Nate Marquardt: Vitor Belfort UFC Title Shot 'Doesn't Make Sense'

Posted Oct 24, 2009 6:55AM By Michael David Smith (RSS feed)

Filed Under: UFC

Anderson Silva's next UFC middleweight title defense will apparently take place at UFC 108 against Vitor Belfort. Nate Marquardt doesn't Belfort has earned it.

"To be honest, I have no clue what's going on," Marquardt said on HDNet's Inside MMA. "To me, it's not logical that Vitor would get a shot after one fight at 195. It was his first fight back in the UFC, it wasn't even a middleweight fight, and he gets a middleweight title shot? It doesn't make sense to me, but it's not my decision, and I don't really care, I just want to fight."

Logically, Marquardt is right: It doesn't make any sense for Belfort to leapfrog fighters like Marquardt, Dan Henderson (if he re-signs with the UFC) and Yushin Okami (if he beats Chael Sonnen at UFC 104) simply by winning one fight. And it especially doesn't make sense when the one fight was at 195 pounds (and Belfort had trouble making weight), and when Belfort's previous stint in the UFC was at light heavyweight.

But this isn't about logic, it's about the UFC selling the fans on a credible threat to Anderson Silva's middleweight title. And the UFC thinks the best way to sell pay-per-views is to introduce Belfort as a new middleweight threat -- not to give a rematch to Marquardt or Henderson. (Okami isn't even close to being in the UFC's title plans.) So that's why Vitor is the new No. 1 middleweight contender, no matter how much it disappoints Marquardt.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

10-24-2009 @ 12:41PM

adam said...

my thoughts are nate i know you have been training hard but you already lost to silva so that wont be to exciting of a fight and vitor knocked out franklin who was also beat by silva not to mention dan was also ,so i think that a belfort fight with the champ is the perfect next fight ,belfort is a ufc legend and he is not afraid to go toe to toe ,,,that is going to be some fight ,,,,silva is the man

10-24-2009 @ 12:58PM

Eric said...

I can understand former champs getting the rematch with the guy who beat them (Franklin), but Marquardt isn't in that category. I'd much rather see someone new (Vitor) get the title shot against Anderson.

Same goes for GSP. I'd rather see the Swick/Hardy winner get the title shot than the Fitch/Alves winner.

It's more exciting that a rematch IMO.

10-24-2009 @ 1:04PM

jeff said...

To me, it doesn't make any sense that Belfort is now the #1 contender, but the bottom line is that the UFC is trying to make matchups that the fans want to see.

Belfort is pretty much getting the same treatment that the current middleweight champion, Anderson Silva, received from the UFC after his debut. Keep in mind that Anderson made his UFC debut against Chris Leben, and won that fight in an exciting fashion, and then the very next fight for Anderson was against Rich Franklin for the Middleweight Championship.

The same treatment was given to Lesnar. Brock made his UFC debut against Frank Mir after having won only one professional MMA fight, and then lost that fight. Apparently his very next fight - the decision victory over Heath Herring was enough to put him in a title match against Couture for his 4th MMA fight of his life.

Not all is fair in the world of the UFC, but if a fighter can come into the UFC and impress both the fans and Dana White, it seems as though a title shot is inevitable.

In my opinion, there's only three fights for Anderson Silva that everyone wants to see: Silva vs. Belfort, Silva vs. Henderson (which obviously isn't happening in the UFC any time soon), and Silva vs. Machida (another improbability).

piprocks666 said...

i agree vitor should have to go thru a few opponents before getting the shot. same as shogun. he comes to ufc, loses a few fights, ko's chuck and surpasses rampage for the title shot. i don't like it cause it's obviously an attempt to get the most ppv's as possible. you split rampage and lyoto into 2 cards and that equals more money. rampage got jerked off. abused.

10-26-2009 @ 9:19AM

"same as shogun. he comes to ufc, loses a few fights..." WHAT? You're hilarious ... wrong, but hilarious.

10-24-2009 @ 1:33PM

MidnghtRider21 said...

Well when Anderson Silva is done tearing through the MW division and his contract is up, I'd like to see a big Middleweight Tourney to crown the next champ. Like the UFC of old, throw Okami,Hendo (If hes around), Marquadt, Belfort, Maia, hell even Wanderlei and Franklin in a one-night multifight tourney once Silva abandons the belt. My ideal last three fights for spider are Hendo,Machida and Mir.