Michael Bisping the only choice for Anderson Silva?
 

Who do you think will be the next challenger for Anderson Silva's title and when do you think it will take place?

Bearing in mind Anderson fights Stephan Bonnar in three weeks and taking into account current PPVs and scheduling it looks very unlikely he would be able to fight again this year unless he took something on short notice.

So logically the earliest he could defend his belt (other than fighting on short notice again) would be in January 2013 (potentially UFC 156). An obvious roadblock for his next title defence is the prospect of a 'Superfight' with Georges St Pierre who has a fight booked for mid-November making a January date less likely in my opinion due to the precise and cautious nature of the current Welterweight champion. Alongside that GSP was as recently as two weeks ago keen to remind a reporter that he still has many challengers waiting to compete for his Welterweigh title - after being asked about the potential superfight.

So then, if the 'Superfight' doesn't go ahead, i think January would be the earliest logical date for Andersons next title defense, let's look at some potential opponents:

Chris Weidman (9-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC)
Called out Anderson after his Munoz win and has since been booked to fight Mark Boetsch on December 29th. Due to having a fight booked this could potentially put Anderson out of action for an extra 2-4 months if he gets the next shot. Ed Soares has described this fight as uninteresting.

Tim Boetsch (16-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC)
Currently undefeated at Middleweight and riding a 4-fight streak which include 3 decisions and 1 TKO. As above is booked to fight so would potentially cause a further log jam in the division.

Alan Belcher (18-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC)
Belcher has looked very impressive since returning from an eye injury, booked to fight Okami on the same card as Weidman-Boetsch.

Michael Bisping (23-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC)
Nothing booked, is arguably the biggest paperview draw from the selection above.

Outside of that you have the likes of Costas Philippou (decent streak but unknown) or Jake Shields (too early).

I really feel the stars are aligned for Bisping to finally get his title shot here, Anderson Silva will only defend his title ONCE in 2012 and has only been able to defend it twice each year since he won it in 2007.

IF THE SUPER FIGHT DOESNT GO AHEAD, WHO FIGHTS ANDERSON NEXT?

Bisping vs. Weidman seems like the logical bout to make, though if Dana and company want a line of contenders, then just give Mike the next shot with the winner of Boetsch/Weidman challenging thereafter.

Though for my money, Weidman (who will win) vs. Bisping makes the most sense.

This fight would have to take place probably March at the earliest, maybe April/May.. which would mean the title fight would be June/July/August.... seems too long for me.

what? why?

january / february most likely... Bisping's not hurt is he?

Bisping earned his shot, and then some more, give him his shot, weidman can get the next

100% opinion here

Weidman VS Boetsch December 29th 2012 (UFC 155)

Weidman and Boestch fight on December 29th.

Now, when someone can give me a reason that Bisping should fight Anderson besides the fact he's a 'draw' I might be on board with this, but I really don't think this would be any different than Silva/Okami 2.

Weidman is the only threat to Anderson right now.

Good lord I didn't even realize AS was fighting at 153...

If this fight goes more than 1 round I will be amazed, what an awful match up.

Edit: non title fight - wtf is Bonnar smoking. He's gonna get smashed, and it's all for nothing.

Edit 2: Co-main event of Big Nog vs. Herman. This is like the Brazilian mis-match card of the century.

This card looks like a joke.

I think Bisping has earned it when considering his entire body of work, he might not be coming off the most impressive winning streak but compared with other former MW challengers he is more impressive than some.. the likes of Okami (as you have mentioned), Maia, Leites, Cote, Marquardt and Belfort didn't have particularly great build ups before their shots.

Pissping is the logical choice for the next title shot. But.., that's because of sheer name value. He's only on a 1 fight win streak, so if you were to actually put weight in recent win/loss, he's not even close to deserving a shot.

Weidmann has looked impressive 1 time against a top 5'er, so he's undeserving. Hell, I saw an interview sometime ago where he said fighters shouldn't be able to talk their way into a championship. Yet, he talks and now everybody assumes he's the number 1 contender? He's not.

Boetsch has been on a run, but has only been impressive 1 or 2 times. Plus, although I like him, I think he's overrated and hasn't looked overly good against top guys, or even middle of the pack guys.

When it comes to actually deserving a shot, I'd say Alan Belcher takes the top spot hands down. He's on a 4 fight win streak. All against top 10, a couple arguable top 5, at the time, and he's been in and around the top for a long time. If not for injuries, he'd probably already have had a shot.