Anderson sidelined, Marquardt vs. Belfort in the works
Vitor Belfort has been told that Anderson Silva will not be recovered from his elbow surgery in time for a February and has been offered a contenders elimination bout with Nate Marquardt, a source close to the Brazilian tells Fighters Only.
Belfort – and fans – have been expecting a fight with Anderson next and Belfort has been making training camp preparations as such, but now it looks like his next opponent will be Greg Jackson’s fighter Marquardt.
The fight makes all sense since the Brazilian has fought just once since his return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship, facing off Rich Franklin in a catchweight bout at 195lbs. Vitor won by knockout and since then has been called the next middleweight contender.
Dan Henderson thought he was next in line for a fight with the reigning champion Anderson Silva and did not react well to news that Belfort was leapfrogging him. It is apparently one of the sticking points in negotiations with him and the UFC.
Anderson’s manager Ed Soares also did not appreciate the news that Belfort was to be the next challenger, stating the opinion that he had not earned the right to face The Spider. He should now be happy with the news that Belfort-Marquardt is being made.
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This fight absolutely makes sense, a much better set up for either to make claim as the #1 contender. I’m actually glad Anderson won’t be ready in time to challenge Belfort, although I have a feeling that this may have been by design. Silva didn’t think Belfort deserved a shot all along and quite possibly may have played up his recovery more than it is, but it’s definitely for the better.
Henderson blew it if fighting Anderson next was really a sticking point to why he hasn’t resigned, the rematch just wasn’t that interesting until he faced and beat someone relevent in the division, and the Marquardt fight will have been a bigger gate than if he would’ve faced an opponent who dominated and stopped him in round 2. Dans 1st round takedown was promising, but not much came from that round other than Dan holding Anderson down.
Belfort by 1st round ko
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:56 pmThis is what was meant to happen, no way should Belfort have just got the shot like that. This fight will definitely make #1 contender and I think the winner of this has a good chance of dethroning Silva.
December 3rd, 2009 at 7:04 pmLeave a Comment
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