Joe Ferraro

After taking showboating to a whole new level UFC middleweight champion Anderson (The Spider) Silva's next opponent appears to be Chael Sonnen, and not Vitor Belfort. The tentative bout vs. Sonnen will likely go down at UFC 117, Aug. 7 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Many are hoping that Vitor Belfort or Georges St-Pierre would have been the next dance partner in Silva's "Ballet of Violence," but the UFC is likely picking Sonnen for a variety of reasons, namely for the fact Chael will sell this fight better than Dan Hardy did with his fight with GSP.

While many folks believe Sonnen does not pose much of a threat to Silva, the lead-up to this bout is going to be great. Sonnen has already compared him to Britney Spears and called him Britney Silva. And he has stated he must beat down The Spider on behalf of society.

I still believe Vitor and Georges will get their shots, but as for the latter, I get the feeling a few things need to fall into place before the Canada vs. Brazil showdown takes place.

Strikeforce: Nashville

This Saturday Strikeforce puts on their triple main event card from Tennessee, featuring three title fights.

The main event will see Jake Shields, a natural welterweight, put his middleweight title on the line vs. Dan Henderson. I'm picking Henderson to win, while Shields will opt for free agency after the bout. When Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker recently hinted that fighters will be coming and going between organizations, and Shields states he wasn't given written notice that Strikeforce would like to retain his services, I get the feeling he's already halfway out the door.

In the co-main event, light-heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi will square off against Muhammed (King Mo) Lawal. The trash talk has been great thus far and we'll see if Lawal is able to back it up. I believe he will put up a stellar fight in the beginning, but in the end, Mousasi will be too much for Lawal to handle.

The third title fight will feature lightweight champion Gilbert (El Nino) Melendez vs. Dream champion Shinya Aoki. Many are considering this the battle for the No. 1 lightweight in the world, but I disagree. MMA Rankings are fairly subjective, and seeing as Frankie Edgar defeated B.J. Penn, he's No. 1 in my books, but whoever wins between Melendez and Aoki, will be very close to the top.

I'm picking Melendez, who I predict will overwhelm Aoki, early and often. That is, of course, if he keeps his limbs in check, cause Aoki doesn't need much room to submit anyone at 155 pounds.

Bellator 14 -- Great show

If you haven't seen the event yet, skip to the next topic. If you have, then you saw some nice performances by a few fighters, some controversy in one bout and a Canadian fall short in Chicago.

Mike Ricci, a training partner of GSP, was knocked out by hometown hero Pat Curran midway through the first round. It took a while for Ricci to come through, but thankfully, he's alright.

Controversy ensued when Ryan Thomas claimed the referee stepped in to stop the fight early, as he stated he didn't tap to Ben Askren's anaconda choke. The decision did not change, but look for a rematch in the near future.

Toby Imada pulled off another submission victory, this time an armbar vs. James Krause, while featherweight Wilson Reis defeated Shad Lierly with a rear naked choke with less than a minute and half to go in the fight.

Note: Canadian featherweight Will Romero's bout vs. Patricio Pitbull was postponed to Bellator 15, as the Brazilian was unable to get his visa issues completed in time.

WEC news

The WEC's first pay-per-view is set to go down next weekend, as WEC 48: Aldo vs Faber will feature two title fights and a bevy of stellar bouts. Interesting to note that it's the UFC that will be presenting this show, as Dana White, Mike Goldberg, Joe Rogan and Bruce Buffer are stepping in to fulfill their usual roles. I've noticed Zuffa is using a different methodology in promoting this event, and as I've stated before, there may be some changes on the horizon.

I've long maintained that the organization should bring their WEC champions to the UFC and have all title holders compete for the big show. The WEC should be more of an organization that is building fighters to compete in the UFC, while giving those who are cut a second chance to come back.

As opposed to cutting guys loose, send them down to the WEC to compete with the up-and-coming talent in ALL divisions, not just the smaller ones. Fighters should make their way through the WEC, then to the UFC, and then you will truly have an internal development/farm system.

It's not a perfect science, but I do believe all Zuffa champions should compete and be compensated under the UFC pay scale and be promoted via the mass marketing machine they have. Up and comers, as well as gatekeepers and guys on the cusp should duke it out in the WEC.

Misc. news and notes

We are all waiting for James Toney's first UFC opponent to be named, but another former boxing champ is causing quite a stir. Ricardo Mayorga is set to fight UFC veteran Din Thomas at Shine Fights next month, and by watching the press conference you know that Thomas is going to make him pay for his outlandish remarks and actions -- Mayorga pops Thomas with a karate chop. Classic stuff.

UFC 118 is set to go down on Aug. 28 at the TD Garden in Boston and will likely feature a rematch between Frankie Edgar and B.J. Penn as well as a lightweight contender bout between Gray Maynard and Kenny Florian.

Marcus (The Irish Hand Grenade) Davis, unfortunately, is already talking retirement.

A few sources are telling me that Canadian Tim (The Thrashing Machine) Hague will be returning to the UFC, likely in a heavyweight bout at UFC 113 in Montreal. Stay tuned.