It looks like Michael Bisping wants a shot at the best. While most fighters would duck the chance to take on Anderson Silva, Bisping is basically calling him out. First, Bisping must get past Chris Leben at UFC 89 before he can even entertain the notion of meeting Silva.

Silva is on an impressive run, but Bisping feels as though teetering between weight classes will only hurt Silva. Bisping went on to state that fighters go on runs, but no run lasts forever.

A Silva-Bisping match-up would be huge assuming that both fighters can continue their winning ways. Silva is gradually establishing himself as the best pound for pound fighter in the world. Yet, in order to solidify that designation, Silva will have to knock down some more top flight opponents. Bisping could turn out to be one of them as rearnaked.blogspot reports.

Anderson Silva made the jump to light heavyweight, although he will not remain fighting in that division. He proved this past weekend that he can cut it in the most competitive class in the UFC and could see more action there in the future. But for now, he will settle back into the ranks of the middleweights . However, he won’t settle for long.

It looks as though Silva will return to action against Yushin Okami on September 6th at UFC 88. That doesn’t leave a long time between fights. But then again, Silva only fought for 61 seconds on Saturday night. He probably had sparring sessions that were more strenuous.

Following the September 6th bout, Silva hopes to fight again two months later. A true champion wants to defend his title whenever possible and Silva continues to prove he is just that. MMA Weekly expands on Silva and his plans for the future.

It did not take Anderson Silva very long to prove that he could hang in the light heavyweight division. James Irvin felt the wrath of Silva one minute into the fight as Silva forced the Sandman to retire early for the evening. The knockout blow brought the crowd to its feet, however the main event diddn’y deliver on all the hype that prefaced it.The fight basically enabled Silva to wet his appetite in the 205 division. But in order to prove he truly belongs among the light heavys, he’ll have to repeat last night’s performance against a better opponent. Hear what Silva had to say following the fight.

James “Sandman” Irvin was working out when he received the call that presented him with the offer to fight Anderson Silva. However, Irvin originally thought it was another Silva altogether.

He was first under the impression that he would fight Wanderlei Silva. It turns out that Irvin was very excited as he had been wanting to meet Wanderlei in the octagon for quite some time. Wrong Silva.

Nevertheless, Irvin jumped at the chance to square off against Anderson Silva, one of the best fighters in the sport of mixed martial arts. Without naming any fighters, Irvin also claimed more than a few light heavyweights turned down the offer.

So now that the stage is set fro an Irvin vs. Silva showdown, oddsmakers aren’t weighing heavily in the Sandman’s favor. That hasn’t affected Irvin as he clarified in an interview with Kevin Lole of Yahoo Sports. Irvin goes on to talk about facing Silva and how he will approach one of the top fighters in the UFC.

Anderson Silva doesn’t need to watch a lot of tape from his upcoming opponent’s previous fight. Back on April 2 at UFC Fight Night 13, James “The Sandman” Irvin needed only eight seconds to dispose of Houston Alexander. The Sandman put Alexander to sleep with a devastating Superman Punch in the fight’s opening moments.

Bumping up in weight class, Silva should have reason to be worried, especially against a fighter who packs such a fierce punch. The July 19th Silva vs. Irvin main event figures to be an exciting one. And as seen in this video, Irvin is very fresh coming off his last bout.

Every so often, the boxer vs. the mixed martial artist rumors continue to surface as some over the hill boxer still wants to grab five more minutes of fame. The latest boxer to blab about endangering himself in a possible confrontation with an ultimate fighter is Roy Jones Jr. Granted, Jones may still have a few more fights left in him, although those fights will take place inside a ring and not the octagon.

The moment any boxer steps into the cage, he is immediately over-matched. Mixed martial artists train for more than just boxing while boxers have never spent time learning how to escape the mount.

So while Jones may be one of the best boxers to ever lace up a pair of gloves, he has never faced an opponent that could use more than just his hands.

In recent months, Jones’ camp was pursuing talks with Anderson Silva in an attempt to get those two into the Octagon. But when entering an entirely new sport, why on earth would you start out by fighting one of the absolute best?

Fortunately for Jones, those rumors seem to have been put to sleep. Fiveouncesofpain.com reports that Jones will remain in the ring and a date with Silva will not lie in his future.

Much of the hype surrounding UFC’s July 19th fight card has centered around Anderson Silva. Making the jump to a higher weight class is never an easy task, however Silva’s dubbing as one of the best fighters in the world has enabled many to overlook that fact. But the man who will step into the octagon with Silva has not overlooked anything.

James “The Sandman” Irvin brings an impressive record of 14-4 into the fight and a 3-1 mark since joining the UFC. His lone loss came courtesy of a knee injury early in the first round during a match-up against Thiago Silva in May of 2007. The Sandman took a moment to share his thoughts on the upcoming fight with NBC Sports.

Anderson Silva has made a sound argument for being the world’s best 185 pound fighter. He has a belt to prove it and now he is out to prove even more. Silva is bumping up to the 205 pound weight class to take on James “Sandman” Irvin this coming July 19th. And Silva is already looking ahead and has made it clear that he wants to return to the octagon on September 6th as part of UFC 88. There, he hopes to defend his middleweight title back at 185 pounds.

