UFC 122 Victory puts Dennis Siver in Lightweight Title Contention

Last night after learning that the middleweight bout between Jorge Rivera and Alessio Sakara has been canceled due to flu-like symptoms on behalf of Sakara, lightweight fighter and German native Dennis Siver and his opponent Andre Winner were vaulted into the co-main event slot and that fight was a hit as Siver and Winner put on a show with Siver finishing the fight via first round submission.
During the UFC 122 post-fight press conference UFC President Dana White raves about how both Siver and Winner came in to step up and fight in the co-headliner and praises that Siver was impressive in his home country en route to the rear naked choke stoppage.

“Siver got moved up to the co-main event after Alessio got sick, and he looked like a co-main-event (fighter) tonight,” White said after the show. “Let me tell you what. Andre Winner looked awesome. That kid came out (and) looked fantastic – sharp punches, hard kicks. And then Siver went in there and finished him. Siver looked like a superstar tonight in his own country.”

Since a meager 1-3 start in his first stint with the UFC, Siver has come back to the organization and has since netted a 5-1 mark with the lone loss coming to Winner’s teammate and TUF 9 winner Ross Pearson as Siver says that with the UFC’s permission he would like to avenge his previous losses knowing that he can now win those fights as he is pleased with his vast improvements.

“After a couple of defeats, I changed my training program and started training more in jiu jitsu and wrestling,” said Siver, who already boasted solid striking skills. “It’s good to be right. I even won the ‘Submission of the Night.’ I’m very pleased with the progress that I’m making.”

Dana White would not say who may be next for Siver, but adds that he will speak with Joe Silva and Siver himself to see what is next.

“(UFC matchmaker) Joe (Silva) and I were talking about who we’d like him to fight, but we’re not going to talk about that right now,” White said. “I’d rather hear from him and see who he wants.”

Now will likely be the time that Siver is put on some major UFC events in the U.S. as his style of fighting is winning over the fans and UFC brass as well as White closes with, “The kid stepped up. He’s got some big fights ahead of him.”
Source: MMAJunkie.com