UFC Super Bowl 2012 Fight Card: Which Title Fight Deserves the Main-Event Slot?

Between the injury sustained by UFC Welterweight Champion Georges "Rush" St-Pierre and the clear mind games concocted by UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson "The Spider" Silva, it's tough to get a clean grasp of the current Welterweight and Middleweight pictures at the top of the mountain.

Silva has been sitting out since his August win over Yushin Okami at UFC 134, all the while aggravating his ubiquitous arch-rival Chael Sonnen by pinning Ultimate Fighter 14 coach and TUF 3 winner Michael "The Count" Bisping as the best choice for a No. 1 Contender over his arch-rival and foil, who went a step above his levels in a near-upset of the champion last year at UFC 117, and as his haters believe, has been justifiably doubted ever since.

St-Pierre, meanwhile, has not fought since facing Jake Shields at UFC 129 this past spring, and went from headlining opposite Nick Diaz to not headlining at all before he knew it, but the injury he's suffered in his knee has been equally difficult for Greg Jackson ally Carlos "The Natural Born Killer" Condit.

Condit was the replacement for Diaz when Diaz missed two press conferences and as a result, Condit admitted that he went through the best training camp he's ever had, but GSP's knee has pushed those title hopes aside.

GSP is optimistic that his return, and potentially Condit's title crack, will come sometime in February of 2012, the same month in which Sonnen has called Silva out for "the biggest rematch in the history of this business," and so the question to ask is simply, "Which of these two title fights is more deserving to headline the Super Bowl Weekend fight card?"

Case 1: Georges St-Pierre vs. Carlos Condit Should Headline the Feb. 4 Card

The original main event for UFC 137 this Saturday is off, but people are still split on how this fight could have gone and still would go.

Some people feel this bout might be more Condit's than ever, while others are convinced that St-Pierre will find a way to win, just as he always does, but that's only one of the reasons why people might argue for this fight as headliner against a Silva-Sonnen rematch.

Let me first start off by saying that, in order to reflect the popular opinions of the MMA World, all arguments for this fight and the Silva-Sonnen fight will show an obvious bias, and one that somehow slams the arguments supporting one fight in order to establish favoritism towards the other fight.

Whether you construe these points as my own personal opinion is your prerogative, but as a fan of both fights, I will remain neutral.

Besides, if you have followed me on B/R since April of last year, it should be obvious which fight I'd want to see (Hint: it's the fight where the champion is a guy that is not from the US, if I'm picking between these two fights).

Anyway, Reasons 10-6 all pertain to why GSP vs. Condit should headline the Super Bowl card, so take them as you see fit.

10. Carlos Condit Is Consistently Exciting to Watch

Condit is not the only Welterweight who can get people talking through his action-packed performances in the cage, but when it comes to the current UFC Welterweight title situation, he definitely is one of the top three candidates for the crown in the sense of what he brings to the fight.

He brings diverse striking, razor-sharp elbows, jackhammer-like knees that rattle teeth and shatter jaws, a slick ground game, and some endurance that is second to only a handful of Welterweights, and all of it together inflicts enough damage to keep the crowd into the action from bell to bell, no matter what end he is on.

If styles sold PPVs, Condit would be one of the most must-see fighters in the sport.

He is a fighter who puts the show before the win on a very consistent basis, and that's not something a writer puts in print just to garner traffic or sell a fight.

9. The Fight Must Happen Before We Talk About Nick Diaz or BJ Penn

Despite not being a five-round fight, it will still be either Nick Diaz or BJ Penn who challenges the winner of GSP vs. Condit, just as it was intended to be originally.

For now, though, Condit is on the sidelines until GSP has recovered from his MCL sprain, and although it'd be cool to get Condit vs. Diaz or Condit vs. Penn sooner than later, it just wouldn't make sense to subject GSP to unnecessary cage rust by making the winner of Penn-Diaz fight Condit.

If GSP is sure that he'll be good to go by Super Bowl Weekend, then by all means let him face Condit on Super Bowl Weekend and let the winner of Penn vs. Diaz wait until GSP and Condit finish doing business.

Speaking of GSP's MCL...

