In the aftermath of UFC 82, UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson "The Spider" Silva finds himself all alone atop the 185 lb. division. There is no real contenders left to face him, except for a seemingly overmatched Yushin Okami.
While Okami is the obvious #1 Contender to the crown, there is no obvious #2. Anderson Silva has single handedly disposed of a trio of his perceived major threats to his title in the UFC, after disposing of Rich Franklin not once but twice, Dan Henderson and Nate Marquardt convincingly.
Silva has a perfect 6-0 record in the octagon and does not appear to be slowing down. He has faced the most dangerous striker the UFC had to offer in Franklin, the most accomplished grappler in Henderson and one of its best jiu-jitsu practitioners in Travis Lutter. Throw in the fact that he has beaten middle tier contender Chris Leben in spectacular fashion and his reign is even more impressive.
The UFC is assuredly going to have to postpone the future match between Silva and Okami until they can establish a legitimate #2. They will soon see a much needed infusion into their Middleweight class after the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter ends, but will any of the young guns be ready to face the consensus #1 Middleweight on the planet? Not likely, and there doesn't appear to be anyone outside of Matt Lindland, who the UFC refuses to sign, anyone thinks would even make it out of the first round.
So what does the UFC do? Aside from put together a massive amount of Middleweight match-ups in the coming months, or a rematch with Henderson, they really aren't able to do anything. They have a few rising prospects in Thales Leites, Jason McDonald, Alan Belcher and Ed Herman that would unofficially be sacrificial lambs. By pitting these rising stars against Silva now, they run a very high risk of losing and thus their stock drops with the fans.
They also have a few decent veterans that they can throw against Silva. Jorge Rivera, Patrick Cote and Evan Tanner are all viable options, however, Cote and Rivera have been inconsistent in the UFC and Tanner unsuccessfully returned to the octagon after a two year absence.
None of the options so far would appear to be big draws for the fans, which would leave the UFC have to put their lone knockout artist Champion as a co-main event for the coming year. Sam Caplan posed the question "Is it possible for a fighter to be too dominant for his own good?" and the answer is a resounding "YES!". Unless Silva decides to retire or a freak accident happens vs Okami, "The Spider" will continue his reign over the UFC for a long time to come. |
