Looks like Alan Belcher may finally get that poster he was looking for.
The angst-ridden middleweight mauler has been clamoring for a major step up in competition. Well Mr. Talent, I present you Demian Maia, currently offering his services in the main event of UFC Fight Night 22 on September 15.
The promotion today officially announced the Spike TV broadcast for the Frank Erwin Special Events Center on the campus of The University of Texas in Austin.
Belcher (16-6) was last seen using Patrick Cote's head to dig for gold inside the Octagon at UFC 113 earlier this year. It was his second straight win (and second straight finish) after beating the snot out of Wilson Gouveia at UFC 107 in December of 2009.
The outspoken but hard-hitting "Talent" wants a middleweight title shot and it would be hard to argue against him if he can dispose of the Brazilian with little effort.
Maia (12-2) has been to the mountaintop, but the Sherpa sent him tumbling back down it after a five round fiasco at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi. The loss to Anderson Silva was his second in three fights after stringing together ten consecutive wins.
He is undoubtedly one of the sport's most gifted grapplers, but his striking has yet to evolve to a higher level. To his credit, he showed a marked improvement in a unanimous decision win against Dan Miller at UFC 109, but there will be little margin for error against Johnny Cash's number one fan.
I believe this is referred to as the classic "Striker vs. Grappler."
Also confirmed for Sept. 15 in Austin is the lightweight rematch between Matt Wiman (12-5) and Mac Danzig (20-8-1), who first met on the undercard portion of UFC 115: "Liddell vs. Franklin" that aired on Spike TV on June 12 from the GM Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
It had all the ingredients to be an exciting contest; however, it ended in controversy as "Handsome" was awarded the submission (guillotine) victory in the first round even though Mac didn't, well, submit.
There was a mis-communication between the referee, Yves Lavigne, as well the fighters, which caused the early stoppage. Wiman thought Danzig was choked unconscious, Danzig apparently didn't respond effectively enough when questioned about his condition, and the rest is history.
Now we get to see history repeat itself .... on Spike TV ... again.
For more on the upcoming UFC Fight Night 22 event click here.
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