One has to admire the ambition of Silva, however he must first get past the Sandman before worrying about how soon into the future he will fight again. Assuming that he does handle Irvin, Silva will probably entertain the idea of bouncing between the two divisions. Pound for pound, he is one of the best fighters in the sport. Nevertheless, when he starts competing against fighters who have more pounds on their frame, it definitely makes for an uphill battle.

If Silva does decide to keep fluctuating weight classes, it should be a rather impressive show nonetheless. And if he can somehow garner both title belts, it will be a historic event. For if that comes to pass, Silva will have etched his name among the best fighters in the history of the sport.

More frequent fights will do much more for the sport. And more fights with guys like Silva taking center stage will only bring the sport to a new level. So in the future, spectators will have to pay more attention to each weight class and they will have to tune in more frequently if they are to catch a glimpse of Anderson Silva.

It is in our nature to draw comparisons, and UFC fans are no exception. Thankfully we usually get a chance to see “who would beat who” quantitatively settled before our eyes in the octagon (like when we finally got to see Chuck Liddell take on Wanderlei Silva).

But sometimes the debate gets into fighters in different weight divisions which lowers the chance we may ever see the fight (However, unlike boxing, fighters in the UFC seem to have no qualms about switching weight divisions at the drop of a hat).

When asking about who is the best fighter in the UFC, it usually comes down to 3 names. George St Pierre, BJ Penn and Anderson Silva.

It looks more and more likely that if St Pierre is able to survive John Fitch’s challenge to his title, that a GSP vs. BJ Penn fight may be in the cards quite soon which will settle that part of the debate, but for now, I’d like to know how you guys would rate these guys?

So, from 1-3, tell me in the comments how you would rank these 3 fighters. Now, just to get the discussion going, I’ll be the first to throw my two cents in there:

#1 - George St Pierre
#2 - Anderson Silva
#3 - BJ Penn

Why would I rant them like this? Well, as for BJ Penn, the beating he took at the hands of Matt Hughes was not all that long ago, and GSP completely dominated Hughes the last 2 times they fought. In my opinion, GSP is a stronger striker and wrestler than BJ as well. With Anderson Silva, I would rank him at #1, but his recent fight with Lutter (which he won) left some question marks in my mind. My rankings could chance very quickly once we get to see any combination of these three actually fight though.

So how would you rank them and why? Or, would you replace any of these three with another fighter I didn’t include?

The latest move against Affliction by UFC president Dana White has done much more than create yet another night of action in the octagon. White quickly put together a Saturday night event to coincide with Affliction’s pay-per-view event which will air for free on the Spike channel. While Anderson Silva has been busy stealing most of the headlines for the July 19th event, there is an intriguing undercard which will introduce quite a few new fighters to the UFC.

There is no disputing that Silva’s jump to light heavyweight in a matchup with James Irvin will claim the spotlight. However, six new fighters will be making their UFC debut during the preliminary fights leading up to the main event. Veteran Rory Markham brings a professional record of 15-4 to his UFC welterweight debut against Brodie Farber.

Markham has plenty of IFL experience while Farber did have one WEC fight back in 2003. Since then, Farber, a submission specialist, has accumulated a 13-3 professional record fighting mostly for MAX fights.

Not an ordinary fighter

Perhaps one of the most intriguing fighters of the night will make his UFC debut in yet another welterweight bout. James Giboo will set foot in the octagon for the first time although he brings with him quite an impressive resume.

Giboo has an 11-2 professional record and has only been in three fights that lasted beyond the first round and those three fights concluded in round two. Outside of the cage, Giboo is a school teacher with six college degrees to his credit. He is currently working on a Master’s Degree to add to his collection. Giboo will take on IFL veteran Brad Blackburn who will get a crack at the UFC despite a mediocre record of 12-9-1.

Rounding out the newcomers will be a lightweight matchup between Dale Hartt and Shannon Gugerty. Hartt owns an unblemished 5-0 record as Gugerty carries in a 9-2 mark. Gugerty fought all but one of his fights for Total Combat and will see a significant upgrade against the promising Hartt.

A chance for glory

While these newcomers may not be the most widely recognized fighters, it still sets the stage for an intriguing set of bouts. The UFC has established itself as mixed martal arts’ most elite organization. New fighters long for the opportunity to test their skills inside the octagon. Now that these fighters actually have that opportunity, each figures to make the most out of it.

If anything, viewers will be treated to a display put on by some hungry fighters before Silva makes his way out of the locker room. And these fighters are fully aware of the fact that it could be one and done in the UFC. Not to say that more accomplished fighters wouldn’t put forth the same effort, however it is always exciting to see the dawn of a new career.

The UFC could very well witness the dawn of a few new careers if any of these fighters can come out and thoroughly impress. Conversely, spectators could also bear witness to the one and only appearance of these fighters in the UFC. In all likelihood, it will be back to much smaller venues for the losers of these bouts. Nevertheless, that makes for an utter sense of urgency throughout each of these fights. That sense of urgency should translate into some rather intriguing bouts come July 19th.

In White’s attempt to slam the door on Affliction, he has opened up new doors for a host of fighters. During the free television event, those fighters will have a chance to walk through those doors and make the most of their moment in the limelight.