8. Georges St-Pierre IS Confident That His MCL Will Heal by Super Bowl Weekend

Chalk it up to optimism, chalk it up to his competitive drive, chalk it up to his respect for Carlos Condit's fighting style, or chalk it up to GSP being GSP, but the champ dried his eyes and wore an extra 12 pounds of positive attitude around his waist when he talked about his MCL sprain.

Now, mind you, it was a sprain, and GSP tried working around it, but he ended up aggravating it further.

In any event, GSP is confident that his MCL will heal properly, giving him just enough time to finish perfecting his game plan for Condit.

Whether he'll prove to have returned a few months too early will be a question that we could answer if this fight actually does get signed for the Super Bowl card, but not a minute before.

7. Anderson Silva Is Pound-for-Pound King, but GSP Sells PPVs

Look at the numbers that UFC pay-per-views have done when Anderson Silva has headlined cards.

Decent numbers, right?

Now, look at the numbers that UFC pay-per-views have done when Georges St-Pierre has headlined cards.

Significantly larger numbers, aren't they?

You might not expect the man who has only had two lackluster title defenses to draw less of a PPV buyrate than the man who hasn't stopped anyone since UFC 94—and yes, I am aware that the corner of BJ Penn technically stopped the fight—but maybe GSP has gotten a free pass up until now because of what happened to him after he had a planted fan kiss BJ before their second meeting.

In short, GSP hit Thiago Alves with his groin, he showed the world that Dan Hardy has rubber limbs, and he scored what was arguably the most one-sided decision in UFC Welterweight title history by jabbing Josh Koscheck into oblivion (and let's be real, it was pretty entertaining to some fans to see Koscheck get punched in the face)

UFC 129, despite being one of the more lackluster decision wins of GSP's career, even sold massive numbers on PPV and in the arena.

Now then, think about what the numbers could be with GSP-Condit headlining, and then think about what the numbers could be with Silva's rematch with Sonnen.

Still don't see the difference?

When a date and venue is found for the somewhat unnecessary rematch, fans will see the difference.

If GSP sells more than Silva or Sonnen, though, then you might be asking yourself, "Well, what in the hell does that mean?"

What that means is...

6. Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen II Is an Overhyped and Unnecessary Rematch

If you ask 100 MMA fans about which fight should be headlining the Super Bowl Weekend card, you have a good chance of getting 50 people that honestly believe GSP vs. Condit should headline, and if you ask those 50 about why they aren't behind the UFC 117 rematch, at least one of them will tell you something about the rematch that you might not believe.

What could we possibly know about the rematch that's so hard to believe, though?

I don't know, but in the minds of one or more fans in support of GSP-Condit, it might just be that we're making much ado about an unnecessary rematch.

Remember when Silva beat Rich Franklin in the first round, forced "Ace" to have his face reconstructed, and took his title, but then fought Franklin again and finished him in round two?

If you take the fifth-round Triangle Choke-Armbar on Sonnen into account, and you listen to what fans of Silva are hoping for in the rematch, you've got the exact opposite of the Franklin situation.

However, the difference is that Franklin wasn't beating Silva for five rounds, nor did Franklin tap, and nor did Franklin go one level up in testosterone-to-estrogen levels due to TRT.

Then again, Franklin isn't Sonnen, but do we really want to see if Silva will put an on-the-level Sonnen away quickly this time out, or are we trying to convince ourselves that Silva still has challenges left at 185 by forgetting what happened to Sonnen after the fight?

Case 1: Complete.

To it's credit, St-Pierre vs. Condit is a great choice for a main event, but when it comes to the UFC Super Bowl card, it's not the only option for a good headliner.

The action and the excitement potential is there, because Condit always comes to fight, and GSP always comes to show the world why he supports the 12 golden pounds of the UFC Welterweight division, but for every positive aspect exercised here, there's always an argument for why it should not go down as a Super Bowl fight card headliner. 

That leads us to...

Case 2: Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen II Should Headline the Feb. 4 Card

It's one thing to win a fight, but it's another to do so in a fight where you lose every round before the finish.

Silva should know plenty about that, as he almost lost a unanimous decision to Sonnen before submitting him, and the fight before the finish is reason enough why the rematch should happen on Super Bowl Weekend.

It's sparked debate over whether Sonnen can get it done again or whether Silva would deliver the result he was supposed to achieve (on paper) last August in Oakland.

However, there are other intangibles that support why Silva should get the rematch this February...and before anyone says something, these reasons (#5-#1) are more than just counter-arguments to the ones supporting GSP-Condit.

