The Spider KOs Belfort, stays unbeaten in UFC

MANILA, Philippines - Anderson “The Spider” Silva showed why he’s the best pound-for-pound fighter in the mixed martial arts as he knocked out a feared fighter in Vitor Belfort in the first round to stay unbeaten in the Octagon and remain the UFC middleweight champion at the UFC 126.

Silva unleashed a powerful left front kick that landed on Belfort’s face, sending Belfort sprawling on the canvas before finishing him off with a couple more crisp haymakers.

The vintage Silva kick that came out of nowhere turned what had appeared to be an uneventful first round to a spectacular finish. It was his record 13th straight victory since jumping into the UFC several years ago.

Silva thus improved to 28-4 (win-loss) he highlighted with 16 knockouts and a 13-0 win streak on the Octagon. Belfort fell to 19-9.

Fast-rising Jon Jones, who broke the nose of Fil-Am Brandon “The Truth” Vera a few months ago, turned in his most impressive fight as he stopped Ryan Bader in the second round.

After the win, Jones was offered by UFC president Dana White to replace an injured Rashad Evans against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua for the light heavywight title at UFC 128 next month.

Forrest Griffin, for his part, edged another former champion Rich Franklin via unanimous decision to get back into the thick of things and a possible crack of regaining the light heavy title he lost last year.

Silva’s domination of Belfort, a former UFC champion, left the UFC, and perhaps the rest of the mixed martial arts world, the challenge of finding a worthy opponent for the talented Brazilian, who had practically swept the middleweight field with one juggernaut performance after another.

Meanwhile, Japanese Yushin “The Thunder” Okami, a well-rounded fighter who practices judo, boxing and wrestling with a 26-5 slate, has been lined up as one of Silva’s next possible challengers.

Reigning welterweight king Georges St. Pierre of Canada is also being lured to climb the middleweight ladder and give Silva a worthy challenge.