Anderson Silva Vs Forrest Griffin Announced for UFC 101

UFC 101, which takes place August 8th at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia has added an intriguing light-heavyweight match between Middleweight champion Anderson "The Spider" Silva and TUF 1 winner and former LHW champion Forrest Griffin. This fight is a bit of a surprise for some, but with Silva cleaning out the UFC Middleweight division and in need of a high profile fight, the very popular Griffin should bring in higher PPV numbers for the UFC. This will be Silva's second fight at LHW in the UFC, in his first LHW fight Silva defeated James "Sandman" Irvin in 1:01 of the first round.

Anderson Silva has been highly criticized for his last two effective, but less than spectacular title defenses. Some feel that Silva has simply been bored by his lack of competition in the UFC middleweight division and has expressed his interest in only fighting blockbuster matches, in the four remaining fights on his UFC contract. A step up in weight class to fight the very tough Forrest Griffin who has wins over top ranked LHW's Rampage Jackson and Shogun Rua will be Silva's toughest test since entering the UFC and maybe of his entire career.

This forces top Middleweight contenders Nate "The Great" Marquardt and Damien Maia to put their title-shots on hold. Many would like to see Marquardt and Maia fight for the number one contender spot while Silva is busy moving up a weight class. The rumored superfight between Anderson Silva and GSP will also have to be put on hold as Silva chases bigger challenges in the UFC's LHW division.

UFC 101
Date: Aug 08, 2009
Location: Philadelphia
Venue: Wachovia Center
Broadcast: Pay per view

* Champ B.J. Penn vs. Kenny Florian (for UFC lightweight title)
* Champ Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin (non-title fight)
* Thiago Silva vs. TBA*
* Josh Neer vs. Kurt Pellgrino*
* Rousimar Palhares vs. Alessio Sakara*
* Johny Hendricks vs. Amir Sadollah*
* John Howard vs. Tamdan McCrory*
* Dan Cramer vs. Matthew Riddle*
* Shane Nelson vs. Aaron Riley*
* Jesse Lennox vs. Danillo Villefort*