The Ripple Effect of Anderson Silva vs. Michael Bisping

The UFC's return to London, which will emanate from the city's O2 arena on February 27 of the New Year, officially has its main event.

For awhile, that main event was expected to be a middleweight clash between British MMA pioneer Michael Bisping and former Strikeforce champion Gegard Mousasi. For a time, a welterweight pairing of Rory MacDonald and Hector Lombard was also rumored for the card's headlining spot. As it turns out, however, neither of these bouts will go down in London. Instead, the main event honors will be given to Bisping and former middleweight king, Anderson Silva.

This is an exciting announcement for a number of reasons. For one, it's going to be a big night for UFC Fight Pass subscribers. While this clash of middleweight stars could have just as easily co-headlined an expensive pay-per-view, it'll instead go down on the subscription streaming service. Furthermore, this is a bout that Bisping and his fans have wanted for many years, and very narrowly missed when Bisping came up short in a 2012 number-one-contender bout with Chael Sonnen. Today, of course, the fight will not be for middleweight gold, but it still makes plenty of sense, and will mark a huge night for Bisping and the larger UK MMA scene.

Perhaps the most compelling detail of this booking, however, is that it could shake things up quite a bit at the top of the middleweight division. That is to say, this newly announced pairing of Silva and Bisping could have a substantial ripple effect.

Gegard Mousasi and Vitor Belfort, after all, are going to need new opponents now that their bouts with Bisping and Silva have fallen through. Now, the most logical route might be to pair the two middleweight veterans together. The two finishers match up very well on paper, and have enough name value to make an excellent addition to any upcoming main card. Furthermore, they've exchanged plenty of barbs in the past, and were even briefly scheduled for a 2009 bout in Affliction. There's some built-in history to their prospective pairing. That said, Belfort is currently riding the momentum of a second, blistering knockout defeat of Dan Henderson, while Mousasi recently had his power shut off in a shocking upset loss to Uriah Hall. So, while this bout does make sense in some ways, now might not be the best time for it. This, then, raises the question as to who Mousasi and Belfort will fight next instead.

This question is much easier to answer in Mousasi's case. Really, any number of top-15 middleweights would do the trick. Thales Leites is currently awaiting a dance partner after a July loss to Bisping. Chris Weidman will also be looking for an opportunity to bounce back from his title loss to Luke Rockhold. Even a rematch with Hall would suffice. Yet for Belfort, the next move could be a far more high-stakes encounter.

After wresting the middleweight crown from Chris Weidman, Luke Rockhold's first challenge seemed like it would be Yoel Romero, who defeated Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza on the same night. Yet Rockhold, as we know, is still bitter about a 2013 knockout loss to Belfort, who was on a TRT-fuelled tour of destruction at the time. As a result, the new champ has said that, while he respects Romero, he'd prefer his first title challenge be "Belfort on a silver platter." Of course, Belfort's recent loss to Weidman means this fight doesn't make a ton of sense from a rankings standpoint, but its revenge-steeped storyline would definitely move the needle. And now that we know Belfort isn't fighting Anderson Silva as per the UFC's initial plans, a Rockhold-Belfort title rematch seems like a real possibility. That, in turn, would force Romero, who is the division's obvious number-one-contender, onto the bench to wait his turn for a shot at a UFC title. At least he'll have Frankie Edgar for company there.

Yes, upon closer examination, the announcement of Silva vs. Bisping could be very good news for Vitor Belfort, and very bad news for Yoel Romero. Then again, Belfort could be paired with Mousasi, and Romero could get his shot as planned. Whatever happens to these currently dateless ranked middleweights however, one thing is clear: the announcement of London's main event is decidedly good news for the UK's MMA fans and Fight Pass subscribers around the world. It should be a great fight.