***spoilers*** UFC News and Discussion Thread

[Fitzy]

To be fair, he had a fair number of punches that were those kinds of punches that you'd see from someone like Nick Diaz. Punches that are more annoyances, landing and getting points, but not damaging strikes.

That's what I was thinking. Legitimately, Sonnen never looked to me like he was getting close to finishing the fight. He was wearing the guy out, but I think it speaks volumes that the guy who got messed up most facially was Sonnen, even after all the control the guy had.

I also agree with EBG. Silva was doing some good defensive work off of his back, and making it hard for Sonnen to do some substantial work/damage.

I don't think it really says anything. Sonnen just cuts easily, he probably has a lot of scar tissue that needs to be removed or something, because he was a bloody mess after his Marquardt fight as well.

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

I literally jumped out of my seat when Chael rocked Silva in the first, gutted for him that he couldn't finish. I guess it's the pressure to finish over taking the decision, but he really didn't need to go for it, he'd performed so well through four and a half, I don't think anyone could begrudge him hugging it out for the win. I call bullshit on Silva's rib injury, Sonnen hit him pretty hard several times on both sides of his body, and he didn't seem any more bothered by them than normal. And getting your ass handed to you for four rounds is the stupidest "strategy" I ever heard, shut the fuck up with those weak excuses.

I'd like to see a rematch, not because Sonnen deserves it, or he's stronger than any other contender or anything, I just think it'd be a great fight. Really disappointed that Silva escaped with the win. And is anyone else a tad annoyed that the commentators and everyone seemed to instantly switch from "christ Sonnen is kicking Silva's ass" to "Silva is the greatest" so quickly? I mean yeah, he did well to lock the sub in, but Sonnen's always letting himself get submitted and Silva was on his back getting his fucking ears clapped, he was terrible defensively.

Finally someone agrees with me. Silva post-poned his fight against Belfort twice because of injuries, if he was really that hurt in his ribs to actually fight back at Sonnen, he wouldn't had taken the fight, sure, he might been roughed up while training but not enough to make it a damn excuse.

I really enjoyed the main event cause i thought it was textbook Wrestler V Striker and just seeing someone pretty much dominate Anderson and control him i felt was a good main event and leaves us with a good rematch in the future.

But God damn Chael so much during that i kept thinking "he's leaving himself open at times for a submission" then 5th round i think you don't even need to do anything you've won the fight

Great performance from Chael really impressed with him but i think i don't want to see a immediate rematch just because unlike Edgar/Penn or Shogun/Machida were it was a close decision and warrented a rematch, this ended with a finish. I think let him sit out and fight the winner of Silva/Belfort then let him trash talk again about how he was dominating Anderson etc etc.

Also can we just make a belt for Jon Fitch in being Number 2 Welterweight cause if GSP beats Koscheck i can really see Fitch/GSP II being exactly the same as Fitch/GSP I

I disagree on the UFC not going for the rematch straight away (when they heal, of course). This is what I would like them to do:

Vitor Belfort hasn't fought in almost a year, he's had some injuries that have prevented him from fighting, so I would like to see him get a warm-up fight first, so he can get off that ring rust. Let's say against Nate Marquardt or Demian Maia.

Silva/Sonnen are reserved to fight each other in a rematch between December-February. Winner fights Belfort in the summer.

I'll take Vitor/Anderson all day long over Anderson/Chael. While Sonnen does deserve another shot down the line, I'd much rather see Vitor now challenge Silva, in what I also believe will be a much more exciting fight. This fight seems to have been in the pipe line forever, it's about damn time it happened.

And seriously, nobody apart from himself and his camp know whether Silva was injured. I don't see why he needs to lie. It's not an excuse. Why does he need to make an excuse up when he WON the fight anyway? It doesn't matter about who dominates the fight, it matters about the result. I'm not saying Silva got beat over four rounds because of an injury, but that's not to say it didn't exist or wasn't a factor in the fight.

[Liam]

To be fair, he had a fair number of punches that were those kinds of punches that you'd see from someone like Nick Diaz. Punches that are more annoyances, landing and getting points, but not damaging strikes.

That's what I was thinking. Legitimately, Sonnen never looked to me like he was getting close to finishing the fight. He was wearing the guy out, but I think it speaks volumes that the guy who got messed up most facially was Sonnen, even after all the control the guy had.

I also agree with EBG. Silva was doing some good defensive work off of his back, and making it hard for Sonnen to do some substantial work/damage.

