Joe Ferraro

Will Vitor Belfort fight Anderson Silva next or take on Nate Marquardt first? Belfort isn't saying.

As we enter the final month of 2009, injuries to many elite MMA fighters are playing havoc with the UFC and Strikeforce matchmaking teams, while the speculation surrounding the final replacement bouts has everyone holding their breath.

We reported the news on "MMA Connected" Monday that the UFC 109 main event between UFC middleweight champion Anderson (The Spider) Silva and Vitor (The Phenom) Belfort was off, as Silva's camp was stating that his recovery from elbow surgery was not going as planned, and that the champ would not be ready to fight until April. Rumblings began circulating that this was a ploy by Silva's camp to continue stalling until the UFC offers them a better challenger, and a fight that would actually motivate The Spider, as many within the camp do not believe Belfort deserves a shot at the title.

It appeared the fight was off, or at least postponed until April, leaving the UFC and Belfort with an option to forget the bout and have Vitor fight someone else instead.

Then, one of Silva's managers (and Brazilian MMA pioneer) Jorge Guimaraes stated the fight with Belfort was still a go and that it was going to be a great bout between two exceptional Brazilian fighters.

All was calm and restored back to normal until just a few hours later, when multiple reports came out that Belfort had moved on and would now be replacing Chael Sonnen at UFC 109 so he could face Nathan Marquardt in a UFC No. 1 middleweight contender bout. My sources tell me that Sonnen is still Marquardt's opponent, but Belfort is definitely having fun with all of this.

Via his twitter account, Belfort would not reveal the news, but did state that the news would come via UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta and/or president Dana White.

This scenario is just one of many for the UFC matchmaking team, and it's not just in the middleweight division. We see what's happening in the heavyweight division with champ Brock Lesnar out indefinitely, his opponent Shane Carwin out rehabbing his knee, while both Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera and Gabriel Gonzaga are out with staph. Big Nog is returning at UFC 110 vs. Cain Velasquez, but with Gonzaga out, what's next for his UFC 108 opponent, Junior (Cigano) Dos Santos?

The light-heavyweight divsion will not see a title fight until May 1 in Montreal as champion Lyoto Machida heals up for his rematch with Mauricio (Shogun) Rua. The superfight between Ultimate Fighter 10 coaches Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans has been postponed until next year, while Rampage finishes with his movie gig. So Evans will now face Thiago Silva, a very dangerous opponent that many are not giving much credit to.

Silva quickly defeated Evans' teammate, Keith Jardine, at UFC 102, so there is a sense of redemption there for Rashad. In the meantime, "The Dean of Mean" is reportedly going to face Ryan Bader at UFC 110 in Australia, a card that is slowly stacking up to be an instant classic. It's the same card with Wanderlei Silva vs. Michael Bisping and Joe Stevenson vs. George Sotiropolous.

But all of these matchmaking headaches are not only centred within each and every UFC weight class. The same can be said for Strikeforce, which recently lost a great matchup between Benji Radach and Robbie Lawler for their upcoming Strikeforce: Evolution card.

Radach was forced to withdraw from the bout as he has not received medical clearance to even begin training again, let alone fight, since injuring his hand vs. Scott Smith in April.

With Radach out, Strikeforce has apparently placed two big names on the platter for Lawler to accept. The first is UFC veteran Trevor Prangley and the second is Dutch striker and DREAM veteran Melvin Manhoef. I can just imagine if Lawler accepts Manhoef, it would be an absolute bomb-fest.

Miscellaneous MMA news

* Don't forget to tune in to Sportsnet Wednesday night to see the final two hours of The Ultimate Fighter 10. There are two quarter-final bouts left: James McSweeney vs. Matt Mitrione and Marcus Jones vs. Darrill Schoonover, with the winners advancing to the semi-finals vs. Roy Nelson and Brendan Schaub. Check your local listings and remember, Sportsnet is the only station in Canada where you can watch The Ultimate Fighter in HD.

* With the State of Massachusetts legalizing mixed martial arts on Monday, it appears the first UFC event is being pencilled in for July or August of next year, likely at the TD Garden (formerly the Boston Garden). With the organization aiming for a summer 2010 date, would they risk holding an outdoor show at Fenway and try to break the North American MMA attendance record while holding their first stadium show?

* Josh Koscheck must really be in Dana White's good books. After White gave Kos lots of love at the UFC 106 post-fight press conference (along with fight of the night and submission of the night bonuses), White has also granted a longstanding wish Kos has had for quite some time: a rematch vs. Paulo Thiago, tentatively scheduled for UFC 109 on Feb. 6. In the meantime, Josh just celebrated his 32nd birthday by jumping on stage to sing an eighties classic.

* Matt Hughes fans: the former champ recently stated he is hoping to make an Octagon return at UFC 112 in April of 2010 -- no opponent has been named yet.

* Looks like you can add Amir Sadollah vs. Brad Blackburn to the stacked UFC Fight Night 20 card, set for Jan. 11 at the Patriot Centre in Fairfax, Virginia.

* While co-promotion is not something the UFC will ever consider, Japanese competitors WVR: Sengoku and DREAM have decided to team up for a huge year-end MMA show in the land of the rising sun. Look for the card to feature a variety of WVR vs. DREAM bouts, the finals of the Super Hulk Tournament, as well as some title fights, one of which I hope is Dream lightweight champion Shinya Aoki defending his title against Tatsuya Kawajiri.

Don't forget to vote for Yours Truly, as well as "MMA Connected" @ http://www.WorldMMAawards.com.