It's not a reading comprehenision issue fwiw I've been reading most of my life. I see your point but think this fight had far less of the pre fight verbal jarring than most. Rampage said what he said in the heat of the moment and even then it was far from an outlandish ego driven statement. Even his trainer was pretty respectful with his comments saying something along the lines of liking Forrest and thinking he's a great fighter but feeling like Rampage would keep the title for a long time to come. I would be very surprised if either of them had even a moment of regret for their statements after the fight.

Either way as fight fans we should all be pleased at the likely hood of the rematch down the line.

So now what? Forrest's last fight before this was last summer, so he should be able to fight again shortly correct? Is everyone content with a rematch? Is October too soon? For those who don't want a rematch, who else would Forrest fight... If it's gonna be Silva vs. Silva, is Machida getting a shot? This division is insane...

What is it with some of you guys and the WWE. It amazes me that some of you still watch that. How do you make comparisons from fake wrestling to the UFC. I don't mean that in a bad way, just curious.

If you are referring to me (since I am the one that mentioned WWE) - I think you misread. I think the WWE is retarded. I made the comparison in a negative way as in; taking the trash talk to extreme and ridiculous lengths such as "i'll retire, i'll give up my purse" sounds more like a WWE interview than a professional fighter interview.

No I didn't misread. WWE has been mentioned several times in the MMA thread. Don't be so sensitive.

What is it with some of you guys and the WWE. It amazes me that some of you still watch that. How do you make comparisons from fake wrestling to the UFC. I don't mean that in a bad way, just curious.

There are definite comparisons, but not in the in ring sense. Dana White has been smart to position himself as a MMA version of Vince McMahon and they have been promoted in the same kind of way

Sometimes when I meet girls and they ask about my interests besides poker, I tell them about the UFC. Some of them think it's wrestling.

Now I did watch wrestling when it first came out, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Ricky the Dragon SteamBoat, etc. But I was like 5 at the time, and didn't know it was fake. I just can't see how people can get into it these days when they have passed buberty. But to each their own.

89 will apparently be free on spike but tape delayed, Bisbing/Leben sounded like a pretty weak main event but not complaining if its free and it is a fight I do think is intresting. Rich Franklin is moving to 205, kind of weird following Silva but the division continue to get deeper. 88's card is starting to look very good with Franklin/Hammil and Hendo/Palhares on the card aswell as the Liddel/Evans main event.
Does anyone know if shogun is close to returning?

Still rumor and rumor

Rumor is Shogun will be back fairly soon fighting late this year at worst.

89 will apparently be free on spike but tape delayed, Bisbing/Leben sounded like a pretty weak main event but not complaining if its free and it is a fight I do think is intresting. Rich Franklin is moving to 205, kind of weird following Silva but the division continue to get deeper. 88's card is starting to look very good with Franklin/Hammil and Hendo/Palhares on the card aswell as the Liddel/Evans main event.

Silva is only fighting this 205 to be in a big mainstream fight. He's not staying or planning on chasing the 205 title. And yeah, 88 will be good. Apparently Dana announced that Liddell/Evans is for #1 Contender? I think it's pretty sad if Chuck gets the shot.

Manager: Anderson Silva fights Yushin Okami after July 19 fight
by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Jul 10, 2008 at 1:19 pm ET
After making his light heavyweight debut against James Irvin at next week's UFC Fight Night 14 event, UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva (21-4 MMA, 6-0 UFC) will return to 185 pounds to defend his title against top contender Yushin Okami (22-4 MMA, 6-1 UFC).

Ed Soares, Silva's manager, confirmed the plans while a guest on today's edition of TAGG Radio (taggradio.com), the official radio partner of MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

However, Soares said that a date for the Silva-Okami fight won't be determined until after the July 19 fight with Irvin.

Silva and Soares want to have a better idea of the fighter's health status before committing to a date for the fight with Okami. (However, sources close to the event tell TAGG Radio and MMAjunkie.com that the UFC has tentatively targeted UFC 88, which takes place Sept. 6 in Atlanta, for the fight.)

Silva, who's 6-0 in the UFC (with six stoppages), has made short work of the UFC's middleweight division, posting three consecutive title defenses (and a victory over Travis Lutter in a non-title affair) after defeating former champ Rich Franklin for the title in October 2006.

When the UFC needed a headliner for UFC Fight Night 14 to counter Affliction's debut show (a star-studded affair that also takes place July 19), Silva agreed to take it. The UFC and Spike TV have since launched a marketing campaign that lets fans know they can watch "the world's best fighter" on free basic cable. "Banned," meanwhile, comes with a $39.95 pay-per-view fee.

However, Soares, who also manages top UFC light heavyweight contender Lyoto Machida, said that Silva doesn't expect to make a run at the 205-pound title, and instead, will only move up when it satisfies their goal of "being involved in some of the biggest fights in UFC history."

