"Next Up: The Phenom"

Why him?!?

A lot of fans question the Ultimate Fighting Championship's (UFC) decision to put Vitor Belfort next in line for Anderson Silva's middleweight championship.  I say why not?  I'll put my money on Silva though.

I'm not gonna be putting on numbers here because we all know that this sport doesn't respect numbers as one shot can end one's career.  Let's look into the challenger first.

Vitor Belfort.  Ahhh, "The Phenom". People call him that for a reason.  Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt, great boxing and of course his most famous hand speed and killer instinct.  Watching his last fight with Rich Franklin would at least give you an idea that he does deserve the shot.  On the other hand, with respect to Rich Franklin, Franklin is in a totally different league than Silva.  His chances of winning are as much chances as Henderson, Marquardt and Franklin had.  He has the tools to win and present the challenges for Silva but does he have the focus to bring his game to the highest level and surpass Silva's?  We will see that on UFC 108.

Anderson Silva.  What else can we say about this guy? He's totally swept the world by his striking and fighting intelligence.  He's not a perfect fighter but that makes him more dangerous than ever.  He knows where he has to work extra hard and he does make it up by being intelligent inside the Octagon.  As Joe Rogan said, "a ballet of violence".  Where have you seen a guy beat someone and look so great?

Silva has won 10 straight fights, defended 5 times against top tier guys that included a visit to the light heavyweight (LHW) division (twice and one against a former LHW champ/chump).  That's the caliber Belfort is facing and it's the biggest hump he will have to go over.

I'd say Silva within 3 rounds.  Belfort will have a moment of brilliance, but in the end Silva will figure it all out again and put on one the best fights of his career (as if he doesn't have a few already).

OTHER FACTORS:

Henderson/Marquardt

They've both been beaten by Silva convincingly and an eliminator between them is perfect for Silva's next opponent (granting Silva wins against Belfort).  It ensures that they have stepped up big time.

Okami

Well, this guy is just down with luck.  He put up a string of boring wins, then his next fight could've been his ticket to the title but got injured.  He's in the early-Machida phase of his career.  I'd say get healthy, win in emphatic fashion, win the fans and probably he'll get his title shot.

Silva in LHW

I'd say beat Belfort and go to LHW.  He just have to challenge himself at this point of his career by going LHW regularly.  There's not much left for him in Middleweight.  Rematches won't do him any good.  Put terror in the very stacked LHW and become the all time best.

Intruiging MatchUps:

Anderson Silva vs Lyoto Machida (LHW) (C'mon, be professional)

Anderson Silva vs Georges St. Pierre (MW) (Get out of your comfort zone Georges)

Chuck Lidell vs Rich Franklin (LHW) (well, it's just interesting)

Matt Hughes vs Frank Trigg (WW) (no sense  for Hughes though)