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[BigBanda]

Source: - ANDERSON SILVA GUNNING FOR TWO BELTS - MMA WEEKLY - Mixed Martial Arts & UFC News, Photos, Rankings & more

Since emerging in the Ultimate Fighting Championship two years ago, Anderson Silva has clearly proven his position as the No. 1 middleweight fighter in the world. Many have also bandied about the label of best pound-for-pound fighter in the same breath as the UFC middleweight champion.

Now he’s out to prove it. And for the first time in the promotion’s history, UFC president Dana White is giving his blessing to allow one of his champions to move among divisions in an attempt to hold two belts in two classes.

“(Ricarod Almeida) and Patrick Cote are going to fight on Saturday night and see who's next in line for Anderson Silva's 185-pound title,” said White at Thursday’s pre-fight press conference in anticipation of Saturday’s UFC 86 card in Las Vegas.

“Anderson Silva, being the monster that he is, you all know is going to move up to 205 on July 19. He's going to fight at 205. If everything goes well, he wants to move back to 185 and fight Sept. 6 in Atlanta, probably against Yushin Okami, then he wants to fight again two months later,” he continued.

That’s not where the blueprint ends. White later spoke to MMAWeekly.com, saying that not only are Silva’s next couple of middleweight fights lined out, but he also has White’s confidence in making a go at both retaining the middleweight belt and hunting down light heavyweight gold.

“When I talk about real fighter, this is the kind of guy I'm talking about. This guy sat down in a meeting with us, literally, two months ago and said you're not fighting me enough, I want to fight more,” explained White. “And he wants to keep proving himself. He's one of these guys that said my window is this big and I want to get everything in before this window closes.

“He wants to fight (July) 19. He wants to fight again Sept. 6 (at UFC 88), back down to 185 (pounds); he wants to defend his title, then again two months later. Anderson Silva might fight three or four more times this year. He might fight three or four more times this year and it's almost August!”

The only catch thus far is Silva has to get by James Irvin at the UFC Fight Night on July 19. He doesn’t have to win, at least to defend his middleweight belt, but he does have to come out unscathed.

“He just has to be healthy,” said White about being ready for a Sept. 6 defense. “I assume if he didn't win, he's probably not going to come out healthy unless it's a quick submission or something.” And he added an emphatic “yeah” when asked if Silva’s defense in Atlanta would be against No. 6 ranked Yushin Okami.

The idea then is to return to the Octagon a couple of months later, assuming he defeats Okami, and then face the UFC 86 winner between Ricardo Almeida and Patrick Cote said White.

“Yeah. Then he'll bounce back up to 205. He wants to fight 205 again, then go back to 185. He wants to keep sticking his foot in the 205 division to feel it out. Because what he's testing is, I think he wants both belts,” said White.

“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.”

[lilp86]

If anyone can do it Anderson can

[Beowulf]

BJ wants the LW and WW belts...
GSP wants the WW and MW belts
Silva wants the MW and LHW belts...


Will be good to see how that all works out.

[ILJO]

some very interesting stuff in this article. Nice find

I really hope Almeida beats Cote because imo Cote has no chance (punchers chance) while Almeida probably has better submission skills so it might be an actual test for Anderson

[thefirm0]

Originally Posted by ILJO

some very interesting stuff in this article. Nice find

I really hope Almeida beats Cote because imo Cote has no chance (punchers chance) while Almeida probably has better submission skills so it might be an actual test for Anderson

totaly agree, even though i want cote to win, almeida has a much better chance

[grhunt]

I think this is great for the UFC, with the champions moving between weight classes it gives the opportunity to prove that they are the best out there not only in their natural division but between other divisions as well.

Anderson and BJ have the best chance of winning two belts (I don't think GSP would be able to handle silva) but the thing that makes me upset is that Dana is giving BJ a shot at the WW title without any current wins in the WW division but Anderson has to start with a fighter that is in the lower part of the LHW Division even though he won six straight fights by total domination in the MW division.( granted BJ has fought at WW before but his last two fights in the divison has been losses) I just don't see Dana's logic sometimes

[Dork8503]

If Anderson wants to fight every 2-3 months i don't see Dana having a problem with Anderson having 2 belts because guys like Penn and GSP don't want to fight more then 3 times a year, when Anderson wants to fight more then that.

If he beats Irvin, i hope he comes in healthy against Okami because that is a weight change and a tough ass dude, i hope Anderson isn't underestimating Okami.

Rather see Cote win so if Anderson does make it past irvin, and Okami, then in someone shortly after Okami he can have a easy fight in knocking out Cote.

[ILJO]

Originally Posted by Dork8503

Rather see Cote win so if Anderson does make it past irvin, and Okami, then in someone shortly after Okami he can have a easy fight in knocking out Cote.

I understand where your coming from but Anderson doesnt have to take all of these fights in this short amount of time... its his choice

I dont want to see the best fighter in the world have an easy fight. I want to see him get challenged and give his best performance

[POINDEXTER]

For all the Dana White hate it's pretty cool that he is allowing for this kind of flexibility. I am excited for what the future holds. This definitely isn't some bullshit situation where the champs (or even street fighting sensations) are held onto for their publicity and marketability. If either BJ or Silva loses, or even Franklin for that matter, their stature and legitimacy drops immediately, IMO. I'm looking forward to seeing these battles.

[Dork8503]

Originally Posted by ILJO

I understand where your coming from but Anderson doesnt have to take all of these fights in this short amount of time... its his choice

I dont want to see the best fighter in the world have an easy fight. I want to see him get challenged and give his best performance

If Cote beats Ricardo then he earns it, it will just be a better suited fight for Anderson.

Anderson wants to stay active an i applaud him for that. I mean Anderson wants to be a fighting champion, he wants to fight more then 3 times a year which is fucking awesome.

Maybe he is just really trying to fight everyone at MW he needs to so he can move up.

I mean if he beats Okami and the Cote/Ricardo winner, who else is in line.

I really don't see Anderson fighting more then 3 more fights at MW. I mean if he does fight more then 3 then he really does imo want to literally clean it out by beating everyone at MW in the UFC an most 2 times lol.

I also see Anderson testing the waters very slowly at 205. If he beats Irvin, then in a few months i see someone who will stand with him, an just working his way up.

Maybe 3-4 fights at LHW an he will get a shot at the title or something, idk.