Sorry for the inconsistency in getting the new tournament postings out. I have been swamped at work and have been a little under the weather.
We all know that Anderson Silva is the most dominate MW in the world. Has set the UFC record for longest winning streak (10), tied for the most consecutive title defenses (5), and has remained unbeaten for over 4 years. Due to his overwhelming dominance, Silva currently resides at or near the top of every MMA Pound 4 Pound ranking. But what if A.S. were to suddenly vanish? The UFC MW landscape would change dramatically. With that in mind, who would rule the UFC's MW division in a world without the Spider? Time find out, Tournament style...
We will poll each fight individually, for 1 day, beginning with opening round Match #1. MMA Mania has the most knowledgeable MMA online community, so please feel free to post your pick in the comments along with your analysis of how you see the fights breaking down. Hopefully this will give us something to do on slow news days.
Match #4 provided the 2nd upset of the tourney, as Alan Belcher grabbed 60% of the vote to outlast The Count and move on to the QFs. Seems that The Talent's well rounded attack and superior standup likely swayed the voting in his favor. Unfortunately for him, he now moves on to meet MW juggernaut Nate the Great...
QF1 1 C. Sonnen
Match #1: 8 Yoshihiro Akiyama 9 P. Cote
9 Patrick Cote
QF2 4 D. Maia
Match #2: 5 Wanderlei Silva 5 W. Silva
12 Chris Leben
QF3 3 V. Belfort
Match #3: 6 Yushin Okami 6 Yushin Okami
11 Dan Miller
QF4 2 N. Marquardt
Match #4: 7 Michael Bisping 10 A. Belcher
10 Alan Belcher
Quarter Final #1 brings about an interesting fight between #1 seed Chael Sonnen and the ever dangerous Patrick Cote. The Predator brings unquestionable KO power along with a tenacious style. Matching his intensity, its no secret that Sonnen will be looking to take this one to the ground for some old school GNP. Will Cote be able to keep it on the feet long enough to land a game changing bomb, or will the surging Sonnen put another notch in his impressive list of victims?
So lets hear it Maniacs. Who would rule the day, in a world without Anderson Silva? Will the favorites move on, or will we see an underdog rise to the top? You decide.