Undefeated light heavyweight contender Thiago Silva will fight Octagon newcomer Antonio Mendes at UFC 84: “Ill Will” at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 24, according to Sherdog.com.
Silva was originally booked to face Rashad Evans; however, an injury to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua promoted “Sugar” to the main event against Chuck Liddell at UFC 85 on June 7.
Mendes is on an 11-fight win streak, competing primarily in his native Brazil and throughout Europe. His last fight was against Kiril Sidelnikov under the M-1 banner (prior to it becoming M-1 Global), which “Samuray” was reportedly losing until the bout was halted in his favor because of a cut.
This match up against Silva will be the biggest fight of his career without question.
That’s because Silva is eying a run at the 205-pound title. And if he could have toppled Evans, in addition to his previous wins against Houston Alexander, Tomasz Drwal and James Irvin, it would have put Silva in a very nice spot.
Either way, with the division in its current state, Silva was at least two wins away from serious consideration with or without a win over Evans.
This not the greatest fight on paper, but with all the light heavyweights more or less booked to fight in the near future, there weren’t many options available.
Perhaps the relatively unknown Mendes can even pull off an upset or at the very least have a strong showing.
For the most recent rumored UFC 84 fight card click here.
53 Comments »
Wow. Antonio Mendes for an undefeated and up and coming Thiago Silva. I feel bad for Thiago. Just because the guy is Brazilian he can’t get any big fights.
Joe Silva, when Thiago annihilates this fool, can we see him fight somebody like Wanderlei or Jardine?
sweet first ok what do i do now?
I’m happy that silva is still fighting on the card he is a force I would have love to see him a sugar but chuck will do anyway you look at it sugaar will get his first lose .
don’t get me wrong sugar is a top teir fighter in a couple of more fights if he pulls this off and rampage wins don’t be surprised to see eans vs page late 08
Not excited about this opponent. Thiago is the biggest loser in Shogun getting injured.
If the fight ends up being televised, let’s hope Silva drops the guy quickly so casual fans get another good look at him. Beating Evans would have really raised his status in the division.
…biggest loser other than Shogun, that is.
well i think silva should’ve got to fight chuck. that would b a better fight. evans should b taking on mendes
i smell another Silva highlight flick cooking
Thiago destroying Rashad would have been better.
I would like to see stephen bonner fight silva but dana doesnt think about good matchups.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11
[quote comment=”357401″]I would like to see stephen bonner fight silva but dana doesnt think about good matchups.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11[/quote]
Bonnar was forced off the April UFN because of injury. I don’t think he’d be able to go six weeks later.
What about Thiago Silva vs Machida? Goodbye Silva.
CALL THE COPS, thiago will murder this guy in the first round. any takers that thiago will not win this fight in the first round? give me odds.
[quote comment=”357455″]What about Thiago Silva vs Machida? Goodbye Silva.[/quote]
Machida is fighting Ortiz. Thiago is getting a real shitty opponent here.
everybody knows why thiago isnt fighting chuck,,chuck wanted know part of a real tough fighter instead he got that bum evans…thiago would beat down evans or over-rated chuck
[quote comment=”357343″]Wow. Antonio Mendes for an undefeated and up and coming Thiago Silva. I feel bad for Thiago. Just because the guy is Brazilian he can’t get any big fights.
[/quote]
Yeah, just like that other Brazilian named Silva in middleweight…
[quote comment=”357502″][quote comment=”357343″]Wow. Antonio Mendes for an undefeated and up and coming Thiago Silva. I feel bad for Thiago. Just because the guy is Brazilian he can’t get any big fights.
[/quote]
Yeah, just like that other Brazilian named Silva in middleweight…[/quote]
Also, Antonio Mendes is also undefeated and up and coming.
i really havnt seen any of silva’s fights except the alexander and to i wasnt really impressed
[quote comment=”357401″]I would like to see stephen bonner fight silva but dana doesnt think about good matchups.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11[/quote]
Better match up there…Rashad is making out like a big dog here, and Thiago is getting screwed in all of this. Well once everyone in the LHW Div kill each other, Thiago will be on top, guaranteed..that of course not until after Dana’s obvious year end main event Rampage/Griffin vs. Chuck.
Thiago should get to fight Rashad next.
