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2008-07-23 00:05:52
Anderson Silva to Defend Middleweight Title on UFC 89 Card?
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MMA Junkie (link below) is reporting that Spike TV and the UFC are closing in on a deal for UFC 89 (which will take place in Birmingham, England). This event would be shown for free on Spike TV. There were rumors circulating that Spike was balking at the large price tag for broadcasting the event, but they likely warmed up to the idea after seeing the extremely strong ratings that UFC Fight Night 14 posted.
The card is already a pretty strong one. Michael Bisping vs Chris Leben is currently scheduled as the "main" event of the show. Other booked matches on the main card include:
-Lyoto Machida vs Thiago Silva
-Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs Luis Cane
-Akihiro Gono vs Dan Hardy
Rumors are now swirling that Anderson "Spider" Silva will be added to the card as well, likely facing off against Patrick Cote in a middleweight title defense.
Silva was originally slated to defend against Yushin Okami at either UFC 88 or UFC 90, but Okami broke his hand and will be unable to take the fight. This leaves Cote as the next logical choice, as he earned a title shot at UFC 86 when he defeated Ricardo Almeida.
Putting Silva on this card would make a lot of sense, as the Bisping vs Leben main event is not exactly a big draw for a North American audience. Sure it plays well in the UK, but I'm not sure if North American viewers would tune in for that fight. If Silva is on the card then things change, as evidenced by the UFC's extremely strong ratings for UFC Fight Night 14.
I don't think that Cote has a snowball's chance in Hell of beating Silva, but hey - he earned a shot at the title.
Silva barely received a scratch in his first-round annihilation of James Irvin on Saturday night, so he would surely be ready to go for October. I would expect that Silva will fight twice more this year - once in October, and again on the UFC's late December show.
This is strictly rumor right now - we'll post more on this topic once things are finalized.
Source: MMA Junkie
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