News and notes around MMA -- week of 11/14

Because I am just one person and I don't have a whole lot of time on my hands, I figured a compilation post of all the significant news pieces for this week (November 8th to November 14th) would make sense not just for me but for all my loyal readers out there that would like to get up to date with all the recent news but not have to spend an hour reading multiple long posts.

So without any more wasted time, here that is with my analysis of the news in italics.

• Strikeforce's Fedor vs. Rogers event was a successful one. "The Last Emperor" was valiantly contested by Rogers but in the end, came through with another crushing knockout. It was also successful in that the event garnered 5.46 million viewers on CBS in the 9-11 pm time slot and scored huge with the 18-48 male and overall demographic. Absolutely huge for the sport.
• UFC 105 goes down this weekend from London, England as Randy Couture looks to return to the 205 lb division successfully against Brandon Vera. The weigh-ins will be live on Friday at 12 pm EST/ 9 am PST. Check out UFC.com or channel 101 on directv for the broadcast.
• UFC 106, which goes down next Saturday, November 21st, will once again broadcast two undercard fights on Spike prior to the pay-per-view broadcast. This time around the two bouts will feature welterweights Marcus Davis and Ben Saunders and a middleweight tilt between Kendall Grove and Jake Rosholt. Once again, this is important for the sport and the UFC as a whole. Continuing with this program is a must because it benefits everyone involved and continues to gain exposure for the sport.
• Fedor Emelianenko will be out up to six weeks due to a hand injury suffered in his fight against Rogers Saturday night. His next bout looks to be against Fabricio Werdum who also won last weekend (defeated Antonio Silva) sometime in early 2010. Important for Strikeforce in that the sooner he recovers the better. They need to be able to showcase their top fighter and probably the third best fighter in the world currently, as often as possible. Six months between fights is not an option.
• With injuries to all title holders sans BJ Penn who is scheduled to fight Diego Sanchez at UFC 107 on December 12, the UFC is left with Big Nog vs. Cain Velasquez and Rashad Evans vs. Thiago Silva as main events for its year end showcase on January 2nd. UFC 108 was supposed to feature Anderson Silva defending his middleweight belt against Vitor Belfort but needs more time to heal his elbow and the Lesnar/Carwin tilt has been postponed further as well. It's certainly disappointing to have to wait as long as we will have to now to see the top fighters like Silva, Lesnar and GSP in action but injuries are a part of this sport and you just have to deal with it. Hopefully the UFC will continue to load up this card with solid fights like the two already mentioned.
• Nate Marquardt vs. Chael Sonnen has been scheduled for UFC 110 in Sydney, Australia. With Dan Henderson still in contract negotiations and unable to fight, apparently Marquardt wasn't willing to sit around and wait. It'll be another big time middleweight contender tilt between two fighters on a roll. This is also good for Hendo if and when he decides to sign with the UFC in that he'll most likely not have to fight Marquardt since the soonest he would be ready after this bout would be May.
• Lastly, the UFC 105 Countdown show aired on Monday, November 9th but here it is in its entirety. Check it out.

UFC 108 card starting to take shape

As per usual, the UFC will be holding another year end card in Las Vegas featuring some of the promotion's most talented fighters.

Only this time there are a few differences. Most notably, the fact that the year end card -- UFC 108 -- will actually be held in the new year, January 2nd to be exact.

The usually star-studded event is trending that way again with three of its first four rumored bouts. The main attraction looks to be a middleweight title defense as Anderson Silva (25-4), the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, defends his title against recent middleweight acquisition Vitor Belfort (18-8).

Silva, 34, is coming off a dominating performance in the light heavyweight division against former champion Forrest Griffin. Belfort, 32, meanwhile, is coming off a big win over another former champion in Rich Franklin in his return to the Octagon. It will certainly be an intriguing showdown between two of the best and most explosive middleweight fighters in the sport.

In addition to that fight, there is a rumored battle between light heavyweights Rashad Evans (18-1-1) and Thiago Silva (14-1) and a heavyweight fight between top contenders Gabriel Gonzaga (11-4) and Junior Dos Santos (8-1).

Each of those two rumored contests has numerous intriguing storylines. Evans is coming off a brutal knockout loss to Lyoto Machida in which he lost his belt while his opponent, Silva, will be looking to continue his winning ways by completing the Jackson camp sweep by knocking out best friends Keith Jardine (who he KO'd at 102) and Evans. Which fighter will put himself back into title contention at 205?

Meanwhile at heavyweight, two Brazilian natives will do battle. Will youth prevail? Or will the veteran savvy Gonzaga have too much power and speed -- not to mention experience -- to derail the up-and-comer?

We shall see if the card develops as expected. So far so good however, for the promotions' highlight event of the year.

Previewing UFC 103: Franklin vs. Belfort

This Saturday night won't be for the faint of heart but rather the enduring fight fans around the country as boxing and MMA go head-to-head with some of the very best their sport has to offer. Two big fights, one night, who will emerge victorious?