[quote comment=”357473″][quote comment=”357455″]What about Thiago Silva vs Machida? Goodbye Silva.[/quote]
Machida is fighting Ortiz. Thiago is getting a real shitty opponent here.[/quote]
Tito ducked-out of his fight with Machida…….
I think Machida .vs. Silva is the best fight Joe Silva could set-up right now, since both of these fighters are without opponants…
[quote post=”5281″]sweet first ok what do i do now?[/quote]
You wait until the comments flow in, just to realize you were not the first to post…..
..Then you realize how stupid it is to point out that you were the first to post, and you never do it agian…..
Thiago should be fighting the top tier LHW’s..not new bees. Is his fight on the under card too? The guy is a stud in the octagon..test him. Alot of fighter’s with talent get over looked for fighter’s the media wants to market that have lass talent then their peers.
1 ex: Bisping. Is he a more complete fighter then Thiago. No. Does he get marketed more. Yes.
[quote comment=”357455″]What about Thiago Silva vs Machida? Goodbye Silva.[/quote]
I would not count Silva out of any fight. Look at Silva’s wins, only one decision in the begining of his career. Other than that he has mauled everyone in standup and BJJ is his strength. That to me is scary. On top of that he has finished all of his fights and finished them fast, rarely does he go to the 2nd round. Compare that to MAchida who rarely finishes a fight. Yeah he finished Franklin and Bonner but I think Silva is capabale of that as well. I like both these guys, but I think Silva makes the more exciting rising star. We have not really even seen his full skill set yet in the UFC.
Why is Chuck getting Evans anyway? I think they should have left Silva’s fight be. If he cut through Rashad like he has everyone else you would know he is the real deal. If he loses then we know he needs a little more seasoning before throwing him into a title match. Rashad though undeafeated is not really all that impressive anyway. I know Chuck is the gatekeeper at the moment for these young up and coming stars, especially since Rampage has Chuck’s number. I much rather see Thiago and Rashad-then Chuck and Rashad.
[quote comment=”357343″]Wow. Antonio Mendes for an undefeated and up and coming Thiago Silva. I feel bad for Thiago. Just because the guy is Brazilian he can’t get any big fights.
Joe Silva, when Thiago annihilates this fool, can we see him fight somebody like Wanderlei or Jardine?[/quote]
Melendez is better than many of you may think. I still think Tiago will win, but Melendez is a good addition to the UFC. He just beat Kiril who is Fedor’s protegee’ and dubbed “the next Fedor”.
I still would rather see Machida vs. Tiago.
Just cause you might not know Melendez it doesnt mean he cant perform at a high level. With out no named fighters, we would have never gott o see houston Alexander, Boetsch, Chris wilson, Bielkhededn…..so dont sleep on fighters that u haven’t heard of!
I was watching T.V last night, and during a commercial break I turned on WWE Raw. The undertaker was fighting mark Henry in a Casket Match, I thought to myself cool, I havent seen a coffin match since I was a kid and the Undertaker putt he ultimate warrior in a coffin. I decided to watch the entire match.
I may not watch wrestling, but everyone knows that the undertakers finishing move is the Tombstone, but last night he didnt finish the fight with a tombstone, instead he chose to end the fight by putting Henry in what looked to be a Gogo Plata, foot choke, and mark henry tapped and then the undertaker put him in the coffin.
When the announcers talked about the replay, they said here is the undertaker finishing the fight by a triangle choke.
I know the undertaker was seen at the pay per view that lesnar fought Mir, but now WWE is using real ju jitsu moves as finishing moves? What a joke! Then they tried to tell me that a gogo plata was a triangle choke.
The WWE is now using ju jitsu moves to finish its fake matches? I dont get it!
After the Houston Alexander fight, Thiago Silva needs a title shot. Hopefully, he gets it after Forrest Griffin.
[quote comment=”358130″]After the Houston Alexander fight, Thiago Silva needs a title shot. Hopefully, he gets it after Forrest Griffin.[/quote]
So u would just hand out title shots to a guy just because he beat a guy (Alexander) who’s UFC record is 2-1? Thank god Joe Silva is the matchmaker instead of U!
