The matchup, originally rumored for UFC 108 in January, would be featured on the UFC 109 card or could potentially headline the UFC’s Australian debut.

Akiyama (13-1), who is unbeaten since a 2005 loss to Jerome LeBanner, made his UFC debut in July with a unanimous decision victory over Alan Belcher at UFC 100. “Sexyama,” whose notable wins include Denis Kang and Melvin Manhoef, won the K-1 HERO’s Light Heavyweight Tournament in 2006 and recently picked up back-to-back wins in DREAM.

Silva (32-10-1), a former PRIDE champion, will be returning to the Octagon for the first time since undergoing surgery on his face to remove scar tissue and will also be making his debut at 185-pounds against Akiyama.”The Axe Murderer” has lost five of his past six fights, defeating Keith Jardine via first-round knockout last May while suffering losses to the likes of Chuck Liddell, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, and most-recently Rich Franklin in June.

For the latest UFC news and UFC rumors stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com.

Pictured: Wanderlei Silva

HT: Tony Loiseleur

“I believe Anderson would destroy Belfort.I think it’s a very interesting fight. Belfort has good boxing skills and is a good athlete, but everybody knows that he has a weak psychological aspect and I think he will shake when he gets in the Octagon with (Silva).

Of course [Belfort and I] will fight. I want this fight too much. I believe the first one didn’t happen as I wanted. I was surprised, and it will not happen again now because I’m much more experienced. I’m not saying it will be now or later, but when it happens, I’ll prepare myself a lot to be in my best shape because he is a tough opponent, and I want to give the show everybody expects from me.

[Anderson Silva and I] talked. It was a big misunderstanding and it was solved the way men have to solve any problem: talking face to face. Anderson is a great guy, and we finally put a period on that story.”

Wanderlei Silva talks to Sherdog about the January 2 matchup between middleweight champ Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort at UFC 108, a likely future rematch with Belfort, and mending his relationship with Silva.

Tompkins said the Japanese-Korean middleweight is expected to stay the entire month with the team and will focus on “refining his striking” with the coach and Vitor Belfort, who is slated to face UFC 185-pound champion Anderson Silva in January.

“He is a great person and fighter and has a very slick aggressive style,” said Tompkins. “I would like to help him with his defense.”

Tompkins told Sherdog that he did not know who or when Akiyama would be fighting next, but Bloody Elbow’s Luke Thomas tweeted on Monday that Akiyama could fight Wanderlei Silva at UFC 108 on January 2 in Las Vegas.

Quick update on the potential Wanderlei Silva fight. Unfortunately thats not gonna happen. He’s undergone facial surgery, so obviously won’t be fighting in the near future. Rumours are he’s actually out for the rest of the year.

So as of right now, Im still unaware of who I’ll be facing at UFC 105. Obviously as stated before, when I know, you know.

For the latest UFC 105 news check out the UFC 105 category.

Pictured: Wanderlei Silva

First reported by Dana White at Friday’s UFC 101 Q&A session, and officially announced Monday by Spike TV, The Best of Pride Fighting Championships series starts January 11, 2010 at 11pm on Spike. The show will be a weekly one hour series following a similar format to that of the UFC Unleashed, and will be hosted by former Maxim Magazine “Hometown Hotties” finalist Kenda Perez.

The television series will make use of the extensive library of Pride video footage that Zuffa, LLC (parent company of the UFC) purchased when it purchased the promotion back in 2007. It is expected to include footage of many of the former Pride stars that now compete inside the UFC Octagon, including Dan Henderson, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Anderson Silva, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filopovic, and Wanderlei Silva. Spike has also claimed that they will include Fedor Emelianenko in some of the broadcasts, despite his notable absence from the UFC.

This move by Zuffa was foreshadowed by Owner Lorenzo Fertitta sporting a Pride T-shirt at and around UFC 100 in early July. Since that sighting of Fertitta in the Pride paraphernalia, an official Pride store has been added to the official UFC store on the promotion’s website, and can also be reached by visiting www.pridefcstore.com. The store includes shirts, shorts, hats, and a DVD.

Perhaps Fertitta’s shirt, and the creation of the Pride store were just done in anticipation of the upcoming creation of the The Best of Pride Fighting Championships television series, or maybe all three are foreshadowing another future move by Zuffa, LLC involving the Pride banner. This author believes there may be something bigger brewing with the Pride name, but then I could be completely off base. Only time will tell if I’m right about that, but at least we get to re-watch some great fights.

“The rumors about Wanderlei fighting Michael Bisping at UFC 105 in Manchester or at any point are simply that, rumors.

