UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva (25-4 MMA, 10-0 UFC) will likely make his next title defense on Jan. 2 when he meets Vitor Belfort (19-8 MMA, 8-4 UFC) in the main event of UFC 108.
The Los Angeles Times first reported the matchup and cited UFC president Dana White as confirming the news. A source close to one of the fighters told MMAjunkie that fight has been discussed but, as the report states, has not been signed. UFC 108 takes place Jan. 2 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Due to the holiday schedule, the pay-per-view event is technically considered the UFC’s traditional year-end blockbuster show.
Although Dan Henderson had been promised a title shot following his dismantling of Michael Bisping at UFC 100 in July, the veteran fighter is still negotiating a new deal with the UFC. It appears Belfort, thanks to his UFC 103 victory over Rich Franklin, jumped to the head of the line.
Silva, undefeated with a record 10-fight win streak in the UFC, most recently topped Forrest Griffin in a lopsided UFC 101 co-main-event fight. Silva battered the former light-heavyweight champion in a non-title fight and has now posted stoppage victories in 12 of his past 13 wins. Although Silva claimed he was healthy, wanted to fight before year’s end and shrugged off rumors of an elbow surgery, White said earlier this month that Silva would, in fact, go under the knife.
“Contrary to whatever the hell [Silva] is saying, he’s not 200 percent healthy,” White said. “He’s having some bone spurs removed from his elbow, which is a simple little procedure that happens, but you’ve got to have recovery time.”
Belfort, meanwhile, has won five consecutive fights, which included a couple wins in the now-defunct Affliction Entertainment and the U.K.-based Cage Rage. His victory over Franklin, which came via first-round TKO, took place at a catch-weight of 195 pounds. The former UFC light heavyweight champion left the UFC in 2005 but has won six of his past seven to earn his way back.
Returning to his home in the Northeast and hoping to rebound from back-to-back losses in World Extreme Cagefighting, Mike Campbell tonight headlines World Championship Fighting’s latest card.
Campbell (6-2) takes on Mike Medrano (4-3) at WCF 8, which takes place at the Shriner’s Auditorium in Wilmington, Mass. As Campbell this week told MMAjunkie, fighting for the WCF, which is one of the sport’s most successful regional promotions, gives him a chance at redemption.
The hard-hitting Campbell began his pro fighting stint in 2006. After opening his career with a split-decision win, Campbell posted five consecutive stoppage victories due to strikes (including a four-second KO win in his third fight) to earn a contract with the WEC. However, once on the big stage, the lightweight fighter suffered first-round stoppage losses to notables Danillo Villefort at WEC 38 and Anthony Pettis at WEC 41. The back-to-back defeats proved a hard pill to swallow. But it could have been worse.
“If I brought my A game that day and I lost the fight, I think mentally and emotionally it would have affected me a little more,” said Campbell, who’s also a competitive power-lifter. “The thing is, I got frustrated in both fights. I negated my game plans, and that’s my fault. … I think you just have to take the losses as a learning lesson. “I’m not here to be a weekend warrior. I know I should have fought better. I know I should have had a better performance. Hopefully I can do that [tonight].”
For Campbell, when it came time to get back on track, he knew exactly where he wanted to go. Since its launch in 2007, the WCF has proved one of the most consistently successful organizations anywhere in the country. Run by MMA agent and promoter Joe Cavallaro, the WCF often draws sold-out crowd with a long list of celebrity attendees; fighters such as Kenny Florian, Joe Lauzon, Marcus Davis and Jorge Rivera are frequent guests.
Tonight’s special attendee is former EliteXC headliner and “The Ultimate Fighter 10″ cast member Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson. “I think the WCF has the best promotion in New England right now,” said Campbell, who fought for the WCF once before the WEC contract was offered. “I truly believe it. I asked Joe if he could set me up a fight in his organization. He didn’t call me. I really wanted to fight for his organization. I really like it. They treat the fighters well. It’s a very well-run show and well-run promotion.”
Campbell said doesn’t know a whole lot about his opponent, but he thinks Medrano is making a mistake if he plans to stand and trade. “He’s going to bring a lot of power,” Campbell said. “He played Division I football, so he’s going to be pretty athletic. I think he’s going to bring it. You have two guys ready to engage. In the past, if you have guys who are willing to exchange with me, it doesn’t end up too well in their favor.”
Campbell knows his feature-attraction fight could determine his future in the sport and whether it’ll be on the big stage or back with the regional promotions. But he’s determined to fight the best fighters for the top organizations and to settle for nothing less. Where did he learn that mentality?
“I learned that from my mother,” he said. “If I ever started something, I always had to finish it. She instilled that in me.”
