Costa Philippou meets Francis Carmont at UFC 165

Costa Philippou meets Francis Carmont at UFC 165

by Jack Broadey @J3cK_b

Costa Philippou must have been a very frustrated man recently. He's almost the forgotten man in the middleweight title picture. He has quietly gone about his business and amassed a 5-0 winning streak. His opponent Francis Carmont strangely enough has also racked up a 5-0 steak but not even remotely in the same impressive fashion.

Philippou is the only top 10 middleweight who hasn't yet fought in 2013. He unfortunately had to pull out of a scheduled bout with Ronaldo Souza at UFC on FX 8 due to an untimely facial injury. Because of the lack of activity he has flown somewhat under the radar. Decision wins over Rivera, McGee and Fukada and KO wins over Harman and most recently Tim Boetsch has firmly established Philippou inside the middleweight top 10 rankings.

Recent, respective call outs of top middleweights although unsuccessful show the mans ambition. Philippou  campaigned for a main event slot against Michael Bisping at the upcoming UK event, a win here against Carmont could make that matchup viable for early next year. A decision win over Urijah Hall may also come back to look very good on the resume.