Anderson Silva Is Ready for Vitor Belfort, What About the Fans?

With recent reports that Vitor Belfort had agreed verbally to a title match with UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva being followed by reports that Silva has also agreed, it looks like we’ve finally got a middleweight contender that the champ can be bothered to face.  The question is, are the fans going to find this matchup to be a compelling one?

Obviously, Silva feels that the challenge is a worthwhile one.  After all, this comes after Silva made no attempt to show his lack of interest in a rematch against Dan Henderson or even Nate Marquardt, with his manager even saying that the two should fight each other before either one claims a title shot.  However, as Henderson has recently noted, it’s clear that either fighter is more deserving of the opportunity than Belfort, who just recently returned to the UFC, albeit with a quick win over the incredibly tough Rich Franklin.

Still, Belfort’s triumphant return marked his first win in the octagon since his January, 2004 fluke victory over Randy Couture, when a Belfort punch grazed Couture and cut his eyelid in one of the freakiest (and most disappointing) finishes in MMA history.  He ended that run in the UFC with two losses, to Couture and Tito Ortiz, went 1-2 in Pride (including a loss to Dan Henderson) and lost to Alistair Overeem in Strikeforce.  Only then did Belfort reel off five straight victories, including his admittedly impressive KO of perennial top five middleweight Matt Lindland.

That’s not to say that Belfort can’t give Silva a good fight; or at least, as good of a fight as anyone else can be expected to.  There are reasons to believe that Belfort really is enjoying a legitimate resurgence.  He finally has a good camp in Xtreme Couture, is more dedicated than ever to his training and appears determined to finally make the best of his considerable talents.  Still, it doesn’t seem right that he can leapfrog fighters who have done more in the UFC recently to snag a title shot, especially when all appearances indicate that Silva is pretty much getting to pick his own opponents. 
How else can we explain Henderson being all but named the next challenger for the belt, then being demoted to a probable number one contender’s match against Marquardt right after Silva and manager Ed Soares began showing their disinterest in another Henderson fight?

Also, it seems as if the UFC may be blowing a chance to really take advantage of this matchup.  While Belfort dispatched Franklin quickly, the finish itself was rather anticlimactic, with none of the shots appearing to land solidly.  Furthermore, the many new fans that have been brought into the sport in the last few years will be unfamiliar with Belfort, and it wouldn’t have hurt to have Belfort fight another time before stepping up to face Silva.  Perhaps, though, due to the unpredictability of the sport, the UFC would rather not take the chance of Belfort losing, leaving them with a missed opportunity at a Belfort-Silva fight.  You can’t blame them there, I guess.

It will be interesting to see if the fans get amped for this matchup.  Silva has been so dominant, even in his victories where he basically toyed with Thales Leites and Patrick Cote, that it is hard to imagine seeing anyone as a legitimate threat to him.  At the same time, such dominance sells itself in some respects: fans will pay to see Silva fight anyone at this point, just as boxing fans would pay to see Mike Tyson in his prime against whoever was unlucky enough to be put in with him.  Another positive aspect of the matchup is that win or lose, Belfort has some good matchups waiting for him, including a long-needed rematch between him and Wanderlei Silva. 

Of course, when you’re facing Anderson Silva, you can’t afford to look very far ahead.  It’s fairly certain that Belfort understands this, and with his renewed dedication to his career, he may have at least an outside shot of succeeding where so many others have failed.  Getting fans to buy into that possibility may be another matter altogether, though.

by Jon Hartley for Fightmania.com

Tags: Alistair Overeem, Anderson Silva, Dan Henderson, Patrick Cote, Randy Couture, Rich Franklin, Strikeforce, Tito Ortiz, UFC, Vitor Belfort, Wanderlei Silva