Forget Mayhem or Bisping: Stann Has Earned a Title Shot

Columns, Top Story

Brian Stann is a dream come true for the UFC. With an All-American look, remarkably well-spoken and with a resume that includes the status of being a genuine war-hero, Stann is the type of fighter one imagines a UFC champion would be in Dana White’s dreams. And lately he’s been backing up that claim, knocking out Chris Leben and Jorge Santiago. Before Dana White announced it earlier last week, the rumor mill had spun out that if Stann had defeated Santiago he’d be coaching “The Ultimate Fighter” against Michael Bisping for the right to challenge the winner of Anderson Silva-Yushin Okami for the Middleweight title.

It has been since announced that Michael Bisping and former Strikeforce fighter, and host of MTV’s “Bully Beatdown,” Jason “Mayhem” Miller” are to fight for a title shot after coaching a season on the UFC’s signature television product. With all due respect to Bisping (who has been “in the mix” for a title fight for some time) and Jason “Mayhem” Miller (who has the fight bonafides and name recognition to legitimately be in the mix for a title fight outside of TUF), Stann just proved that he ought to be the next man to see if they can solve the riddle of the man many consider the pound for pound best fighter in the world. With Okami next, and Chael Sonnen out because of his personal problems, Stann makes the most sense to fight Silva. Why?

Because he just stopped a top five middleweight after stopping a guy that only the champion has, something Bisping couldn’t do and something Miller hasn’t.

Stann’s drop to middleweight, and a change of camps to Greg Jackson’s in New Mexico, has turned him from a good fighter with a great story into potentially a great fighter. It’s hard to argue that he isn’t a top five middleweight in the world at this point, considering he dominated the fighter who previously had been called both the best outside of the Zuffa banner and amongst the best in the division itself. The last several fighters who’ve earned title shots have done similar things to get title shots as Sonnen dominated Nate Marquardt to earn his shot and Vitor Belfort knocked out Rich Franklin to earn his.

So by defeating Santiago in dominating fashion Stann should get a title shot before Bisping and Miller. They’ll make for an interesting show, as both are big personalities that will shine on a season that could feature the best fighters and fights in the show’s history, but neither has done as much as Stann did Saturday night. The fight game is about accomplishing recent things and victories over Jorge Rivera and Kazushi Sakuraba aren’t as meaningful for Bisping and Miller respectively as Stann’s TKO of Jorge Santiago. Those were good victories but were not over guys with any true meaning amongst the elite of the division as it stands.

Stann’s fight was.

One has to feel bad for Jorge Santiago going into this fight, as he fought a former Marine on Memorial Day, but when all is said and done the fight said one thing. Brian Stann is ready for a title shot. With Sonnen out and Okami scheduled to be the massive underdog at the UFC’s return to Brazil, Michael Bisping or Jason “Mayhem” Miller shouldn’t be fighting for anything more than the right to be “in the mix” for a title shot. The man to get the next title shot, if and when Silva defeats the Japanese fighter, ought to be Brian Stann.