Actually, only one sound of logic counters an argument that supports the St-Pierre-Condit choice, so let's get to it!

5. What If Anderson Silva Beats Chael Sonnen Again?

Sonnen rescinded his offer of a "loser leaves town" title fight on Super Bowl Weekend, but he never actually said anything about whether he'd leave the division (or the UFC) when he rescinded it.

Actually, the fact of him taking the offer off the table probably was enough to say that he's not asking for his release if he loses to Silva, and realistically, Dana White won't let Sonnen leave the company just because of one loss anyway (unless, of course, the rematch absolutely sucks).

Still, it almost makes you wonder about this fight, which Sonnen has wanted ever since he lost at UFC 117.

We know Sonnen stays on opponents like white on rice, but he's never expressed confidence in his ability to beat any opponent the way he's always felt he can beat Silva, and that has to raise a question:

Even though it's not "loser leaves town" anymore, is Chael so confident in his ability to beat Silva that he will be willing to call it a career (in an ambiguous sense of the phrase) if Silva should triumph once more?

4. What If Chael Sonnen Finishes the Job Against Anderson Silva This Time?

You'd like to think that a loss to Sonnen means a move either to 205 or to 170, even though Sonnen withdrew the offer he made after his UFC 136 win over Brian Stann, but how much do that jump or that drop mean in the long run if Sonnen beats Silva?

With the score evened out and with 12 pounds of gold around Sonnen's waist, even a clear defeat of Silva by Sonnen will awaken cries for a trilogy, seeing as how both men will have won one fight against the other.

If Silva is going to lose a fight, it'd be better for him to do it after he's dropped to Welterweight or jumped to Light Heavyweight, but if Silva has zero intention of leaving the division for his last four fights (one of which would be this rematch, if it's signed), a loss to Sonnen should only mean that the second of his last four fights would be a third fight with Sonnen.

All in all, it seems easier to decipher what a loss could mean for Silva, since we know he wants to call it a career in four more fights, but if he's only going to go on for four more bouts (not including cornering duties), and if Sonnen rescinding the "loser leaves town" offer was a ploy in the hopes of Silva potentially contemplating early retirement, then where would Silva realistically go?

3. Sure, "Rush" Sells, but Does He Always Prove to Be Worth Buying?

GSP is a nice guy and a consummate company man, so maybe the nice, humble personality is what draws people to watch GSP's fights, but there is one little problem with GSP's fights:

He always apologizes for not going for the finish, but he hasn't really gone for the finish since that armbar and that kimura he tried to find against Dan Hardy.

Mind you, he did that at UFC 111, and while he still caught some flak for it, there's no question that he was looking for the finish there, because he was looking for the finish and it just wound up not being there, but his last two performances have made some question why so many people pay for his fights when he seems to be doing enough to just "not lose the fight," as his critics would say.

He jabbed the daylights out of Josh Koscheck's eye in a bout that could've ended by a Doctor Stoppage, and he defeated Jake Shields, but Santa Claus giving Koscheck a fifth round was GSP's cue to finish the fight, something which he opted to not do to Koscheck, and on top of that, he seemed to force the KO against Shields.

The worst Silva has done was his UFC 112 win over Demian Maia, when Silva had the chance to land a combination that forced a Doctor Stoppage, and yet he chose to toy with Maia.

Except for that, Patrick Cote blowing out his knee, and Thales Leites trying to get Silva to do what he wasn't supposed to do, Silva looks for finishes, and he usually gets them.

It's been a while since we've been able to say the same for GSP, and although GSP might sell more PPVs and tickets, Silva at least gives fans their money's worth and then some.

2. Team Sonnen Has Been Almost as Vocal as Chael

Nobody ever claimed that Chael Sonnen was a likable guy.

Sure, his style is exciting enough to get fans through a few rounds, but some Silva fans feel he is selling the potential rematch by acting as though he had a decision taken from him.

Essentially, he's the Chad Dawson to Silva's Bernard Hopkins, if Hopkins had gotten his rear end handed to him for 11 rounds only to put a TRT-fueled Dawson out in the 12th round.

Good to know Dawson has the general idea of a takedown in his memory, though.

Anyway, it has been Matt Lindland who has ruffled a few feathers by claiming that Silva will weasel his way out of the rematch, but it's a questionable claim to make.