I don't think it really says anything. Sonnen just cuts easily, he probably has a lot of scar tissue that needs to be removed or something, because he was a bloody mess after his Marquardt fight as well.

My point was more related to Silva's face not being messed up at all than anything. I understand that Sonnen probably just cuts easily, but considering how many shots Silva took, his face was relatively fine.

[Toe]

The elbow Silva landed from the bottom that cut Sonnen above the eye was absolutely nasty.

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

Regardless of whether Belfort earned the shot or not (and I'd say no, he didn't), it's not good business practice to tell a guy he's got a title shot and then yank it back.

[marksbros6]

I like Belfort/Silva. Given how Sonnen managed to clip Anderson and stagger him I wonder what effect Vitor's strikes would have.

I'd like to see Sonnen have a rematch sometime down the line but he should earn it in my opinion. Even if it's just one fight, a rematch with Maia maybe?

[Powerhart]

I literally jumped out of my seat when Chael rocked Silva in the first, gutted for him that he couldn't finish. I guess it's the pressure to finish over taking the decision, but he really didn't need to go for it, he'd performed so well through four and a half, I don't think anyone could begrudge him hugging it out for the win. I call bullshit on Silva's rib injury, Sonnen hit him pretty hard several times on both sides of his body, and he didn't seem any more bothered by them than normal. And getting your ass handed to you for four rounds is the stupidest "strategy" I ever heard, shut the fuck up with those weak excuses.

I'd like to see a rematch, not because Sonnen deserves it, or he's stronger than any other contender or anything, I just think it'd be a great fight. Really disappointed that Silva escaped with the win. And is anyone else a tad annoyed that the commentators and everyone seemed to instantly switch from "christ Sonnen is kicking Silva's ass" to "Silva is the greatest" so quickly? I mean yeah, he did well to lock the sub in, but Sonnen's always letting himself get submitted and Silva was on his back getting his fucking ears clapped, he was terrible defensively.

Finally someone agrees with me. Silva post-poned his fight against Belfort twice because of injuries, if he was really that hurt in his ribs to actually fight back at Sonnen, he wouldn't had taken the fight, sure, he might been roughed up while training but not enough to make it a damn excuse.

I really enjoyed the main event cause i thought it was textbook Wrestler V Striker and just seeing someone pretty much dominate Anderson and control him i felt was a good main event and leaves us with a good rematch in the future.

But God damn Chael so much during that i kept thinking "he's leaving himself open at times for a submission" then 5th round i think you don't even need to do anything you've won the fight

Great performance from Chael really impressed with him but i think i don't want to see a immediate rematch just because unlike Edgar/Penn or Shogun/Machida were it was a close decision and warrented a rematch, this ended with a finish. I think let him sit out and fight the winner of Silva/Belfort then let him trash talk again about how he was dominating Anderson etc etc.

Also can we just make a belt for Jon Fitch in being Number 2 Welterweight cause if GSP beats Koscheck i can really see Fitch/GSP II being exactly the same as Fitch/GSP I

I disagree on the UFC not going for the rematch straight away (when they heal, of course). This is what I would like them to do:

Vitor Belfort hasn't fought in almost a year, he's had some injuries that have prevented him from fighting, so I would like to see him get a warm-up fight first, so he can get off that ring rust. Let's say against Nate Marquardt or Demian Maia.

Silva/Sonnen are reserved to fight each other in a rematch between December-February. Winner fights Belfort in the summer.

I'll take Vitor/Anderson all day long over Anderson/Chael. While Sonnen does deserve another shot down the line, I'd much rather see Vitor now challenge Silva, in what I also believe will be a much more exciting fight. This fight seems to have been in the pipe line forever, it's about damn time it happened.

And seriously, nobody apart from himself and his camp know whether Silva was injured. I don't see why he needs to lie. It's not an excuse. Why does he need to make an excuse up when he WON the fight anyway? It doesn't matter about who dominates the fight, it matters about the result. I'm not saying Silva got beat over four rounds because of an injury, but that's not to say it didn't exist or wasn't a factor in the fight.

Belfort hasn't actually faced no one at 185 since his UFC Return. His only fight was against Franklin (at UFC 103) and it was at 195 lbs. Catchweight. He hasn't done anything in the UFC that deserves a title shot at 185 yet. That's why I would prefer him to fight someone else to take the rust off and then the title shot. As for the injury, he was making an excuse on why he got dominated all the fight, it's like taking all the other guy's credit for dominating Silva through the whole fight and taking him down and ground and pound him. I still think that if Silva was THAT hurt to do nothing to Sonnen in the fight, then he wouldn't had taken the fight, like he did to Belfort, previously, twice.

