411 MMA Fact or Fiction 07.16.08: Sylvia #1 with a Win Over Emelianenko, Brandon Vera to Find More Success at LHW, and More!

Posted by Bren Oliver on 07.16.2008

Does "Rampage" deserve an immediate re-match against Forrest Griffin? Does Patrick Cote deserve the opportunity to fight for the UFC's 185-pound title? Should a victory over Anderson Silva at 205 be considered the same as beating a top Light Heavyweight? Better potential fight - Barnett/Rizzo or Arlovski/Rothwell? Read ahead as 411Mania MMA columnists John Curry and Jonathan Solomon discuss these topics and others in this week's Fact or Fiction!

It's Wednesday, and whether it's light or dark outside as you peruse these lines, welcome to another edition of 411 MMA's "Fact or Fiction". I trust everyone had a chance to catch their collective breaths last week after a break from nearly two full months filled with live, televised Mixed Martial Arts events on back-to-back-to-back-to-repeat/rinse weekends. What?!? It still wasn't enough to quench your thirst for the world's fastest-growing sport? Fear not, FoFers, as the cotton in your mouths will be washed away thanks to a heaping dose of MMA taking place in the 48-hour span between 7/19-7/21.

Offering up their opinions this week are a few repeat offenders whose work can be found in close proximity to this column. John Curry, who has made numerous appearances in "Fact or Fiction" Stadium, brings readers "The Ground and Pound" and also dabbles in interviews, as you can see from his follow-up piece with Ultimate Fighter Season 7 Champion Amir Sadollah. Joining him is the man who knows more about the WEC than "The California Kid", Jonathan Solomon, who writes our weekly "WEC Wrekcage Report". Who will be the dominant "John"? Read ahead and judge for yourself!

Fellow 411Mania columnists...are you ready? Then, America, with an enlarged heart and an empty skull, I say unto you the words of my Uncle...


ALLEZ FACT OR FICTION!!!!!!!


1. Patrick Cote has rightfully earned a shot at the UFC Middleweight Championship.


John Curry: FICTION. He is second in line for the title shot behind Okami. If Silva doesn't want to fight Okami that's fine but to simply bypass Okami to put Cote in the title shot is wrong in every aspect. Hell, if people are that up in arms, let Cote and Okami fight for a shot at the title.


Jonathan Solomon: FICTION. It's not Cote's fault but the UFC does not have a great Middleweight Division. Perhaps the biggest name Cote has beaten is Scott Smith and he's hardly a worldbeater, no matter how great the Robbie Lawler CBS fight was. Frankly, between Cote, Thales Leites, Michael Bisping, and Dan Henderson, there is no one guy who deserves a championship fight more than any other. Perhaps I'm a bit conservative in my championship thinking, but to deserve a title shot you have to have some serious wins on your (recent) record. Cote has defeated Ricardo Almeida, Andrew McFedries, and Kendall Grove in the past year. The fact that the UFC has no big Middleweights anymore doesn't mean Cote earned a title shot. Hell, move Paulo Filho up to the UFC. He deserves a shot at Silva more than anyone currently in the UFC's middleweight division.


SCORE: 1 for 1. Solomon, The Ultimate Fighter Season 8 called and would like to dispute your assertion that a fighter has to have recently beaten legitimate competition to earn a shot at a UFC Championship.


2. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson deserves an immediate rematch against Forrest Griffin for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.


John Curry: FICTION. Nope. Nope. Nope. You lost. Deal with it. Rampage's knee issues will put him out of work for a little while and I don't expect the UFC to let Forrest sit around waiting. If you lose your belt then you should have to work your way back to the title. I think that Rampage should have two fights with one being a top caliber opponent to earn his way back to the title.


Jonathan Solomon: FACT. If Forrest Griffin won via knockout or submission, I would say no, but he won a very close decision. Although the judges ruled it for Forrest, it would not have been a shock if it was a draw or ruled for Quinton. Before someone like a Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Chuck Liddell, etc. gets a title shot, Rampage deserves a rematch. From a business standpoint, it's a no brainer. Fight fans LOVE rematches (and trilogies, but lets not get ahead of ourselves) and specifically, rematches of close fights. Although the build to the Forrest/Rampage fight was nothing special, imagine what they could do for the rematch. Rampage's camp say it was a bogus ruling while they replay Forrest's kicks and win. Can Forrest beat Rampage twice? It sells itself and barring something unforseen, we would have a clear cut and undisputed UFC Light Heavyweight champion. After Forrest/Rampage II, the next title shots would go to Machida and the Liddell/Evans winner.


SCORE: 1 for 2. I text-messaged Curry's comments to Jackson yesterday afternoon while the former UFC Champion was in his customized truck on a leisurely drive through Newport Beach, California. I never got a response. Strange, eh?


3. If James Irvin defeats Anderson Silva at "Fight Night 14", the victory should be weighed as heavily as a win over an upper-tier Light Heavyweight (Forrest Griffin, "Rampage" Jackson, Wanderlei Silva, Chuck Liddell, etc.).


John Curry: FACT. I say "fact". It should count. Will it though? Of course not. If Irvin wins then out will come all of the excuses that he only won because of the weight differences and because Silva was not prepared amongst a myriad of other excuses for his win.