First off, Silva supposedly was ducking Yushin Okami and Vitor Belfort, but he eventually signed the contracts necessary to face them earlier this year, and second off, he not only beat them, but he also made them look as though they weren't close to ready to be chasing the gold yet.

With voices like Lindland backing up Sonnen, perhaps silence is unnecessary.

Why have a voice if you can't use it, right? And like it or don't, but Sonnen and Lindland are making quite the good use of theirs right now, and it's possible that by doing so, they're getting inside Silva's head.

Or are they?

1. Anderson Silva and Team Black House Are Playing Mind Games of Their Own

Right now, you're probably asking yourself, "What mind games? Anderson isn't playing any mind games!"

Au contraire, MMA diehards, fans, and fight connoisseurs, Silva and his Black House/Team Nogueira clan are playing mind games with Mr. Sonnen and Friends; whether they are working or not seems to be in question, since Chael never shows when he's frustrated before a fight begins.

But Chael is getting played the way he thought he'd be able to play Silva into giving him the rematch.

Think about it: Ed Soares first says that Sonnen should wait in line and with time, people eventually start bringing up various sources that say that Silva says Sonnen isn't getting the rematch—all before we even find out who stands where in the Middleweight division, since Dana White did say he wasn't sure if the rematch would be the next title defense for Silva.

Even still, it sounds like Silva just doesn't want Sonnen again when it comes from Soares' mouth, right?

Well, it would be true, but how do you justify the challenge to Michael Bisping, who hasn't even gotten past Jason "Mayhem" Miller yet, as a way of ducking Sonnen?

Mind games, friends—Silva could make a serious call-out to Bisping if he wanted to, just so Sonnen would be pissed off and motivated enough to hit Silva below the belt in calling him out, but Sonnen has gotten under Silva's skin even before their first fight went down, and the only realistic way to explain this challenge is that Silva wants to get inside Sonnen's head by making him and everyone else believe that Bisping poses more of a challenge than an on-the-level Uncle Chael ever will.

Chael looks like he's immune to mind games, but what if Silva does get in Sonnen's head and throws him off?

How does Uncle Chael respond to someone that appears to have mentally knocked him out before they've even stepped in the cage with with him?

We're not going to know if GSP-Condit headlines the card, that's for sure, and we may not care so much if Silva-Sonnen has to play second fiddle to the PPV drawing Welterweight Champion.

That just leaves one option for Dana White...

Case 2: Complete

Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen is a rematch that everyone is talking about, and whether it does headline the Super Bowl card or not, it would definitely sell itself based on everything that happened in the first bout.

It has all the making of a showstopping Middleweight title fight and a "Fight of The Year" contender, just as its predecessor was.

This would be a fitting main-event-caliber bout for the Super Bowl card, as would Georges St-Pierre's bout with Carlos Condit, since Condit's title shot is safe anyway, but the question now is "which title fight deserves the main event slot more?"

The Other Five Cases of the UFC's "Magnificent Seven"

Now, originally, I hadn't thought of addressing the other five UFC titleholders and their challengers as possibilities because the UFC Heavyweight, Light Heavyweight, Lightweight, Featherweight, and Bantamweight pictures haven't been sorted out yet.

For some of these pictures, especially the UFC's Light Heavyweight title picture (which gets less hazy come December 10th), the time between their upcoming title defenses and the Super Bowl card is likely not enough time to prepare properly.

However, they deserve their own honorable mentions as well, and so I will not deny them their arguments.

As for the questions they each ask...I'll leave that up to you, MMA World.

Bonus Case 1: UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz's Next Defense

Dominick Cruz is the UFC Bantamweight Champion, arguably the pound-for-pound best 135er in the world, and judging by the woman on his left and right arms, he is the envy of all the MMA World.

Serious, dude, leave some Kenda for me, will ya?

Anyway, Cruz just beat Demetrious Johnson, and he's slated to get either a second bout with Brian Bowles or a trilogy with Urijah Faber in his next title defense.

I would also nominate the winner of Brad Pickett vs. Renan Barao, if the winner of next week's Bantamweight bout gets either Johnson or Joseph Benavidez next, but there is no question about whether Faber or Bowles would have earned it if one of the two finished the other at UFC 139.

Would it really be worthy of a Super Bowl card, though?

