”
For more on upcoming UFC events check out the MMAFrenzy.com MMA rumors section.
I dont think Iceman vs Spider fight this dec. whoever needs rest maybe both of them.
NO F..ING WAY… IM PUMPED FOR THE SILVA/CHUCK FIGHT BUT DON’T KNOW IF WANDY DESERVES A TITLE SHOT… HES ONLY WON 1 OF HIS LAST 4 FIGHTS… THATS NOT RIGHT… IT SHOULD BE THE OTHER WAY AROUND. WANDY/SILVA AND CHUCK/GRIFFIN
Here’s something I really don’t understand, and I would like someone to explain it to me.
BJ Penn moves from lightweight to welterweight. Why does he automatically get to fight the champion? Doesn’t he have to “prove himself” in that division first?
Anderson Silva moves from middleweight to light-heavyweight. He went through ONE guy before he gets a (rumored) shot at the former light-heavyweight champ?
Wanderlei Silva, although a great fighter, has one 1 of his last 2. And now (rumored) he gets a title shot against Forrest? Are you serious?
It seems as though these guys are sacrificing the rules just for some big names. I don’t get it. Whatever happened to earning your way to the top?
Correct me if I’m wrong, but if you step up/move down a weight class, you should have to start from the “bottom” of the class just like everyone else before you get the good matches.
WELL SAID JOSH BUT IM JUST AS LOST AS YOU. I DON’T UNDERSTAND EITHER MAN… UFC IS JUST FAVORING THE BIG NAMES… BUT I HONESTLY THINK CHUCK DESERVES A TITLE SHOT BEFORE WANDY… CHUCK HAS NOTHING TO GAIN IN THAT FIGHT WITH ANDERSON…
wow, Wanderlei v Forrest, didnt Wand “train” with Forrest leading up to th Rampage fight? sooo Wand is going to fight his training partner for the Title awesome, hey go Wanderlei
if this is true and Chuck beats Evans i would be a little pissed if i were Chuck (for not getting the title shot) but hey having the oppritunity to fight Anderson Silva isnt half bad either….
i dont know Wand goes 1-1 in the octagon then a title shot? Wanderlei is on of my alltime favorites sooo im not too dissapointed that he might get the shot, also one of my other all time favorites might have to face one the baddest men around in his prime, but if anyone can counter Anderson Silva it just might be Chuck (just dont drop your hand like you did against Rampage) an intriguing story line of rumors is starting to unforld can wait for UFC to make some things official on the Dec card
PLEASE MAKE THIS HAPPEN MMA GODS!!!! PLEASE!!!! I don’t expect GSP to fight after what he said and I respect his decision. GSP is in a position to go on a looooooonggggggg win streak and really set up his legacy. Coming back early could throw him off and really change the future of his career.
I love Forrest and wanted to see him successfully defend his title…..but Wandy?!? I’d love to see that match and I feel Wandy will quickly become the UFCs new LHW Champion.
Anderson will knock Chuck the F out. Just like everyone other opponent of Anderson. Anderson throws a punch or kick and his opponent breaks. Anderson’s speed is way too much for Chuck to handle. I also think Anderson does not get nearly enough credit for his strength. Chuck only has his right hand in that match making him a one trick pony.
Could all of this lead us to Silva vs Silva? What a great day in Brazil that would be. It will be great for us MMA fans too but I bet the people of Brazil will be having parties with beer and chips….hot dogs….hamburgers….butty things…etc
These are the fights I want to see. Why complain about A. Silva vs. Liddell? I really want to see that fight.
Josh V - there’s merit in what you are saying but that’s never been the case in professional fighting. Champion boxers regularly jump weight classes to make fights happen. Brock Lesnar had only one mma fight before he got a shot at a former heavyweight champ. Posted rankings might make things more honest but they can still be manipulated to meet the interests of the powers that be. I think Machida and Jackson are the two most desrving of a title shot at light heavyweight but neither will be ready for a December fight if they fight in the Fall. So the show must go on and the guys who are ready will be there and by the sound of the proposed match-ups I don’t think anyone will be disappointed.
Josh,
I totally agree. The reason I don’t care is because of the quality match ups we are being provided. Fights I want to most definitely see. I still think/wonder the same way as you though. On the upside this could lead us to Silva vs Silva for the LHW title. Then Anderson will dominate 2 divisions. That will be ****ty due to the lack of title bouts in each division but these match ups only make the future look better for the LHW division. There are so many matches I want to see, I’d almost be satisfied with a royal rumble.
welcome back YZ good to see that u brought your CAPS back with you….
Joshv, BJ v GSP is simply it has a great story line (between the two fighters) it is a “superfight” both are champs… and it is going to make crazy $$$$$ should BJ have to work his way up ehhh lets be real for a minute.. BJ isnt Josh Burkman, BJ is a legend in the sport of MMA trust me if Chuck Liddell moved up to HW and told Joe Silva he wanted to fight Big Nog, that fight would automatically happen!!!!
MACHIDA DOES NOT DESERVE THE SHOT. RUNNIN A MARATHON DOESN’T GET HIM A CHANCE FOR THE TITLE…
RAMPAGE DEFENITLY DOES NOT DESERVE ONE EITHER… HE LOST FAIR AND SQUARE AND MADE A COMPLETE IDIOT OF HIMSELF AND UFC…. HE NEEDS TO GET SUSPENDED…
BUT IM EXCITED TO SEE A SILVA/CHUCK FIGHT BUT WHEN CHUCK BEATS RASHAD HE DESERVES THE TITLE NOT WANDY HES WON 1 OF HIS LAST 4 AND 1 OUT OF 2 IN UFC. I THINK A SILVA/SILVA FIGHT MAKES MORE SENSE AND THAT IS WAY MORE EXCITING FIGHT. AND FORREST/CHUCK IS A BETTER FIGHT. STUDENT VS COACH
Whatever happened to Loyoto Machida, doesn’t he deserve a title shot before Wanderlei? Liddell will not accept a match against someone who will beat him at this point. Seems like they are grasping at straws to me.