The UFC presents its 103rd PPV broadcast with "Franklin vs. Belfort", a catchweight bout at 195 lbs which is now being challenged by Floyd Mayweather who decided to take on the UFC and Juan Marquez on the same night. A dubious task that only the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in boxing would try to shoulder.

Regardless of what ensues, it will be an interesting night but I am here to break down the 103 card so let's get into it.

It seems that with every hole in its pay-per-view scheduling, the UFC turns to middleweight, no light heavyweight, no catchweight, no seriously light heavyweight, ok so maybe a catchweight fighter Rich "Ace" Franklin to fill the void. Since succumbing to a second brutal defeat at the hands of middleweight king Anderson Silva, Franklin has bounced around in weight fighting everywhere from 185 lbs to 205 lbs and in between (195 lbs).

He fought and lost to Dan Henderson in January at 205 lbs, then filled a void for the UFC in June on its Cologne, Germany excursion facing middleweight Wanderlei Silva at a 195 lb catchweight (won decision) which made little sense for either fighter.

So when the UFC faced yet another main event hole for its mid-September card to take place in Dallas, Texas who else did they turn to but Franklin? Originally the plan was for Franklin to do battle with Henderson for a second time at 205 but as this fight made little sense the first time, it made far less for a second time in less than a year to the vast majority of fans so the UFC signed Vitor Belfort when Affliction folded up shop and immediately made the swap.

Although intriguing as a pure fight goes, the Franklin/Belfort main event fight at 195 lbs does little to inspire interest in divisional ramifications. When the fight is over, win or lose both fighters are going their separate ways -- Franklin back to light heavyweight's weight class of 205 lbs (barring a sudden miracle creation of a 195 lb weight class by the UFC) and Belfort to middleweight's 185 lbs.

Both fighters are no doubt talented and top contenders, but fighting outside of their weight classes doesn't really say much about where they are in their division so ramifications of a win or loss are hard to judge.

At the end of the day though, fans want to see great fights and this could certainly be one. However, for a fighter it can be rather difficult to continually wage battles that do little to further one's career except in the bank account. Perhaps Franklin at his age has decided it's best for him to fight the big money fights than to chase a belt that he most likely is unable to attain?

The 103 fight card has mostly flown under the radar, but it is much more solid in this writer's opinion than that of the two previous (102 and 101).

A heavyweight tilt between Junior Dos Santos (8-1), 25, and Mirko "Cro Cop" (25-6-2), 35, is getting second billing but two welterweight showdowns between Martin Kampmann (15-2) Paul "Semtex" Daley (21-8-2) and Josh Koscheck (14-4) versus Frank Trigg (19-6) look appetizing as well. Then there is a very interesting lightweight match between Hermes Franca (20-7) and Tyson Griffin (13-2).

The event will also mark the first time the UFC will air a portion of its preliminary pay-per-view fights on free television courtesy of Spike TV. Two fights are guaranteed to air in the 6 - 7 pm time slot: Drew McFedries vs. Tomasz Drwal (185 lbs) and Efrain Escudero vs. Cole Miller (155 lbs).

Picks: I like Koscheck's youth and wrestling prowess to help him prevail over Trigg in an unanimous decision; Franca's power to be too much for Griffin's solid but non-lethal attack to endure (3rd rd TKO); Kampmann to prove to be too experienced for the replacement Daley (2nd rd submission); Dos Santos to prove to be the real deal in brutal KO fashion over an over-the-hill "Cro Cop" who will be sent packing by Monday; and Vitor Belfort to stun many a Rich Franklin fan by storming the former middleweight champ with a barrage of punches, knees and elbows in the 3rd and final round to score a TKO stoppage.

Dan Henderson on future, UFC deal

From MMAFanhouse:

“I’m holding firm for what I think I deserve. I think I’ve earned that…. If they sign me I’ll fight who they want me to fight. Even if I get Silva now, after I beat him Marquardt would be the top contender, so I’d have to fight him next. Beat him now or beat him later, it doesn’t matter. I’ll have to fight [Nate] Marquardt eventually…. If I was the UFC I wouldn’t waste a fight between [me and Marquardt]. If they want challengers for the middleweight belt they shouldn’t want one of us to beat the other…. It all depends on Anderson Silva,” Henderson said. “If he’s not going to fight until April, I don’t want to wait that long. But I’ll do what I have to do to fight him…. I’m getting in shape like I’m going to fight,” Henderson said. “I want to stay in the UFC.

Former and now current UFC middleweight No. 1 contender, Dan Henderson, addresses the issues currently facing him including contract status and possible fight against Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva.

It has been rumored recently that the highly debated No. 1 contender fight between Henderson and fellow middleweight contender Nate Marquardt would take place, perhaps as soon as at UFC 105 in mid November as the main event on that card.