Also, as incredible as it may sound, some sites/people are claiming that the fight was fixed.

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

I literally jumped out of my seat when Chael rocked Silva in the first, gutted for him that he couldn't finish. I guess it's the pressure to finish over taking the decision, but he really didn't need to go for it, he'd performed so well through four and a half, I don't think anyone could begrudge him hugging it out for the win. I call bullshit on Silva's rib injury, Sonnen hit him pretty hard several times on both sides of his body, and he didn't seem any more bothered by them than normal. And getting your ass handed to you for four rounds is the stupidest "strategy" I ever heard, shut the fuck up with those weak excuses.

I'd like to see a rematch, not because Sonnen deserves it, or he's stronger than any other contender or anything, I just think it'd be a great fight. Really disappointed that Silva escaped with the win. And is anyone else a tad annoyed that the commentators and everyone seemed to instantly switch from "christ Sonnen is kicking Silva's ass" to "Silva is the greatest" so quickly? I mean yeah, he did well to lock the sub in, but Sonnen's always letting himself get submitted and Silva was on his back getting his fucking ears clapped, he was terrible defensively.

Finally someone agrees with me. Silva post-poned his fight against Belfort twice because of injuries, if he was really that hurt in his ribs to actually fight back at Sonnen, he wouldn't had taken the fight, sure, he might been roughed up while training but not enough to make it a damn excuse.

I really enjoyed the main event cause i thought it was textbook Wrestler V Striker and just seeing someone pretty much dominate Anderson and control him i felt was a good main event and leaves us with a good rematch in the future.

But God damn Chael so much during that i kept thinking "he's leaving himself open at times for a submission" then 5th round i think you don't even need to do anything you've won the fight

Great performance from Chael really impressed with him but i think i don't want to see a immediate rematch just because unlike Edgar/Penn or Shogun/Machida were it was a close decision and warrented a rematch, this ended with a finish. I think let him sit out and fight the winner of Silva/Belfort then let him trash talk again about how he was dominating Anderson etc etc.

Also can we just make a belt for Jon Fitch in being Number 2 Welterweight cause if GSP beats Koscheck i can really see Fitch/GSP II being exactly the same as Fitch/GSP I

I disagree on the UFC not going for the rematch straight away (when they heal, of course). This is what I would like them to do:

Vitor Belfort hasn't fought in almost a year, he's had some injuries that have prevented him from fighting, so I would like to see him get a warm-up fight first, so he can get off that ring rust. Let's say against Nate Marquardt or Demian Maia.

Silva/Sonnen are reserved to fight each other in a rematch between December-February. Winner fights Belfort in the summer.

I'll take Vitor/Anderson all day long over Anderson/Chael. While Sonnen does deserve another shot down the line, I'd much rather see Vitor now challenge Silva, in what I also believe will be a much more exciting fight. This fight seems to have been in the pipe line forever, it's about damn time it happened.

And seriously, nobody apart from himself and his camp know whether Silva was injured. I don't see why he needs to lie. It's not an excuse. Why does he need to make an excuse up when he WON the fight anyway? It doesn't matter about who dominates the fight, it matters about the result. I'm not saying Silva got beat over four rounds because of an injury, but that's not to say it didn't exist or wasn't a factor in the fight.

Belfort hasn't actually faced no one at 185 since his UFC Return. His only fight was against Franklin (at UFC 103) and it was at 195 lbs. Catchweight. He hasn't done anything in the UFC that deserves a title shot at 185 yet. That's why I would prefer him to fight someone else to take the rust off and then the title shot. As for the injury, he was making an excuse on why he got dominated all the fight, it's like taking all the other guy's credit for dominating Silva through the whole fight and taking him down and ground and pound him. I still think that if Silva was THAT hurt to do nothing to Sonnen in the fight, then he wouldn't had taken the fight, like he did to Belfort, previously, twice.

Also, as incredible as it may sound, some sites/people are claiming that the fight was fixed.

According to Ed Soares (who is far from a reliable source, admittedly), the injury only occurred a few days before the fight. It's one thing to pull out of a fight weeks or months ahead of time when a replacement fight can still be put together, it's another to pull out last-minute.

And people will claim that every major MMA fight was fixed until the end of time, sadly.

