Quick Thoughts: A Spider, former Champions, and Malaysian MMA

Quick Thoughts: A Spider, former Champions, and Malaysian MMA

Published on July 13, 2012 by The Coffee Boy in Opinion

The Coffee Boy Has Too Much Time On His Hands 

It’s been a crazy month or so, Anderson “The Spider” Silva defeating Chael Sonnen in controversial fashion, Chris Weidman domination Mark Munoz and making him look like an amateur, and former Champions from the UFC and DREAM signing with ONE FC.

Let’s take a moment to think about what Silva accomplished. He has defeated every single opponent he has faced since signing with the UFC, he is the longest reigning Champion in the history of the promotion, he’s almost certainly the promotion’s most accurate striker, and even at 37 he has shown no signs of slowing down.

With that in mind, did you see how Chris Weidman absolutely dominated Mark Munoz both on the ground and standing up? He threw a monster elbow, and all it took was a few shots on the ground to top off the finish. Weidman has established himself as a serious contender for the title. With one or two more big wins, he’s definitely in line for a title shot. Possible next opponent for this gifted mixed martial artist? Alan Belcher.

The middleweight division in the UFC is still stacked, despite Anderson Silva destroying anyone who comes after his belt. There is still Michael Bisping, Hector Lombard, Alan Belcher, Chris Weidman, Tim Boetsch, Ed Herman, and Jake Shields who could make a case at the title very soon.

Who knows how long Anderson Silva will stick around? Whether he retires tomorrow or decides to fight another three years, there will be no shortage of credible opponents left for the “Spider”.

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Now, we know that ONE Fighting Championship is heading to the Philippines in August, and they are expecting a sold out crowd of 16,000 people. There have been rumors floating all over the place about the possible fighters on the card, but in the last few days some names have stuck and it seems that if the rumors are true, it will be the promotions most stacked card they’ve ever put on.

Shinya Aoki and Bibiano Fernandes, both DREAM champions, have signed on with the promotion and are tentatively going to be competing at ONE FC 5. Also, it appears the Andrei Arlovski and Jens Pulver, both former UFC Champions in their respective divisions, have signed on with the ever-growing promotion. They are both rumored to be competing at ONE FC 5 as well.

To top it off, three Gracie’s are tentatively going to be on the same card as well. They are Igor, Rolles, and Gregor Gracie. AND Phil Baroni, the New York Badass is supposed to be making his comeback fight, and a possible opponent is Rodrigo Ribeiro.

As you can see, ONE FC is holding nothing back and going for broke here. Expect fireworks going down in Manila on the 31st of August.

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Did you watch the Ultimate Beatdown 9 highlight video we posted? No? You’re a loser.

Ultimate Beatdown 9 is proof that MMA is growing quickly here in Malaysia, and with the Malaysian MMA Association getting set up now, the sky’s the limit for Malaysian MMA. Some locals are already making a name for themselves, including Nik Harris, Zeus, Sam Chan, Hanif Zainal, and Chian Yik. And we’re seeing a lot of foreigners coming to Malaysia to both compete and train, including Luc Rousseau, Matt Pellino, Isamu Himura, and Will Chope.

Malaysian MMA is on the right track, and within the next few years we’ll see a ton of new fighters and a slew of seasoned fighters hitting the big stages for big fights. At this rate, anything is possible.

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That’s all I’ve got today, folks. Stay tuned for more updates, and be sure to come back and check out MMA events going on around Asia and Australia (including PRO MMA in Taiwan, going down this month).

You can follow The Coffee Boy  on Twitter @seth_borges. The Editor @joebahru and The Sandman @msiangooner