Does Anderson Silva Deserve The Next Middleweight Title Shot?
UFC President Dana White recently declared that former middleweight champion and fan favorite Anderson “The Spider” Silva would receive another title shot if he beats Nick Diaz in his awaited return bout at January 31’s UFC 183 from Las Vegas, Nevada.
That may come as no surprise to most, and for good reason. Silva was one of the company’s top pay-per-view (PPV) draws for many years, and he still owns the record for most consecutive title defenses with 10 and most title fight finishes with nine.
But “The Spider” is coming off of a 13-month layoff to recover from the broken leg he suffered in his rematch with current champion Chris Weidman at UFC 168 in December 2013. At 39 years old, we don’t truly know where Silva is at in terms of fighting the absolute best middleweights in the world.
And Diaz won’t necessarily be a great gauge of that. He most often fights at welterweight and will be coming off an almost 22-month layoff of his own.
Although his bout with Silva certainly has the potential to be one of the most exciting bouts of the years, there are some high-profile middleweights that have been making noise and could deserve a title shot more than “The Spider” if they win their next fight.
No. 2-ranked Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza will fight No. 6 Yoel Romero at February 24’s UFC 184 in a battle of two of the best all-around grapplers in MMA. Together they’ve won their last 12 bouts against world-class competition. Jacare wants to steal Silva’s chance by impressing White at UFC 184, and it’ll be hard to deny the winner of this elite showdown.
The other bout that will bring forth a potential title contender is the awaited match-up between No. 3 Lyoto Machida and No. 5 Luke Rockhold at UFC on FOX 15. After losing his UFC debut to current title contender Vitor Belfort in May 2013, former Strikeforce champ Rockhold reeled off three straight finishes in 2014.
We all saw what Machida recently did to CB Dollaway at UFC Fight Night 58 last December, and he also gave Weidman an excellent test at last July’s UFC 175. Again, both of these fighters will have an extremely legitimate argument for a title shot, yet it will still probably go to Silva if he wins at UFC 183.
Given Weidman’s injury history and Belfort’s track record with the NSAC, that could tie up a division that has suddenly become one of the most talented in the UFC. Do you agree with the UFC’s decision to fast track the returning Silva, or should a more active challenger earn the next championship opportunity with a pivotal win?
Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