While Lighterweights rarely disappoint, casual fans have not seemed to get behind the Lighterweight title fights yet, and that is despite Faber's place in the sport as one of its most polarizing figures.

Only time will tell if a Bantamweight title fight will be enough to get people talking in MMA, but for now, priority number one for Faber is getting past Brian Bowles in San Jose at UFC 139 in a few weeks.

Bonus Case 2: Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes

Right now, this is the only bout that makes sense, and considering that we haven't seen Hatsu Hioki against George Roop yet, this bout seems the most likely for Aldo's next fight.

Would there be any objections to it?

I should say not.

To say Aldo has not been the same man that he was against Manny Gamburyan is an understatement, but perhaps the UFC/WEC Merger sparked something in the Featherweights and Bantamweights that encouraged them to be just a little bit grittier than they were in the WEC (as if they weren't already in the WEC).

Either that, or Kenny Florian's corner was scared to throw in the towel.

Either way, the Featherweight have definitely gotten extra tough since the merger, and Mendes is no exception, as his Wrestling is seen as a foil to Aldo's striking.

If Mendes is good to go by Super Bowl weekend, this fight is always possible, but it all depends on Mendes' hand.

Seriously, do you really want to hear a thousand people using a busted hand as an excuse for why Aldo beat Mendes, if Aldo does beat Mendes?

Yeah, me neither.

Bonus Case 3: The Guida-Henderson Winner vs. Frankie Edgar

The UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar, argued by Dana White as the #2 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, definitely will have his hands full in his next defense regardless of who he faces.

Ben Henderson is a former WEC Lightweight Champion with crushing submission power, tons of heart, and freakish resilience, while Clay Guida is a relentless wrestler with a flowing yet rugged head of hair, the energy of the Energizer bunny on three truckloads of 6-Hour Energy shots, and cardio that has only now been questioned.

To put it in short, both guys are durable enough to give Edgar trouble, but durability and resilience are what brought Edgar to the top of the mountain.

Barring injuries suffered in two weeks by the winner of Guida-Henderson, or barring any injury suffered by Edgar between now and January 1st, this fight might actually be possible.

Easy for Edgar? Hell no, but it's possible.

Bonus Case 4: The UFC Light Heavyweight Champion vs. "Suga" Rashad Evans

Now, I'll be honest, this is one of the two title fights that is highly unlikely because the time between the targeted date and the date of the champion's next defense does not seem adequate enough for a proper training camp.

Mind you, Jon Jones took on then-champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua on six weeks notice and still won at UFC 128 in vintage Bones fashion, and he's taking Lyoto Machida about three months after beating Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, while Machida hasn't fought since knocking out Randy Couture at UFC 129, so it's not a totally impossible issue.

However, the winner gets to defend those 12 pounds of gold against Rashad Evans, who has not yet been cleared to go through a training camp due to his hand, so how do we know that he'll be anywhere close to good by February 4th?

Bonus Case 5: The UFC Heavyweight Champion vs the UFC 141 Main Event Winner

Here's a case of public interest:

Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos are fighting for the ultimate in MMA prestige, The UFC Heavyweight Title, on November 12th, which is two weeks away.

Meanwhile, the UFC holds its first Friday event in recent memory in the form of UFC 141, where Alistair Overeem debuts to face a returning Brock Lesnar in what could set up one of a few possible scenarios.

If the title fight does't end in a draw, Velasquez could retain in order to set up either a rematch with Lesnar or a dream match with Overeem, and likewise, a dream match with Overeem awaits Dos Santos as much as a long awaited bout with Lesnar does if Dos Santos does beat Velasquez.

With the February 4th card being three months away from the title fight on FOX, and with UFC 141 being almost two months apart from February 4th, would that be enough time for the big boys to bop?

That's the one issue facing two fight on this card, including the Heavyweight blockbuster (three, if you take Dominick Cruz's next fight into account), but if the stars align, why would Dana not sign the end result of this entire fiasco?

Sounds like a Super Bowl before THE Super Bowl, if you ask me.

And That's All She Wrote, Boys and Girls

You boys can keep Brittany, but allow me the honor of spending some time with Georgia.

Adios, Bleacher-heads, and I'll see you Saturday for UFC 137!

(And don't forget, Follow @DaleDeSouza on Twitter)