Jonathan Solomon: FACT. This is Anderson Silva. Definitely. The only reason not to count it as such would be if Anderson Silva was at a disadvantage going into the fight. That is not the case here. Anderson Silva walks around at about 210-215 pounds so the weight difference should not be a problem. Silva fought most of his pre-UFC career at the 200+ weight. However, 2008 Anderson Silva is ten-times better than the PRIDE version. For Irvin to win, he would have beaten arguably one of the top three fighters in the world, period.


SCORE: 2 for 3. I agree, as we're not exactly talking about a Featherweight like Urijah Faber facing a Light Heavyweight like Irvin. Irvin will outweigh him, but not by enough to gain any sort of real advantage. I have to ask myself whether or not I could see "The Spider" having a fair chance of soundly beating any of the 205-pounders I listed above. The answer is "yes", and from that perspective, I would consider him one of the "Top 5" LHWs in the world if he dedicated himself to the weightclass.


---SWITCH!!!---


4. Career-wise, Brandon Vera will have more success at 205-pounds than he will fighting as a Heavyweight.


Jonathan Solomon: FICTION. The 205-division in the UFC is stacked and arguably it's most lucrative division. I will define success as victories and the potential for a championship shot. So should Vera stick as a Light Heavyweight past July 19th, there is no guarantee that he will emerge to the top before the end of 2009. Upcoming title defenses for Forrest Griffin will likely include Rampage Jackson, Lyoto Machida and the Liddell/Evans winner. Throw in other contenders such as Wanderlei Silva, Shogun Rua, Keith Jardine and even Rich Franklin who is making the move. Vera may be a bigger 205'er but it will take awhile for him to get involved in the heat of the division. He hasn't even confirmed that he is going to stick to the lighter weight class. He said he wouldn't mind going back and forth from 205 to Heavyweight and vice versa. The Heavyweight Division in the UFC is a far cry from 205 in terms of quantity of name guys. Who knows how the heavyweight picture will emerge past Frank Mir and Fabricio Werdum in 2009. Remember, Vera beat Mir and lost to Werdum in controversial fashion. He has better opportunities for success as a heavyweight.


John Curry: FICTION. I say "fiction" simply because the Heavyweight Division is not nearly as crowded as ANY of the lower divisions. The only thing I can say to Vera is bulk up. That's all I have to say about that.


SCORE: 3 for 4. Very interesting, as I assumed this would come back with a "fact" response from both of you. The depth-standpoint makes a lot of sense. He may have lost against Tim Sylvia and Fabricio Werdum, but he broke his hand early in the Sylvia fight and many would argue the Werdum stoppage was premature. Perhaps his days at Heavyweight are not as numbered as some may think?


5. Tim Sylvia should be considered the #1 Heavyweight in the world if he beats Fedor Emelianenko on July 19th.


Jonathan Solomon: FACT. "The Maine-iac" may not be the most popular fighter in the world, but you would not be able to deny his talent should he defeat Fedor. Remember, to be the man, you have to beat the man. No matter how many times Dana White disagrees, Fedor Emelianenko is THE man as far as Heavyweights go. Other top guys like Randy Couture and Josh Barnett are not the #1 Heavyweights right now. The only other fighter you should consider is Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Over the past three years, he has wins over Barnett, Heath Herring and Sylvia. But, he has never beaten Fedor. If Sylvia wins, it may seem odd to have him #1 and the man who beat him at #2. It's Fedor though.


John Curry: FICTION. Now if Tim beats him and then beats Couture or Barnett then yes but just because you beat the #1 guy doesn't make you number one - especially when you are ranked number four. If that kind of logic existed when the Indians beat the Devil Rays they should be #1 right? No. Number one is earned by beating several top fighters not just one top fighter.


SCORE: 3 for 5. To screw your baseball analogy up, the Indians could sweep every bottom-feeder team in MLB and be considered the best team in the American League (without ever beating any other contenders). I personally think Nogueira would have to slide into the top spot were Emelianenko to lose. Of course, we live in a world where Matt Serra was considered the best Welterweight in MMA after beating GSP in only his second fight at 170-pounds, so I have a feeling Tim-meh will sit at the top of most rankings if he unplugs the Russian Cyborg come Saturday night.


6. The "Affliction: Banned" pairing of Andrei Arlovski and Ben Rothwell should result in a more-exciting fight than Josh Barnett's attempt at redemption against Pedro Rizzo.


Jonathan Solomon: FACT. Both fights should be fun and entertaining but I am anticipating the Arlovski/Rothwell fight moreso. I'm a fan of Arlovski and hope he can return to his former glory. One issue that may develop over the next few months is whether his potential attempt at a pro boxing career will adversely affect his MMA career. Rothwell is a fun fighter to watch as well. Meanwhile, while Barnett can be comical at times, he should be all business in attempting to avenge his only knockout loss. I would not be surprised to see the Barnett/Rizzo fight go to a decision, which is a big reason why I'll go with Arlovski/Rothwell. A side story to look at is whom may get the next shot at Fedor Emelianenko. It's possible a winner from either of these fights could get the call.


John Curry: FACT. First of all, the name recognition is there in the Arlovski vs. Rothwell fight and most importantly these are two fighters who are looking to make some waves in their division. Barnett on the other hand is a better fighter than he was the last time he fought Rizzo so I look for Barnett to easily win and face the winner of Tim vs. Fedor.


SCORE: 4 for 6.


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Join us next week when two more participants discuss the results from "Affliction: Banned", "UFC Fight Night 14", the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix, Quinton Jackson's arrest, and other issues lingering out there in the Mixed Martial Arts' world ...