In response to Michael Bisping asking that his fight with Vitor Belfort be upgraded to an interim title contest, incumbent top contender Chris Weidman has suggested that the winner of Bisping/Belfort face the winner of Weidman/Boetsch for the interim title--a suggestion so reasonable it could never possibly happen, right? This is supposing that Silva is granted time away by the UFC which may (should) not happen. Weidman is the top contender by default due to Anderson Silva's scorched Earth campaign across the division, defeating every challenger for the past six years and boring himself in the process. Silva has either beaten every other top contender or they've flamed out in title eliminator bouts (Bisping) and never reached a title shot. Weidman's wins over Maia and Munoz are not enough to make him a title contender but his undefeated record and the lack of other options in the division has propelled him to the top. Likewise, Michael Bisping has a win over Brian Stann and little else in terms of relevant qualifications, dropping a fight to Chael Sonnen in January, the third time he's lost in a title eliminator situation (Evans, Henderson).