I am sure that Mendes is a solid fighter, but that is not the point. Thiago Silva was finally introduced to the mainstream fans after his annihilation of Houston Alexander. Because of that, the UFC booked him to fight a TUF star, Rashad Evans. With a win over Rashad, Thiago Silva has entered his name into the pool of LHW stars. But instead due to the Shogun injury and rearrangement of fights, its Thiago Silva vs Mendes. A win over Mendes will do NOTHING for Thiago Silva in the crowded LHW division. However, a loss will cause his name to fall off of the map and fight the rest of his contract out on the untelevised undercard. This really is a lose-lose situation for Silva.
Since Tito Ortiz pulled out (as expected) of his fight against Lyoto Machida, I was 99.9% certain that we would get to see Thiago Silva vs Lyoto Machida. The winner of that fight would then deserve to be in a #1 contender fight (I actually think that Machida is deserving of a #1 contender fight now). So now, Thiago Silva is in a lose-lose situation and Machida is without an opponent.
[quote comment=”358190″]I am sure that Mendes is a solid fighter, but that is not the point. Thiago Silva was finally introduced to the mainstream fans after his annihilation of Houston Alexander. Because of that, the UFC booked him to fight a TUF star, Rashad Evans. With a win over Rashad, Thiago Silva has entered his name into the pool of LHW stars. But instead due to the Shogun injury and rearrangement of fights, its Thiago Silva vs Mendes. A win over Mendes will do NOTHING for Thiago Silva in the crowded LHW division. However, a loss will cause his name to fall off of the map and fight the rest of his contract out on the untelevised undercard. This really is a lose-lose situation for Silva.
Since Tito Ortiz pulled out (as expected) of his fight against Lyoto Machida, I was 99.9% certain that we would get to see Thiago Silva vs Lyoto Machida. The winner of that fight would then deserve to be in a #1 contender fight (I actually think that Machida is deserving of a #1 contender fight now). So now, Thiago Silva is in a lose-lose situation and Machida is without an opponent.[/quote]
Tiago should have at the very least been fighting Sokoudjou. If not they could have matched Melendez up against Gorenj “the new croation dude” and have Tiago vs. gouveia!
Even though I am fully aware of Melendez’s skills, I would have to agree with you mike. After reading your post, it is a loose/loose situation for Tiago. I was just excited that the UFC signed Melendez, that I didnt look at the whole big picture.
Thanks for bringing me back to reality!
Can u believe the Undertaker won his match last night by Gogo Plata (footchoke) that the announcers called a tri angle choke? The undertaker doing ju jitsu is not a pretty site! trust me on that!
What’s the deal with the Tito/Machida fight? It’s off? Can anyone confirm this or is this a rumor by Babalu?
I keep hearing rumors that Tito pulled out of his fight agaisn’t Machida. I just heard him on the Adam Corolla show say he is going to fight in May.
[quote comment=”358312″]I keep hearing rumors that Tito pulled out of his fight agaisn’t Machida. I just heard him on the Adam Corolla show say he is going to fight in May.[/quote]
That great news cheers! I really want to see if Machida has the skillset to handle a healthy Tito.
its to bad Tiago doesnt get to fight Rashad. this fight will not do him any good. Joe Silva should have given him a more reconizable opponent.with Tito out a match with Lyoto would be awesome.but now they are both fighting unknowns.but at least Tiago will finish his opponent not like machida who will counter strike his way to another boring decsion.
Thiago should thank his lucky stars he isnt going to get beatdown by Rashad.. now he can continue to build his army of nuthuggers by beating on can’s like Heath and Drwal until he faces some real competition
[quote comment=”358163″][quote comment=”358130″]After the Houston Alexander fight, Thiago Silva needs a title shot. Hopefully, he gets it after Forrest Griffin.[/quote]
So u would just hand out title shots to a guy just because he beat a guy (Alexander) who’s UFC record is 2-1? Thank god Joe Silva is the matchmaker instead of U![/quote]
His record wasn’t 2-1 until he fought thiago and remember Houston destroyed Jardine and Jardine destroyed the #1 contender. If not a title shot, he should be fighting a top 5 LHW. They didn’t match Thiago up with Chuck because thiago would have killed Chuck and thats bad for the sport in the UFC’s eyes right now. If Chuck was on the winning streak that Thiago is on right now and he destroyed Houston like thiago did he would be looking at a title shot right now.