[Powerhart]

Ed Soares is the most biased piece of shit in the planet. There, I said it.

I like Belfort/Silva. Given how Sonnen managed to clip Anderson and stagger him I wonder what effect Vitor's strikes would have.

I'd like to see Sonnen have a rematch sometime down the line but he should earn it in my opinion. Even if it's just one fight, a rematch with Maia maybe?

He has to earn it? After everything he did to Silva? After that performance? After a fight like that, you don't need to earn shit to get a rematch, specially after a guy who you dominated for 23 minutes.

[Powerhart]

Also, as incredible as it may sound, some sites/people are claiming that the fight was fixed.

To anyone interested, http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2010/8/9/1614076/wrong-again-chael-sonnens-flagrant[url=http://superluchas.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/20100718-00000028-spnavi-fight-view-000.jpeg], that's the link to the article.

Edited August 10, 2010 by Powerhart

[rocksta]

Also, as incredible as it may sound, some sites/people are claiming that the fight was fixed.

To anyone interested, http://superluchas.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/20100718-00000028-spnavi-fight-view-000.jpeg, that's the link to the article.

That's a link to two men wearing cat masks.

[Powerhart]

Also, as incredible as it may sound, some sites/people are claiming that the fight was fixed.

To anyone interested, http://superluchas.f...t-view-000.jpeg, that's the link to the article.

That's a link to two men wearing cat masks.

Hahahhaha. Sorry about that, here: http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2010/8/9/1614076/wrong-again-chael-sonnens-flagrant

[Plubby]

Bahahaha. I thought that was deliberate.

[Powerhart]

According to some rumors: if Silva's rib injury is legit, he should be out until February-March 2011. That's at least a good 6-months, and the rumors point to a Sonnen-Belfort fight.

What do you think UFC should do if Silva is actually injured?

Also, I found this: http://www.mmasportcenter.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/silvasonnenscorecard.jpg it's a picture taken of the judges scorecards.

[Indie913]

I literally jumped out of my seat when Chael rocked Silva in the first, gutted for him that he couldn't finish. I guess it's the pressure to finish over taking the decision, but he really didn't need to go for it, he'd performed so well through four and a half, I don't think anyone could begrudge him hugging it out for the win. I call bullshit on Silva's rib injury, Sonnen hit him pretty hard several times on both sides of his body, and he didn't seem any more bothered by them than normal. And getting your ass handed to you for four rounds is the stupidest "strategy" I ever heard, shut the fuck up with those weak excuses.

I'd like to see a rematch, not because Sonnen deserves it, or he's stronger than any other contender or anything, I just think it'd be a great fight. Really disappointed that Silva escaped with the win. And is anyone else a tad annoyed that the commentators and everyone seemed to instantly switch from "christ Sonnen is kicking Silva's ass" to "Silva is the greatest" so quickly? I mean yeah, he did well to lock the sub in, but Sonnen's always letting himself get submitted and Silva was on his back getting his fucking ears clapped, he was terrible defensively.

Finally someone agrees with me. Silva post-poned his fight against Belfort twice because of injuries, if he was really that hurt in his ribs to actually fight back at Sonnen, he wouldn't had taken the fight, sure, he might been roughed up while training but not enough to make it a damn excuse.

I really enjoyed the main event cause i thought it was textbook Wrestler V Striker and just seeing someone pretty much dominate Anderson and control him i felt was a good main event and leaves us with a good rematch in the future.

But God damn Chael so much during that i kept thinking "he's leaving himself open at times for a submission" then 5th round i think you don't even need to do anything you've won the fight

Great performance from Chael really impressed with him but i think i don't want to see a immediate rematch just because unlike Edgar/Penn or Shogun/Machida were it was a close decision and warrented a rematch, this ended with a finish. I think let him sit out and fight the winner of Silva/Belfort then let him trash talk again about how he was dominating Anderson etc etc.

Also can we just make a belt for Jon Fitch in being Number 2 Welterweight cause if GSP beats Koscheck i can really see Fitch/GSP II being exactly the same as Fitch/GSP I

I disagree on the UFC not going for the rematch straight away (when they heal, of course). This is what I would like them to do:

Vitor Belfort hasn't fought in almost a year, he's had some injuries that have prevented him from fighting, so I would like to see him get a warm-up fight first, so he can get off that ring rust. Let's say against Nate Marquardt or Demian Maia.