For some publication to say they have been given an exclusive statement on this from Team Wand is not truthful. Certainly, there have been no formal proposals or discussions relative to this match-up.

Of course, there is speculation that such a fight will occur and certainly there remains a possibility of such a match-up. However, at this time, rumors of the fight occurring at UFC 105, are simply that.

This fight has not been discussed or offered to us by the UFC. Wand’s preference is to fight in February. He wants to take time off to heal his body and mind, and with his new gym in Las Vegas, he has business affairs and a growing team to attend to.

Wanderlei and his coach, Raphael Alejarra, have both expressed a preference that Wanderlei wait until February for his next match. However if at some point in time, such a fight is proposed by the UFC, it will be given the appropriate consideration, as do all proposals, and a decision will be made at that time.”

Though a fight between Bisping and Silva would likely do big business, and is surely the preference of the UFC and Spike TV, the US broadcaster of the card, it appears unlikely that the middleweights will battle in the UFC 105 main event.

MMA Bay, the website which originally reported the potential matchup and already known to be questionable at best, won’t be sourced by MMAFrenzy.com in the future, with many other websites expected to do the same.

A middleweight showdown between Wanderlei Silva and Michael Bisping is reportedly in the works to headline UFC 105, which takes place on November 14 in Manchester, England.

The rumored fight was first reported on Thursday by MMABay, which is one of the sponsors of The Wolfslair where Bisping trains, citing sources close to Silva’s camp in Las Vegas.

The former PRIDE champion Silva (32-10-1) has won just once in his last six fight and has a 1-3 UFC record since returning to the Octagon in late-2007. “The Axe Murderer” ended his PRIDE career with back-to-back losses to Mirko “Cro Cop” and Dan Henderson before returning to the UFC with a loss to Chuck Liddell. After a 38-second knockout of Keith Jardine, Silva has dropped two-straight to Quinton Jackson, and, most-recently in June, Rich Franklin. If confirmed, the fight would be Silva’s first at 185-pounds after previously fighting primarily in the 205-pound light heavyweight division.

Bisping (17-2) won 14-straight fights to begin his career, including UFC victories over Josh Haynes, Eric Schafer, Elvis Sinosic, and Matt Hamill, before suffering his first career loss to Rashad Evans in late-2007. The UK-star then dropped to middleweight, where he won three-straight over Charles McCarthy, Jason Day, and Chris Leben, before battling fellow-contender earlier this month at UFC 100, where he suffered a brutal second-round knockout loss.

UFC 105, which takes place at the MEN Arena in Manchester, is also slated to include UK fighters James Wilks and Ross Pearson, welterweight and lightweight winners on The Ultimate Fighter 9, as well as Terry Etim and  is rumored to air for free in the US on Spike TV.

For the latest UFC 105 rumors check out the MMAFrenzy.com UFC rumors section.

[Pictured: Wanderlei Silva]

• Former EliteXC lightweight champ KJ Noons will return to MMA in 2009, likely with Strikeforce.
• Dana White is featured on the cover of the first-ever UFC magazine.
• Former UFC fighter Lee Murray, who was accused of a record $92 million robbery in 2006 in the UK, was released from a Moroccan prison on Wednesday only to be re-arrested on Thursday to be tried under Moroccan law at the request of British authorities.
• According to rumors, Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans are likely to headline UFC 107 on December 19 in Las Vegas. Main events aren’t yet rumored for Fight Night 19 (September 16 – Oklahoma City),  UFC 105 (November 14 – Manchester, England), UFC 106 (November 21 – Las Vegas), or The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale (December 5 – Las Vegas).
• A possible headliner for one of the upcoming events is Chuck Liddell, with rumors swirling in recent days that the former UFC light heavyweight champ won’t retire and will instead return for at least one more bout, with Rich Franklin mentioned as a possible opponent.
• WEC and PFC lightweight veteran Poppies Martinez has signed  with Strikeforce and will make his debut at the promotion’s August 15 event featuring Gina Carano vs. Cris Cyborg.
• Perhaps in an attempt to dismiss rumors fueled by Diego Sanchez’s recent interview that he could pull out of his August 8 lightweight bout with Kenny Florian, BJ Penn’s latest video blog is brief, simply showing the UFC lightweight champ stepping on a scale and weight in at slim 166.8 pounds ahead of the 155-pound bout.
• In a recent interview with Knuckled Up, WEC lightweight contender Donald Cerrone, who has just one fight remaining on his current contract, says that a move to the UFC is possible and that he wants to fight Cole Miller.
• With his broken hand now healed, Houston Alexander is working on his ground game with veteran Jeremy Horn in preparation for a fall UFC return.
• Following the recent demise of Setanta, the UFC’s new television partner in the UK could be ESPN.
• Early UFC fighters Mikey Burnett and Pat Miletich could rematch at a to-be-announced Strikeforce event in Oklahoma.
• Weigh-ins for UFC 100 will take place at 7pm ET on Friday July 10 and will air live on MMAFrenzy.com.
• Yoshihiro Nakao vs. Choi Mu Bae and Clay French vs. Eiji Mitsuoka have been added to the card for Sengoku Ninth Battle, which takes place on August 2 in Saitama, Japan.
• Hopes to have MMA regulated in New York before year-end have been dashed after the 2009 legislative session ended earlier this week before a decision was made on the bill.
• Aleksander Emelianenko will take on Blagoi Invanov, the 2008 Combat Sambo champion who defeated his brother Fedor en-route to the title, at a September 29 event in South Korea.
• In an appearance on HDNet’s “Inside MMA,” Cyrille Diabate, who appeared as the Team US striking coach on the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter, says he expects to make his UFC debut this year.
• Lyoto Machida, Randy Couture, and Fedor Emelianenko are some of the fighters who could be featured in EA’s mixed martial arts video game.
• The UFC will return to Germany in early-2010, with an event scheduled for April in Oberhausen.
• PRIDE veteran Ricardo Arona will resume his career on September 12 in Brazil.
• The UFC awarded TUF 9 coaches Dan Hendersona and Michael Bisping new Land Rovers.
• Wanderlei Silva, who lost a close decision to Rich Franklin earlier this month at UFC 99, wants to fight twice more before the end of 2009.