TIMCAT CHUCK HAS NEVER TURNED DOWN A FIGHT AND HE DOESN’T INTEND TO EITHER… GAURENTEE
Nobody should expect for Silva not to fight Griffin just because he ‘doesn’t deserve’ it. We all know that sometimes you put fights together to hopefully lead to other fights. Leading to a Jackson/Wandy fight may be the intent. Or even Wandy/Chuck 2.
Just because a fighter doesn’t deserve it has never meant @!#% to Dana. It’s all about the future and what fights COULD happen. We saw this backfire on him TWICE with Rizzo/Couture. This time I doubt it will backfire. Wandy will destroy Griffin IMO.
What a great day in Brazil that would be. It will be great for us MMA fans too but I bet the people of Brazil will be having parties with beer and chips….hot dogs….hamburgers….butty things…etc
KOuch - Get this, my brother lives in Brazil and he says mma isn’t even on their radar. Unless it’s soccer or Carnival they don’t give a sh*t. It’s about the strangest thing I’ve heard about that country yet.
Yeah but if Cote KO’s Silva then what. Then what are they gonna do as Cote would be the number one middleweight so Silva wouldn’t be as marketable after a loss to an underdog.
Soccer sucks! F Carnival TOO! Now Brazil sucks too!
Marko,
Stop joking around and talk serious MMA. Cote KO Silva? LOLOLOLOL
YZ chuck even admitted he doesn’t want to fight someone who “runs all the time” ( Machida)
That my friend is just a pussah way of making an excuse. Read the Fight magazine, yu will see for you’re self.
I call Bull Sh#T. Silva/Machedia winner should fight for the title after the Liddle/Evans winner fights Forrest in December. Wandy should fight Soduku or Bonner Then fight for the title.
Anderson Silva should fight Okomi in Jan/Feb or the UFC should have an interm belt and have Chuck fight Anderson on the Super Saturday card with Lesner vs Nog for the title
Chuck is gonna be the first to knock out Silva
Yeah, Wandy probably doesn’t deserve this shot yet but I would love to see him pull out some old school axe murderer on Forrest. And I have been waiting so long to see Chuck and Silva…that is the real superfight, forget BJ/GSP.
Go Vitor,
That’s too bad for Chuck. Now Anderson is either going to come in and connect a few strikes making Chuck have flash backs of the Korean War where he definitely was not. Or Anderson is going to counter Chuck faster than a speeding bullet and Chuck is going to have flash backs of his circumcision…..if he was circumsized….I’m not sure to be honest.
Wandy may not deserve it guys but…….He’s Wandy the Axe Murderer….C’mon. Remember this is a business and the UFC is trying to give us the fans great fight cards. There is great drawing power in thse match ups whether they are fair or not and make sense to the public or not.
josh v,
i see what you’re saying, but your reasoning doesn’t make sense. a proven fighter such as a bj penn or an anderson silva should NOT have to “work their way up” if they want to move up a weight class. by saying that, you’re putting someone like anderson silva on the same level as stephan bonnar and that’s outrageous.
in bj penn’s case, it would be like comparing him to tommy speer by saying he has to work his way up. a champion is on a different level from everyone else regardless 20lbs lighter or heavier-silva proved that when he ko’d irvin. top pound-for-pound fighters should be able to challenge each other regardless of weight class. if lower-level fighters don’t like it, then they’ve got to do their job to reach that higher level so they too can be considered as part of that class.
i would rather see chuck vs griffen. how does silva get a shot before chuck
I think Anderson will take Chuck in the 2nd round. Will be a great fight either way. I just hope Anderson trains hard for it.
Merry Christmas Dana White!
Chuck’s fighting style is all about knockout power which Silva has proven time and time again that he can completely dominate that type of fighting style. His previous fights against James Irvin (knockout Power), Chris Leben (knockout power), and soon to be victory over Patrick Cote (knockout power) is proof of that. Chuck Liddell will lose horribly in the first round against Anderson Silva.
Now BJ Pinn v GSP is just a name fight. I don’t see why GSP would even consider fighting BJ because GSP has everything to lose and BJ has everything to gain. GSP has already beat BJ once before so his confidence may be high but BJ is a mean fighter and should not be underestimated.
Wandy has loss 3 out of his last 4 fights and should not be even considered right now for a title shot. Now what UFC may be doing is looking at Wandy’s record as whole which is pretty damn good at 32 – 8. With consideration taken for the fighters that he has faced makes his record better then most. The only Light Heavyweight right now that I can think of that deserves a fight against Forrest is Lyoto Machida. Machida has a record right now of 13 – 0 with a big win over Tito Ortiz. Dana White has done great things for UFC and I don’t think he’ll let us down.
And remember one thing, the UFC is about entertainment and this card is supposed to be the biggest card of the year. Dana White is going to make the necessary changes to make it a good show for us which he has done time and time again.
Now BJ Pinn v GSP is just a name fight. If BJ steps
JOSH SHUT THE **** UP!!! WE AS FIGHT FANS WANT TO SEE THESE FIGHTS. MY ONLY THING IS GSP VS PENN SHOULD BE A SUPERFIGHT, PENN SHOULDNT BE ABLE TO WALK AWAY WITH THE BELT.