FanHouse RicardoAlmeida

Ricardo Almeida has been forced out of UFC 106 on Nov. 21 due to a knee injury and his scheduled opponent Jon Fitch will receive a new opponent at a later date.

Fitch revealed on his Twitter late Wednesday the bout cancellation and added that he has already been presented with a new offer, "I get a bigger, better fight instead. Can't say who yet, but lots of you have been waiting for this fight [for] a long time."

PHILADELPHIA -- Anderson Silva walked into UFC 101 surrounded by boos, a goat, and left bathed in adulation, the G.O.A.T., or at least something close.

Needing a highlight-reel worthy performance to quiet the sudden doubts emanating from two straight lackluster performances, Silva -- fighting for only the second time at 205 pounds -- toyed with former UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin before putting him away with a stunning short right in just 3:23 of the first round.

PHILADELPHIA -- This is the UFC 101 live blog for Kendall Grove vs. Ricardo Almeida, a middleweight matchup on the televised portion of the pay-per-view card.

You can also keep track of action by following me on Twitter, and by participating in our live chat.

The live blog is below.

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Ricardo Almeida's desire to compete on the UFC 101 card in Philadelphia was so much so that he postponed immediate plans for a welterweight run.

"To be honest I would have fought at 205 to fight in Philly," Almeida said. "I really wanted the people who support me on a daily basis to have the chance to watch me fight live and be a part of it."

By defeating Ricardo Almeida at UFC 86, Patrick Cote has earned a title shot against middleweight champion Anderson Silva, possibly as soon as November.

I suppose that's fine, but really, does anyone who watched that fight last night think Cote has a prayer against Silva? Cote fought a fairly safe, fairly boring fight against Almeida, and I came away from it thinking Silva would need maybe four minutes to beat him.

The current plan appears to be for Silva to fight James Irvin in two weeks, then Yushin Okami in September, then Cote before the year is out. Assuming Silva wins all three fights -- and I assume he will -- it might then be time for him to move up to light heavyweight permanently, simply to make the middleweight division competitive again.

Although I'm not seeing a lot of hype surrounding Saturday night's UFC 86 undercard, the Ricardo Almeida-Patrick Cote fight is going to be an important one to the future of the middleweight division.

UFC President Dana White said yesterday that the Almeida-Cote fight would "see who's next in line for Anderson Silva's 185-pound title." If the winner is guaranteed a title fight, that makes Almeida vs. Cote a much bigger fight than most MMA fans are making it out to be.

Of course, White meant the winner would get a shot at Silva's title after Silva fights James Irvin on July 19, and then fights Yushin Okami in September. But while Silva still has two more fights before he could take on the Almeida-Cote winner, White indicated that Silva is willing to take on the Herculean task of three fights in the next five months.

UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson steps into the Octagon with Forrest Griffin Saturday night for what might be the best fight in a great summer of mixed martial arts. Jackson is a brutal brawler who has dominated the division in recent years, while Griffin is a beloved fan favorite who got his start in UFC on The Ultimate Fighter.

MMA fans are in a lather for this one. Here are the details:

What: UFC 86: Jackson vs. Griffin

Who: In addition to the main event, the televised fights on the card are Patrick Côté vs. Ricardo Almeida, Joe Stevenson vs. Gleison Tibau, Josh Koscheck vs. Chris Lytle and Tyson Griffin vs. Marcus Aurelio.

When: Saturday, 10 p.m. ET

Where: Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas

How: Pay-per-view, $44.95 ($54.95 in HD), or just follow along with my FanHouse live blog.

Predictions after the jump.