The big news coming out of the post-fight press conference is that UFC President Dana White has told Thiago Alves that he must move up to 185Ibs, saying that no only is it unacceptable not to make weight but he doesn’t want performing in such a lethargic way ever again. However White revealed that Alves wants to stay at 170Ibs.
Dana White also said that he has made no decision about who will Anderson Silva will next defend his belt against. He acknowledged the situation surrounding Vitor Belfort but said that he was open to the possibility of doing an immediate rematch between Silva and Chael Sonnen. When asked, Silva refused to be drawn on whether he would be willing to grant Sonnen a rematch. White praised both fighters, saying that Sonnen pushed the champion like nobody has ever done before while Silva dug deep and found a way to win. Indeed he compared the fight to Hughes-Trigg, a fight that White has previously called his favorite in UFC history.
Jon Fitch refused to be drawn on whether he would face Josh Koscheck should his American Kickboxing Academy teammate defeat world champion George St. Pierre in December. He did confirm that he expected to be helping Koscheck prepare for the fight. Dana White was quick to point out that he hadn’t ruled out, citing this as evidence that the two would fight if the stakes were high enough. However White went back on his announcement that Fitch-Alves was a final eliminator for the world welterweight title, saying that no decision had been made about who would face the winner of St. Pierre-Koscheck. He acknowleded that Jake Shields and Martin Kampmann were fighting in the fall, and said that the organization will have to see how everyone’s schedule plays out. Jon Fitch said he was open to fighting again before a world title fight.
Finally the $60,000 Bonuses went to
Fight of the Night: Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen
Knockout of the Night: Stefan Struve
Submission of the Night: Anderson Silva & Matt Hughes
