Report: Anderson Silva Could Headline UFC 89

MMAJunkie is reporting that the UFC and Spike TV are working on a deal to air UFC 89 live from England:

After this past weekend’s UFC Fight Night 14 event in Las Vegas, UFC President Dana White said that UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, who defeated James Irvin in the event’s headline bout, will likely next fight Patrick Cote. (Yushin Okami had been next in line for the title shot, but he recently suffered a broken hand while training.)

White said that if Silva fights in September at UFC 88, that it would likely be against Cote.

However, one source close to the fighter tells MMAjunkie.com that Silva, largely considered the world’s top pound-for-pound fighter, could instead be added to the UFC 89 fight card in Birmingham to bolster the nationally televised line-up. (And UFC 88 would instead feature its originally scheduled pay-per-view main event of Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans.)

Currently the main event is Michael Bisbing vs. Chris Leben…while not a lackluster fight…it’s not main event quality either. Especially considering the England cards have been rather weak in terms of star power. However, Silva headlining would erase a lot of those sentiments. Also, couple this event being on Spike TV, along with Silva’s performance from this past weekend on Spike TV…he will become a superstar.  Also of note, many people haven’t talked about this…but did you notice Anderson Silva speaking in English during the post-fight interview? I know it wasn’t much…but it’s important to note that he’s making strides to connect with the fans.

Sidenote-Silva is going to maul Cote…and I’m pissed right now…because I have tickets to UFC 88 and I thought the Spider was gonna be fighting there   Oh, and thanks Zuffa/Dana White for another FREE card…(this card is gonna be dope btw).

Update:  Silva/Cote has been pushed back to UFC 90 in Chicago