Where are you people getting this information that Tito pulled out of the fight with Lyoto? If you are referring to the Babalu rumor, that was squashed weeks ago. I’ve seen no other mention of it. It’s still listed on MMAWeekly and UFC.com, and everywhere else for that matter.
[quote comment=”358577″]Thiago should thank his lucky stars he isnt going to get beatdown by Rashad.. now he can continue to build his army of nuthuggers by beating on can’s like Heath and Drwal until he faces some real competition[/quote]
Rashad would get destroyed by thiago. You must have missed the Houston Alexander fight. In the LHW division Rashad is about #7.
[quote comment=”358584″][quote comment=”358163″][quote comment=”358130″]After the Houston Alexander fight, Thiago Silva needs a title shot. Hopefully, he gets it after Forrest Griffin.[/quote]
So u would just hand out title shots to a guy just because he beat a guy (Alexander) who’s UFC record is 2-1? Thank god Joe Silva is the matchmaker instead of U![/quote]
His record wasn’t 2-1 until he fought thiago and remember Houston destroyed Jardine and Jardine destroyed the #1 contender. If not a title shot, he should be fighting a top 5 LHW. They didn’t match Thiago up with Chuck because thiago would have killed Chuck and thats bad for the sport in the UFC’s eyes right now. If Chuck was on the winning streak that Thiago is on than right now and he destroyed Houston like thiago did he would be looking at a title shot right now.[/quote]
Keep in mind tiago was originally set to fight Rashad. Rashad is a big step up from fighting Houston Alexander! I was really looking forward to the Rashad vs. tiago fight, I thought it was a perfect match up stylistically and in the grand scheme of things both fighters are close in the rankings so the fight made sense in every way possible.
It all got screwed up when shogun re injured himself and the UFC decided to break up the Rashad/Tiago fight so that Rashad could fight Liddell. The UFC messed up even more by then booking Tiago to fight an unknown like Melendez. they should have matched up Tiago with Sokoudjou or even Gouveia!
Mendes. Not Melendez.
[quote comment=”358584″][quote comment=”358163″][quote comment=”358130″]After the Houston Alexander fight, Thiago Silva needs a title shot. Hopefully, he gets it after Forrest Griffin.[/quote]
So u would just hand out title shots to a guy just because he beat a guy (Alexander) who’s UFC record is 2-1? Thank god Joe Silva is the matchmaker instead of U![/quote]
His record wasn’t 2-1 until he fought thiago and remember Houston destroyed Jardine and Jardine destroyed the #1 contender. If not a title shot, he should be fighting a top 5 LHW. They didn’t match Thiago up with Chuck because thiago would have killed Chuck and thats bad for the sport in the UFC’s eyes right now. If Chuck was on the winning streak that Thiago is on right now and he destroyed Houston like thiago did he would be looking at a title shot right now.[/quote]
Jardine by no means destroyed Chuck Liddell. He won via split decision. Destroying? Sorry, not a word that should describe that fight.
[quote comment=”358577″]Thiago should thank his lucky stars he isnt going to get beatdown by Rashad.. now he can continue to build his army of nuthuggers by beating on can’s like Heath and Drwal until he faces some real competition[/quote]
hahahahahaha i know ur jokeing rashad is the most over-rated fighter in the whole ufc thiago would kill that punk in the 1st round
[quote comment=”358683″][quote comment=”358584″][quote comment=”358163″][quote comment=”358130″]After the Houston Alexander fight, Thiago Silva needs a title shot. Hopefully, he gets it after Forrest Griffin.[/quote]
So u would just hand out title shots to a guy just because he beat a guy (Alexander) who’s UFC record is 2-1? Thank god Joe Silva is the matchmaker instead of U![/quote]
His record wasn’t 2-1 until he fought thiago and remember Houston destroyed Jardine and Jardine destroyed the #1 contender. If not a title shot, he should be fighting a top 5 LHW. They didn’t match Thiago up with Chuck because thiago would have killed Chuck and thats bad for the sport in the UFC’s eyes right now. If Chuck was on the winning streak that Thiago is on right now and he destroyed Houston like thiago did he would be looking at a title shot right now.[/quote]
Jardine by no means destroyed Chuck Liddell. He won via split decision. Destroying? Sorry, not a word that should describe that fight.[/quote]
I didn’t say he destroyed Liddell I said he destroyed the #1 contender Forrest Griffin.