Silva/Sonnen are reserved to fight each other in a rematch between December-February. Winner fights Belfort in the summer.

I'll take Vitor/Anderson all day long over Anderson/Chael. While Sonnen does deserve another shot down the line, I'd much rather see Vitor now challenge Silva, in what I also believe will be a much more exciting fight. This fight seems to have been in the pipe line forever, it's about damn time it happened.

And seriously, nobody apart from himself and his camp know whether Silva was injured. I don't see why he needs to lie. It's not an excuse. Why does he need to make an excuse up when he WON the fight anyway? It doesn't matter about who dominates the fight, it matters about the result. I'm not saying Silva got beat over four rounds because of an injury, but that's not to say it didn't exist or wasn't a factor in the fight.

Belfort hasn't actually faced no one at 185 since his UFC Return. His only fight was against Franklin (at UFC 103) and it was at 195 lbs. Catchweight. He hasn't done anything in the UFC that deserves a title shot at 185 yet. That's why I would prefer him to fight someone else to take the rust off and then the title shot. As for the injury, he was making an excuse on why he got dominated all the fight, it's like taking all the other guy's credit for dominating Silva through the whole fight and taking him down and ground and pound him. I still think that if Silva was THAT hurt to do nothing to Sonnen in the fight, then he wouldn't had taken the fight, like he did to Belfort, previously, twice.

Also, as incredible as it may sound, some sites/people are claiming that the fight was fixed.

He beat a former middleweight champion who is still relevant and prior to that beat Matt Lindland, who was thought to be top three in the world at the time and a guy people thought could come in and do to Silva basically what Sonnen did. I think he did as much to earn a shot as Sonnen did in the grand scheme of things (remember Sonnen had just lost not that long ago to Demian Maia). If you're looking at UFC as it's own little world, then yeah, but in terms of overall accomplishment, Belfort deserved the shot. The problem is that now it's been so long he actually probably does need a tune-up at middleweight, I like the idea of doing the Belfort-Sonnen fight for a rematch.

[Indie913]

I literally jumped out of my seat when Chael rocked Silva in the first, gutted for him that he couldn't finish. I guess it's the pressure to finish over taking the decision, but he really didn't need to go for it, he'd performed so well through four and a half, I don't think anyone could begrudge him hugging it out for the win. I call bullshit on Silva's rib injury, Sonnen hit him pretty hard several times on both sides of his body, and he didn't seem any more bothered by them than normal. And getting your ass handed to you for four rounds is the stupidest "strategy" I ever heard, shut the fuck up with those weak excuses.

I'd like to see a rematch, not because Sonnen deserves it, or he's stronger than any other contender or anything, I just think it'd be a great fight. Really disappointed that Silva escaped with the win. And is anyone else a tad annoyed that the commentators and everyone seemed to instantly switch from "christ Sonnen is kicking Silva's ass" to "Silva is the greatest" so quickly? I mean yeah, he did well to lock the sub in, but Sonnen's always letting himself get submitted and Silva was on his back getting his fucking ears clapped, he was terrible defensively.

Finally someone agrees with me. Silva post-poned his fight against Belfort twice because of injuries, if he was really that hurt in his ribs to actually fight back at Sonnen, he wouldn't had taken the fight, sure, he might been roughed up while training but not enough to make it a damn excuse.

I really enjoyed the main event cause i thought it was textbook Wrestler V Striker and just seeing someone pretty much dominate Anderson and control him i felt was a good main event and leaves us with a good rematch in the future.

But God damn Chael so much during that i kept thinking "he's leaving himself open at times for a submission" then 5th round i think you don't even need to do anything you've won the fight

Great performance from Chael really impressed with him but i think i don't want to see a immediate rematch just because unlike Edgar/Penn or Shogun/Machida were it was a close decision and warrented a rematch, this ended with a finish. I think let him sit out and fight the winner of Silva/Belfort then let him trash talk again about how he was dominating Anderson etc etc.

Also can we just make a belt for Jon Fitch in being Number 2 Welterweight cause if GSP beats Koscheck i can really see Fitch/GSP II being exactly the same as Fitch/GSP I

I disagree on the UFC not going for the rematch straight away (when they heal, of course). This is what I would like them to do:

Vitor Belfort hasn't fought in almost a year, he's had some injuries that have prevented him from fighting, so I would like to see him get a warm-up fight first, so he can get off that ring rust. Let's say against Nate Marquardt or Demian Maia.