"[Silva] doesn't want to make a run at the (light-heavyweight) championship because his friend Lyoto is in the line for it," Soares said. "He doesn't want to fight Lyoto, and Lyoto doesn't want to fight him."

Despite his perfect 13-0 overall record and 5-0 mark in the UFC, Machida likely won't get the first crack at new UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin, who won the title this past weekend at UFC 86. Soares said that Machida will likely have "one more fight" before he gets a shot at the belt. (Soares said Machida's fight will take place in October, an opponent has been determined, but it hasn't yet been signed.)

As for Silva, Soares repeatedly stressed that he wants his fights to be "events."

"We'll take it one step at a time," Soares said. "But what he's looking forward to fighting the best in the world and creating events. At this point in his career, he wants every fight to be an event."

The 205-pound division could provide that with superstars such as Chuck Liddell, Quinton Jackson and Griffin providing interesting and marketable fights with Silva.

However, Soares said the middleweight division will remain Silva's focus.

"As the (middleweight) contenders come up, he's still going to defend the belt," Soares said.

Soares also gave updates on clients Paulo Filho and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira during today's segment. To hear the full interview, download today's edition of TAGG Radio, available for free in the TAGG Radio archives.

if Fedor dropped out, that ticket is officially a terd.

Ok, maybe not a terd, but not a big ticket purchase.
What's the correct spelling? Terd or Turd?

Silva is only fighting this 205 to be in a big mainstream fight. He's not staying or planning on chasing the 205 title. And yeah, 88 will be good. Apparently Dana announced that Liddell/Evans is for #1 Contender if and only if Chuck wins? I think it's pretty sad if Chuck gets the shot.

FYP

Both Dana and Anderson have stated that he is going for the 205 belt and Dana has changed his mind and going to allow for the first time a fighter contend in 2 weight classes at the same time. Looks like its more that a 1 time deal.
White indicated that the UFC middleweight champion’s arrival at 205 isn’t a one-trick pony. He feels that Silva wants to continue defending his current belt, while working to capture light heavyweight gold at the same time. And for the first time in the promotion’s history, he’s okay with that. Never before has a UFC champion been allowed to chase another belt in another weight class.



“He wants to hold both the 185 and the 205 pound belt and he wants to defend them both. Normally I won't let guys do stuff like that because it's just… stupid. I'll let Anderson Silva do it,” White told MMAWeekly.com.

I'm huge fan of Silva and all, but winning 12 in a row as the champ is pretty studly. He certainly looks unbeatable at the moment, but all it takes is one punch hitting the right spot. The only thing saving him right now is the 185lb division isn't the strongest and he has already beat all of top challengers pretty convincingly. I am not a huge Bisping fan, but he looks really good at 185. I don't think he is anywhere near ready for Silva yet though. Give him another 3 fights minimum against increasingly better competition and he could be the one to challenge Silva. Using logic and MMAth Silva should not have any trouble against his likely two upcoming opponents of Okami and Leites. I can see the UFC really trying to push Bisping along and have a fight with Leites for the #1 contender though. I think that would be a mistake.

As far as pure power shots go, Irvin has the best chance to KO Silva. I would say that is his only chance. I know that Henderson hits really hard, pretty sure that Marquardt does as well. But in the grand scheme of things, I have to figure that Irvin hits the harderst. I could be wrong though. I don't like the odds on Silva. But I think it's a play that I'm going to make. These books are making it really tough on me. I hope the lines even out a bit.

I like Hermes Franco vs Frankie Edgar. And Franco is the dog here. Anyone have any thoughts on that fight?

Another interesting one that was just added is CB Dolloway vs Jesse Taylor. I'm hoping it's a pretty even line. I think Jesse will win a decision pretty easily.

I would stay away from the Franca/Edgar fight. Its hard to know whwere Franca is at without the help of performance enhancers which he was suspended for a year for.

I agree that Taylor will beat Dolloway in probally a 3 round snoozefest

So what happens if Fedor loses? If that happens it could be a one and done for Affliction. Dont get me wrong Sylvia is a respectable opponent its just that he is as entertaining as watching paint dry. Fedor is the one thing making this a PPV event.

Sigh.

UFC lines are getting really bad.

There was a time when the lines were great. Sometimes they had the underdogs and the favorites backwards. These days, they are making the lines so bad that it isn't even worth making a play on........

So what happens if Fedor loses? If that happens it could be a one and done for Affliction. Dont get me wrong Sylvia is a respectable opponent its just that he is as entertaining as watching paint dry. Fedor is the one thing making this a PPV event.

Did you guys read about rampage? Holy shit:

http://www.sherdog.com/news/news.asp?n_id=13689

anyone else thankful that he's NOT the lh champ right now? That would be a black mark that mma doesn't need.