By no means is Chuck Liddell the #1 contender!
[quote comment=”358623″][quote comment=”358584″][quote comment=”358163″][quote comment=”358130″]After the Houston Alexander fight, Thiago Silva needs a title shot. Hopefully, he gets it after Forrest Griffin.[/quote]
So u would just hand out title shots to a guy just because he beat a guy (Alexander) who’s UFC record is 2-1? Thank god Joe Silva is the matchmaker instead of U![/quote]
His record wasn’t 2-1 until he fought thiago and remember Houston destroyed Jardine and Jardine destroyed the #1 contender. If not a title shot, he should be fighting a top 5 LHW. They didn’t match Thiago up with Chuck because thiago would have killed Chuck and thats bad for the sport in the UFC’s eyes right now. If Chuck was on the winning streak that Thiago is on than right now and he destroyed Houston like thiago did he would be looking at a title shot right now.[/quote]
Keep in mind tiago was originally set to fight Rashad. Rashad is a big step up from fighting Houston Alexander! I was really looking forward to the Rashad vs. tiago fight, I thought it was a perfect match up stylistically and in the grand scheme of things both fighters are close in the rankings so the fight made sense in every way possible.
It all got screwed up when shogun re injured himself and the UFC decided to break up the Rashad/Tiago fight so that Rashad could fight Liddell. The UFC messed up even more by then booking Tiago to fight an unknown like Melendez. they should have matched up Tiago with Sokoudjou or even Gouveia![/quote]
I respect you opinion but in my opinion Rashad wouldn’t be effective against Thiago just look at the way he overpowered Houston Alexander. I’m not putting Houston in an Elite category but he is not a slouch and Rashad would have lost to Tito if it wasn’t for the point deduction. I know it’s kind of hard to say well this guy lost to that guy and I understand stylistally how it had the potential to be a good fight but I don’t think Rashad is as strong as Houston and if they had fought I see Thiago dominating Rashad like he has everyone else.
My bad, stylistically, LOL!
i dont care who thiago fights, he cant be far from a title shot. i say 2 more wins and he will be in title contention
This guy should be fighting better competition, it’s about time they move him up the latter im interested to see what he can do.
The big picture is to make sure that Rashad Sugar Evans get the ass beating he deserves! I don’t care if it comes from Liddell or Thiago. I rather see it come from Thiago because he needs the recognition from a fight like that. Thiago v. Rashad would be to two fold: Move Thiago up the UFC food chain and expose Reshad as the over rated wrestler he is.
Who has Reshad finished…Salmon? O V E R R A T E D!
[quote comment=”359054″]i dont care who thiago fights, he cant be far from a title shot. i say 2 more wins and he will be in title contention[/quote]
I agree,
After this most likely win, he should get a notable opponant.
And if he wins, give him a title shot..
[quote comment=”357939″][quote comment=”357473″][quote comment=”357455″]What about Thiago Silva vs Machida? Goodbye Silva.[/quote]
Machida is fighting Ortiz. Thiago is getting a real shitty opponent here.[/quote]
Tito ducked-out of his fight with Machida…….
I think Machida .vs. Silva is the best fight Joe Silva could set-up right now, since both of these fighters are without opponants…[/quote]
Well I guess Tito didn’t ‘duck out” this time…apparantly the fight is still on.
Tito will still lose..
how about thiago silva vz ortiz???
I looked up Mendes’s record on Sherdog..the last 2 guys he fought were TOTAL bums, while I believe Silva is in the top 3 in the world…oh, he’s going to pound on this guy …I can’t find any betting line for this fight, this is a terrible match-up…LOVe watching t Silva fihgt, giant lt heavy and just weathered Alexanders tornado without much sweat and then just kicked his ass. Amazing, he’s got chin, smarts, skills and he’s huge…again, just man-HANDLED that monster Alexander..I hope Mendes remembered to tip the ref for a nice early stoppage b4 he gets killed. Any one eant to bet on Mendes? Anyone? I have pay pal.