Earlier this month, the UFC’s longtime and seemingly indestructible 185-pound title-holder moved up a weight class and handily defeated former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin.
The booking was made largely to appease Silva, a very likeable fighter – but one who has some primadonna tendencies.
In the two bouts prior to the Griffin booking, Silva made successful title defenses over Patrick Cote and Thales Leites, fighters who had arguably earned the title shots, though each was a significant underdog. Silva made no secret of his disdain for the bookings, and the end result was two lackluster performances in which the champion seemed simply to toy with his opponents en route to victory.
Silva’s mantra is and has always been simple: “I only want big fights.”
The 34-year-old feels anything less is a waste of his limited shelf life.
Silva, now 10-0 in the UFC (and 25-4 overall), was in Portland, Ore., this past weekend for UFC 102. Although Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira beat fellow ex-champ Randy Couture in the night’s main event, Silva had his eye on another fight – one between middleweight contenders Nate Marquardt and Demian Maia.
Marquardt, who’s been on a tear since suffering a TKO loss to Silva in his first title shot back in 2007, made a case for a second one when he blasted the previously unbeaten Maia with a fight-ending knockout in just 22 seconds.
UFC president Dana White isn’t sure who gets the next title shot – Marquardt or fellow middleweight Dan Henderson – but in a postfight press conference, Silva’s manager and translator was willing to offer their suggestion.
“I think the fight that should happen is Nate Marquardt vs. Dan Henderson for the No. 1 title contender,” Ed Soares said. “That’s what I believe.”
Within the UFC community, few fighters and managers speak up so boldly. White, an unorthodox but likable executive, clearly runs the show. And with contracts that favor the organization (rather than the fighters) so heavily, most fighters simply go with the flow.
But Silva and his manager are in the driver’s seat with the organization. They know Silva is arguably the best fighter in MMA today, and they’re now in a position to dictate whom and even when he fights.
In fairness, though, they’ve made no demands. They’re not high maintenance, and — until now — they wield their power only to assure they get the type of fights fans truly want to see.
Dann Stupp is editor-in-chief of
mma
junkie.com, voted best media outlet in the 2008 World MMA Awards. For the latest mixed-martial-arts news, go to www.mmajunkie.com.
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