MMAVu

It’s official, again.

The monster 205lb showdown will now take place at UFC 93, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on January 31. This bout was supposed to happen at UFC 89: Bisping vs Leben October 18, but Silva had to withdraw due to a back injury.

Both guys are top contenders in the light heavyweight division, a fight or two away from a title shot, both guys are from Brazil, and have identical 13-0 records. This fight is an awesome addition to the rumored main event of Georges St. Pierre vs BJ Penn.

Machida has won 5 straight in the UFC, beating guys like Kazuhiro Nakamura, Sokodjou and most recently Tito Ortiz. Silva has also defeated an impressive list of fighters in Antonio Mendes, Houston Alexander and Thomasz Drwal. Should be a dandy.

UFC owned WEC announced today that it will no longer have a 185lb and 205lb division, deciding to focus their efforts on 170lb and lower. This has been rumored for quite some time now, and has finally come to fruition. Their classes are now 170lbs, 155lbs, 145lbs and 135lbs. These classes traditionally have not been moneymakers, so we’ll see how this shakes down as the time goes by. This change will take effect January 1, 2009.

WEC VP Peter Dropkick had this to say (by the way, I LOVE his last name):

Exciting matchups like Torres vs. Tapia on Dec. 3 and the incredible fights we have planned for 2009 under this new structure will no doubt establish WEC as the home of the best lighter weight fighters in the world.

This will bolster the UFC’s 185lb 205lb divisions since they will absorb the fighters, and maybe allow the UFC to “trim some fat” in the process. Second, it will allow more quality time for the lighter weights, who often found themselves left off of cards or relegated to the undercard. Besides, the WEC had a shallow pool of fighters at 185lb and 205lbs, so they had few true contenders for their titles anyways. The WEC 185lb/205lb belts will likely just be dissolved.