[Pictured: Chuck Liddell]

• Joining Kimbo Slice and the previously rumored fighters on The Ultimate Fighter 10: Heavyweights, according to a rumored list of cast members that has circulated in recent days, will be Jim York, Justin Wren, Mike Wessel, Scott Junk, Zak Jensen, Darrill Schoonover, Jon Madsen, Tom Blackledge, and Abe Wagner.
• Andrei Arlovski has received a 60-day medical suspension following his first-round knockout loss to Brett Rogers at Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields on June 6, which has forced his boxing debut, which was to take place on June 27, to be postponed. Rafael Calvacante, who suffered a second-round TKO loss to Mike Kyle on the event’s preliminary card, was also suspended for 60 days.
• The first UFC Gym, whose features will include an “Arm Bar” with snacks and drinks, is set to open in Concord, California.
• After making critical remarks about Miletich Fighting Systems following his UFC 98 wins, Drew McFedries has been kicked out of the gym.
• Urijah Faber has been medically suspended until December 4th after suffering a broken right hand in his WEC 41 loss to Mike Brown on June 7.
• Lightweight contenders Ricardo Lamas and Danny Castillo will meet at WEC 42 in August.
• Randy Couture will train and corner Gina Carano for her Strikeforce 145-pound title bout against Cris Cyborg on August 15 in San Jose. Tickets for the event went on sale today and start at just $30.
• During a Q&A session before the UFC 99 weigh-ins, UFC President Dana White said he’s interested in signing Josh Barnett if he beats Fedor Emelianenko at Affliction: Trilogy in August.
• At the post-UFC 99 press conference on Saturday, Wanderlei Silva called for a rematch with Rich Franklin after suffering a close unanimous decision loss in the UFC 99 headliner. Dana White, meanwhile, wants Franklin to move back up to light heavyweight for a run at the 205-pound title.
• The UFC will host an event in the UK in October and the promotion is planning to hold 2 events in Canada in 2010, Dana White announced during the UFC 99 Q&A.
• At the post-UFC 99 press conference, welterweight contender Mike Swick said he’d “love to fight Matt Hughes”.
• A UFC 100 viewing party will be held at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall on July 11 with Frankie Edgar and Matt Hamill scheduled as special guests.
• Weigh-ins for The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale will take place this Friday at 4pm PT (7pm ET) at the Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas.
• Heavyweights Todd Duffee and Mike Russow are likely to fight at UFC 102 on August 29 in Portland, Oregon.
• Despite a planned appeal from Mostapha Al-Turk over his TKO loss to Mirko Cro Cop at UFC 99 on Saturday that was setup by an accidental eye poke, UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner announced on Monday that an appeal was not possible as it was a judgment call made by referee Dan Mirgliotta.
• Weigh-ins for Friday’s Showtime-televised Strikeforce Challengers event at the ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington will take place on Thursday at the venue’s Club Lounge and are free and open to the public.

[Pictured: Josh Barnett and Fedor Emelianenko]