Silva-Griffin Confirmed for UFC 101
Sherdog.com Staff Apr 28, 2009
Anderson
Silva will meet Forrest
Griffin in a light heavyweight co-main event at UFC 101 on Aug.
8 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.
MMABay.com was the first Web site to report the matchup Tuesday. UFC President Dana White confirmed the bout with Yahoo Sports shortly after.
Touted as the sport’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter after a string of knockout victories inside the Octagon, Silva handily earned a five-round unanimous decision over Thales Leites at UFC 97 on April 18 in Montreal. However, the Brazilian’s performance against his out-gunned opponent polarized fans and media. Silva’s controlled strategy was also questioned in his October 2008 victory over Patrick Cote at UFC 90.
With his UFC 97 victory, Silva, 33, now holds the record for consecutive wins (nine) inside the Octagon. His bout with Griffin will be his second at 205 pounds. Silva starched light heavyweight James Irvin with punches in just over a minute at UFC Fight Night 14 in July 2008.
The winner of season one of Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter,” Griffin (16-5) became the UFC light heavyweight champion at UFC 86 in July 2008, where he took a hard-earned unanimous decision over Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Griffin lost the title to Rashad Evans via a third-round technical knockout at UFC 92 last December.
MMABay.com was the first Web site to report the matchup Tuesday. UFC President Dana White confirmed the bout with Yahoo Sports shortly after.
Touted as the sport’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter after a string of knockout victories inside the Octagon, Silva handily earned a five-round unanimous decision over Thales Leites at UFC 97 on April 18 in Montreal. However, the Brazilian’s performance against his out-gunned opponent polarized fans and media. Silva’s controlled strategy was also questioned in his October 2008 victory over Patrick Cote at UFC 90.
With his UFC 97 victory, Silva, 33, now holds the record for consecutive wins (nine) inside the Octagon. His bout with Griffin will be his second at 205 pounds. Silva starched light heavyweight James Irvin with punches in just over a minute at UFC Fight Night 14 in July 2008.
The winner of season one of Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter,” Griffin (16-5) became the UFC light heavyweight champion at UFC 86 in July 2008, where he took a hard-earned unanimous decision over Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Griffin lost the title to Rashad Evans via a third-round technical knockout at UFC 92 last December.
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