Who Anderson Silva's Next Three Title Fights Should Be Against

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If Dana White has his way, Anderson Silva will defend the belt three more times. After that, he can move on to a superfight against the champion of an adjacent weight class.

As the most decorated mixed martial artist in UFC history, The Spider has held on to his belt for more than six years and has defended it a record 10 times. Along the way, he has shattered several other records, including most consecutive wins and most knockout-of-the-night awards.

For those reasons, you can't simply throw any challenger in front of him. You have to strategically pick opponents who deserve a crack at the title and have a reasonable chance of scoring the upset.

With the recent fumbles of potential contenders Tim Boetsch and Alan Belcher, the division appears much smaller today than it did only a few weeks ago. So who should get the chance to challenge Silva for the UFC middleweight championship?

Here is a look at the final three men who should challenge Anderson Silva for the UFC championship before he takes on a superfight.


Michael Bisping

A crack at the UFC championship is all that Michael Bisping has ever wanted. Unfortunately, "The Count" has been unsuccessful in securing a title opportunity despite 17 appearances inside the Octagon.

Now, Bisping is finally on the cusp of making his dream come true. With wins in five of his last six bouts, Dana White has confirmed that The Ultimate Fighter winner will get his shot at Anderson Silva should he get past Vitor Belfort at UFC on FX 7.

As of press time, the betting line is almost even. However, Belfort is a slight favorite, according to Bovada.

Can a motivated Bisping finally best a member of the MMA elite? On January 19, tune in to UFC on FX 7 and find out.


Chris Weidman

Powerful wrestling, solid movement and quality submission skills are three of Chris Weidman's best qualities as a fighter. They also happen to be the recipe for defeating Anderson Silva.

As illustrated by fights with Chael Sonnen, Silva can be overwhelmed by constant pressure and aggressive takedowns. If Weidman can follow the blueprint created by "The American Gangster," he could find similar success in dictating the bout's location.

Sonnen's downfall came when he once again displayed poor submission defense and got caught in a triangle choke due to pure laziness. With Weidman possessing solid jiu-jitsu skills under trainer Matt Serra, he would be more inclined to test Silva's grappling rather than succumb to it.

Weidman is 5-0 in the UFC middleweight division and will likely get the next title shot if Michael Bisping comes up short against Vitor Belfort at UFC on FX 7. However, he will likely fight one more time before his title opportunity.


Cung Le

Before you slam your computer against a wall and call me a know-nothing scumbag, hear me out.

First, after Bisping and Weidman get their crack at Silva, there are no obvious title contenders, so thinking outside the box is necessary.

Second, former Strikeforce champion Cung Le just knocked out Rich Franklin in November. It was a highlight- reel moment that will live forever in video packages and it follows a fairly one-sided victory over Patrick Cote in July.

Admittedly, the Cote win doesn't scream title contender, however, it is notable because Cote was once a contender to Anderson Silva's UFC championship.

The win against Rich Franklin speaks volumes about the dynamic striking of Le. It's undoubtedly the biggest victory of his career, as Franklin has never been defeated by any man other than UFC champions and dual-division PRIDE champion Dan Henderson.

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I think the first two are obvious, but would like to think Vitor could work his way back up by that time (Anderson doesn't really fight too often), even if he loses to Bisping.

Bisping!!!!! your new middle weight champ!!!!

Bisping has the best shot. Weidman using the ever vaunted "Serra Ju Jitsu" and good old American Wrestling will come out .... shoot.... take a knee in the face and die.

Cung Le? Really?

Agreed...Bisping has the best chance and IMO is the most deserving of a title shot.

I like Weidmans chances better than Bisping. I dont think Bisping has the punching power to do anything to make Anderson bring his hands up his hips before KOing him.

You guys are all shittin me right... How does Bisping have the best/better chance? He is a stand-up points fighter. He has no power to be heard of and a questionable chin. That equals a good chance against the best striker in the game? He is essentially a smaller version of Forrest with less of a ground game.

Weidman has ALL the tools to take the title, everything! Good stand-up, good power, good BJJ and amazing wrestling with the ability to finish it anywhere... especially the ground.

Le... IDK lol

I still think weidman is all hype right now. beating a fat munoz and a cardio wiped out maia just doesnt impress me at all.Plus i think Bisping could beat either of those guys too. I still think you guys are under estimating bispings power. He does have alot of TKO's under his belt and has really good sub defense and i think his wrestling has come a long way.(not as good as weidmans i grant you) But Bisping hands down has the better stand up over weidman. His chin i think is better than most think. he took kangs and sexys right hook,all of what wandi gave him and took the best shots from Stann and still was able to keep fighting and win most of those. I want to see weidman fight lombard,belfort or Okami first before i would give him a title shot even more so weidman was offered Belfort and said no way to the fight and Bisping took the fight which shows me who wants the title more.

I'm with Gecko, I'm not at all on the Weidman train. I think it'd be a joke watching him fight Silva...there are lots of guys with knock out power and good standup that Silva made look like amateurs.

samger2 wrote:

I'm with Gecko, I'm not at all on the Weidman train. I think it'd be a joke watching him fight Silva...there are lots of guys with knock out power and good standup that Silva made look like amateurs.

My argument was that I think that Weidman has the better skillset to give Silva a problem than Bisping does.

Granted Weidman is a bit of an unknown, but his credentials are there and he has some good wins in the UFC. He's an all-american collegiate wrestler, has big punching power, and also VERY slick jiu jitsu. The latter two Chael does not have and it was still an issue for anderson.

I do not see what Bisping brings to the table in this fight.

Dont get me wrong Bisping is a very well-rounded fighter and has surprised me on many occassions. I respect him a ton. But, if styles make fights I dont see this one for him. He pretty much has a point based boxing style. Good luck lasting five rounds against the best standup fighter in the world with that gameplan.

I'm just tired of the whiney fighters who keep saying "I deserve a shot ... I deserve a shot"... put all the whiney biitches at the back of the line.

Or then there is the you dont get a title shot if you ask for one approach lol