UFC 101 POST FIGHT NEWS & NOTES

Anderson Silva’s next match
With a dominating victory against light heavyweight Forrest Griffin, Anderson Silva proved that he is still one of the top fighters in the sport. Now, the question for the UFC is who will the middleweight champion go up against next?

The opponent will not be coming from the 205 pound weight class. UFC President Dana White quickly removed any speculation that Silva’s next fight would be at light heavyweight.

“His next fight will be at 185 lbs.,” Dana White said. “I think it will be against Dan Henderson.”

For his part, Henderson stated that he would be receiving a rematch against the middleweight champion.

“I am fighting Anderson Silva next,” Henderson said.

Henderson has won his last three fights in the UFC to earn the title shot. He defeated Michael Bisping, Rich Franklin, and Rousimar Palhares.

Best season yet

As the premier of The Ultimate Fighter season eight quickly approaches, the hype has already begun. In fact, the buildup actually began in March when Rashad Evans and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson had a memorable staredown after Jackson defeated Evans’ friend and training partner Keith Jardine.

Apparently, the animosity between the two coaches is for real.

“They don’t like each other,” White said.

With Kimbo Slice, Rampage Jackson, Rashad Evans and others taking part on the upcoming show, White is convinced that they need more than the standard television season to show the footage.

“We had a great season. We only have 42 minutes of content (each episode),” White said. “We have so many storylines. This could be a ten set DVD.”

The UFC is exploring new avenues to deliver those storylines.

“We got together with Spike, and we started talking about creating episodes for the website,” White said. “We’re figuring out ways to get these stories out there.”

Overly emotional

After suffering a quick defeat to Anderson Silva, former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin immediately ran from the octagon and into the dressing room. He avoided ring announcer Bruce Buffer’s final announcement and the post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. He also skipped the press conference after the show.

“He’s an emotional guy,” White said of Griffin. “He came into this fight very confident. We’ve seen this from Forrest before.”

During the post-fight press conference, White joked about Griffin’s wherabouts.

“He might be in Georgia now,” White said.

Serra vs. Hughes II?

Engaging in one of the most heated feuds in UFC history, Matt Hughes and Matt Serra supposedly settled the score in May 2009 after Hughes’ unanimous decision victory. Apparently, Serra is not ready for the feud to end.

When asked about a possible next opponent, Serra left no doubt who he wanted to square off with.

“I would love a rematch with Matt Hughes,” Serra said with a strong emphasis on love.

Matt Hughes won the first match-up by a thin margin. Even after a few months of reflection, Serra does not agree with the verdict.

“I believe I won the first fight,” Serra said. “I even have the name for the next fight. They should put us together and label it ‘Unfinished Business’.”

The next lightweight title clash

At UFC 101, BJ Penn defeated Kenny Florian with a fourth round submission victory. Penn’s next opponent will be someone who is very familiar with Florian.

“Diego Sanchez is next line for a title shot against BJ Penn,” said White.

Sanchez defeated Florian to win the first season of The Ultimate Fighter. Sanchez has openly campaigned for the opportunity since defeating Clay Guida in June.

Only in the ring

Anderson Silva and Roy Jones have openly discussed the possibility of squaring off against one another. After witnessing Silva’s first round destruction of Forrest Griffin, Jones eliminated the possibility of the fight being under MMA rules.

“Anderson Silva went out and did exactly what a champion should do,” Jones said. “I’d like to fight him, but it would have to be in boxing. I’m not a UFC guy. I can’t do the jiu-jitsu and all that.”

However, Dana White put to rest any chances of the fight taking place while Silva is under UFC contract.

“I don’t mean to show any disrespect to Roy Jones,” said White. “But no, I don’t like that fight.”

Throughout White’s talk about a potential fight with Jones at the UFC 101 press conference, Silva was sitting about three feet away. He couldn’t hide the big smile on his face when discussing the possibility.

The “next” next big thing?

While there have been a substantial amount of professional wrestlers to make the transition to MMA, only Brock Lesnar has become a substantial draw during the UFC’s current boom era. Usually, when something is successful, copycats are sure to follow.

One fighter that drawn the attention of the UFC is former WWE superstar Bobby Lashley. Like Lesnar, Lashley is an accomplished amateur wrestler who also boasts as a freakish physique. Since entering MMA, Lashley has a 4-0 record that includes wins over both Jason Guida and Bob Sapp.

Lashley is taking a much slower approach to the sport than Lesnar did. Lesnar fought in the UFC in just his second professional fight. Lashley is planning on fighting on smaller shows over the next year before attempting to make the jump to one of the big time promotions.

One of the organizations Lashley could join is the UFC and he is definitely on the organization’s radar.

“People have been asking me about him (Lashley),” said White. “Yes, we’re watching him.”

Should Lashley sign with the UFC, a fight with Lesnar would be a natural fit for the former WWE champions.