Well, just as Henderson comments here, that fight makes little to no sense even if Silva does indeed need some time off to heal an elbow injury. Despite previous reports circulating the web recently, Silva's manager has denied his fighter having elbow surgery to ESPN's MMA blogger Jake Rossen.

To me, this whole Middleweight situation is attempting to be dictated by Ed Soares, Silva's manager. He believes that Silva shouldn't be required ultimately to defend his title against both Henderson and Marquardt when he has already beat both in the past.

What Soares and Silva need to understand is both have improved since the last time they contended for the title, Marquardt in particular. Whereas Henderson has always been right at the top of the heap in the 185 pack as a former champion (in Pride), Marquardt has continually impressed with each successive fight by simply getting better.

Whereas Henderson is banking on the experience of fighting Silva already to pull off the upset, Marquardt can point to being markedly improved since their fight in July 2007.

It doesn't make sense to risk both contenders in an "eliminator" match when you can have both fight for the belt in a division that has historically been starving for contenders. Let's face it, an "eliminator" bout is thusly named for a reason -- it eliminates one contender if not both. The fighters could get injured, they could look bad, etc. It does nothing to promote the division, to promote the belt.

Henderson isn't going anywhere. He will remain in the UFC because that is the only place for him, period. Props to him, though, for holding out for the fight that makes sense and money he deserves.

UFC should ignore thoughts of middleweight No. 1 contender eliminator match

Every now and then in life things will break easy, making one's decision a whole lot simpler. Do I date the beautiful girl with no personality or the beautiful girl with the personality? Gee, let me think.. Or how about joining the gym that charges $30 a month with every amenity you need plus modern equipment or the gym that charges $40 a month that's really just a weight room with no pool, sauna, aerobics, etc. and run down? Another no brainer.

Every now and then.

But sadly, every now and then happens perhaps every 100 decisions you're faced with which is why you should never make decisions harder than they have to be.

Which brings me to the current middleweight No. 1 contender dilemma facing Joe Silva, Dana White and the UFC. They have a very positive situation: two very good fighters in line for a shot at perhaps the best fighter to walk the face of this planet.

They can do one of two things: 1) have Anderson Silva face Dan Henderson in October or November and then have the winner fight Nate Marquardt or 2) have Henderson and Marquardt fight each other in November or December with the winner facing Silva sometime in early 2010 while Silva waits idly.

Let's take a closer look at these scenarios.

If the UFC does scenario uno, Silva will fight as soon as possible, perhaps even in October at UFC 104 which needs a solid No. 2 fight now that the Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez fight has been disbanded and the two title fights would certainly give it that. Also, the UFC allows each contender -- both Henderson and Marquardt -- the opportunity to fight for the belt within the next six months.

So the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter keeps busy, both No. 1 middleweight contenders get to fight for the belt and the UFC sells two legit middleweight title fights in the span of six months if not less.

I think it's clear that this scenario pretty good for all parties involved -- the fighters, the fans and the promotion as a whole.

Now let's analyze scenario dos. Here the UFC puts on a No. 1 contender fight for Silva's belt sometime at the end of the year. With Marquardt just removed from a quick dismantling of Damien Maia on Saturday at UFC 102, his most likely return date would be sometime in December, hypothetically.

The UFC would probably be able to market the Henderson/Marquardt showdown alongside a main event like Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Rashad Evans at UFC 107 and call it "The No. 1 contender special" or something similarly catchy.

In the meantime, Silva gets to work on his tan down in Brazil. As nice as that vacation would be, I don't think Silva really needs it nor would want it over a chance to get to do what he does best -- fight.

If all things went according to plan in this scenario, a winner would emerge triumphantly and unscathed by injuries ready for a title shot against the pound-for-pound king sometime around March of 2010. If, however, there is any sort of hiccup as there is known to be on occasion in MMA, this neat and tidy option could see a title fight pushed even farther back or both contenders fall depressingly on their faces due to poor performances.

This scenario could still be good for one fighter (the one who wins the eliminator match), some fans (the ones who believe their favorite fighter -- either Marquardt or Henderson -- will still get a title shot) and ok for the promotion since they are selling a nice No. 1 contender match as a co-main event.

Clearly, not the same win-win as scenario one is though.

Sometimes it's nice to make things neat and clean. But it's also nice to walk away when you're ahead instead of losing your bankroll by continuing to play.

Memo to Dana White and Joe Silva: Don't mess with something good. Two title fights are better than one.

Frank Mir dishes on UFC 102, loss to Lesnar at 100, Anderson Silva and Fedor

Arguably the most intelligent, well-spoken fighter in the sport, Frank Mir talks with Raw Vegas about his loss to Brock Lesnar at UFC 100, fighting Anderson Silva and why Fedor should just quit.

Watch Frank Mir Says Fedor Should Retire, Go Home And Disappear on RawVegas.tv

Mir is scheduled to fight fellow top heavyweight contender Cheick Kongo at UFC 107 in December.