Silva/Sonnen are reserved to fight each other in a rematch between December-February. Winner fights Belfort in the summer.

I'll take Vitor/Anderson all day long over Anderson/Chael. While Sonnen does deserve another shot down the line, I'd much rather see Vitor now challenge Silva, in what I also believe will be a much more exciting fight. This fight seems to have been in the pipe line forever, it's about damn time it happened.

And seriously, nobody apart from himself and his camp know whether Silva was injured. I don't see why he needs to lie. It's not an excuse. Why does he need to make an excuse up when he WON the fight anyway? It doesn't matter about who dominates the fight, it matters about the result. I'm not saying Silva got beat over four rounds because of an injury, but that's not to say it didn't exist or wasn't a factor in the fight.

Belfort hasn't actually faced no one at 185 since his UFC Return. His only fight was against Franklin (at UFC 103) and it was at 195 lbs. Catchweight. He hasn't done anything in the UFC that deserves a title shot at 185 yet. That's why I would prefer him to fight someone else to take the rust off and then the title shot. As for the injury, he was making an excuse on why he got dominated all the fight, it's like taking all the other guy's credit for dominating Silva through the whole fight and taking him down and ground and pound him. I still think that if Silva was THAT hurt to do nothing to Sonnen in the fight, then he wouldn't had taken the fight, like he did to Belfort, previously, twice.

Also, as incredible as it may sound, some sites/people are claiming that the fight was fixed.

He beat a former middleweight champion who is still relevant and prior to that beat Matt Lindland, who was thought to be top three in the world at the time and a guy people thought could come in and do to Silva basically what Sonnen did. I think he did as much to earn a shot as Sonnen did in the grand scheme of things (remember Sonnen had just lost not that long ago to Demian Maia). If you're looking at UFC as it's own little world, then yeah, but in terms of overall accomplishment, Belfort deserved the shot. The problem is that now it's been so long he actually probably does need a tune-up at middleweight, I like the idea of doing the Belfort-Sonnen fight for a rematch.

[Quom]

I think it will come down to buys. Sonnen made an unappealing fight interesting with all of his bullshit. He then had a supremely interesting fight with Silva. If the PPV has popped a higher than expected rating I'd be wrapping Sonnen in cotton wool and giving him until Silva is back to train and hype the re-match. Normally I'm all about winning the title shot in the ring/cage but Sonnen vs. Silva could be the thing to gain more mainstream attention to MMA. I don't know I would want to take momentum away from Sonnen or Belfort by making one of them the loser.

I'd give Belfort a tune up fight against a mid range guy with a weak chin who is likely to be overwhelmed and I'd protect Sonnen at all costs. Belfort vs.the winner of the rematch.

Edited August 11, 2010 by QuomQuat

[Fitzy]

Meltzer is indicating the PPV looks to be doing in the range of 800,000, which if the case, is great numbers. Silva's PPV buys are usually in the range of anywhere from 350-450,000.

I think they will do Sonnen/Belfort in the winter and then hopefully if Sonnen wins they can do the next TUF based on Silva and Sonnen. Though who knows if Silva would be up for that, but he has appeared on the show before, so he might. But that would be a great season of TUF and more than enough time to build for the rematch and would do in the range of a million buys if this 800,000 is any thing to go by.

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

If Powerhart's asking about an interim title or anything like that, Rua's out until roughly the same time and starting a couple months earlier, so precedent would say no.

[Powerhart]

I think it will come down to buys. Sonnen made an unappealing fight interesting with all of his bullshit. He then had a supremely interesting fight with Silva. If the PPV has popped a higher than expected rating I'd be wrapping Sonnen in cotton wool and giving him until Silva is back to train and hype the re-match. Normally I'm all about winning the title shot in the ring/cage but Sonnen vs. Silva could be the thing to gain more mainstream attention to MMA. I don't know I would want to take momentum away from Sonnen or Belfort by making one of them the loser.

I'd give Belfort a tune up fight against a mid range guy with a weak chin who is likely to be overwhelmed and I'd protect Sonnen at all costs. Belfort vs.the winner of the rematch.

Completely agreed, Belfort should get a tune-up fight just to get back into people's memories (personally, I can barely remember his fight against Franklin) against some mid-range guy, but there's always that risk of a shocking upset.

As for the interim fight MPH, no, I actually don't want that to happen, I don't like interim titles, I don't want this to turn into Boxing where they have like 5 interim belts in each division. So, no, I'm not asking for an interim title fight.