Author: Kyle Symes

Vitor Belfort: Looking at the Legacy ‘The Phenom’ Will Leave Behind

Vitor Belfort can see the light at the end of the tunnel. No, Belfort isn’t dying, but his MMA career might be coming to an end in the near future. Belfor spoke with Ben Fowlkes of MMAFighting.com about his career coming to an end and “enjoying th…

Vitor Belfort can see the light at the end of the tunnel. No, Belfort isn’t dying, but his MMA career might be coming to an end in the near future.

Belfor spoke with Ben Fowlkes of MMAFighting.com about his career coming to an end and “enjoying the moment:”

I’m enjoying every time I can enjoy, all of this. Right now I’m enjoying everything as it comes…I want to finish the best I can finish. We’ll see when God’s going to decide to speak to my heart and tell me that it’s the moment to finish. I know that the time is coming, so I’m preparing to finish the best I can finish. (MMAFighting.com)

The end is coming soon, but “The Phenom” has had a great run in the sport.

Belfort broke onto the scene as a phenom and was thus dubbed with the nickname, “The Phenom.” His early bouts in the UFC are highlighted by a 44-second KO of Wanderlei Silva at UFC Brazil.

After a stint in Pride that saw the Brazilian go 4-1, Belfort returned to the UFC to face off against Chuck Liddell. Belfort would lose to “The Iceman” but rebounded by using an axe to defeat Marvin Eastman at UFC 43.

Belfort would go on to rematch Randy Couture and win the light heavyweight title. His run at the top would be short lived however, as Couture bested “The Phenom” in their rubber match at UFC 49.

The loss to Couture, coupled with the problems surrounding the kidnapping of his sister sent Belfort into a downward spiral that lasted nearly three years. Following the loss to Couture, Belfort went on to go a combined 2-4 in his next six fights.

“The Phenom” got his career back on track in England and began the talk of “Vitor is back!” when he made his debut for the Affliction promotion. Belfort’s stint in Affliction was highlighted by a 37 second KO of Matt Lindland.

In 2009, Belfort returned to the UFC again to fight Rich Franklin. He defeated “Ace” in emphatic fashion by a KO in the first round.

Belfort used this win to catapult himself into a title shot against Anderson Silva. With the months of delays, the two finally met at UFC 126 with Belfort losing by a highlight reel front kick.

Rebounding from the Silva loss, Belfort blasted through Yoshihiro Akiyama and looks to do the same to Anthony Johnson at UFC 142.

If Belfort can emerge victorious, I could see the former champion retiring inside the Octagon. The man will have nothing left to accomplish in MMA.

He rose to the top of the sport seemingly overnight and competed at a high level for the entire length of his career. He may not look it, but Belfort is an older fighter at 34.

The bout with Johnson will be Belfort’s 30th professional fight in MMA and while his face and body has managed to escape the battle scars that a 15-year veteran should have. It’s not like Belfort padded his record against scrubs either.

If you look at his record, Belfort has fought against the best and beaten some of the best.

But will “The Phenom” be remembered as one of the best?

The answer to that question has to be an emphatic “yes.”

Belfort’s losses have come against names like Couture, Sakuraba,  Liddell, Ortiz (controversial), Overeem, Henderson and Silva. Quite a credentialed list of losses for a 15-year career.

“The Phenom” will always be a case of “what if” for me. How many times have we heard the words, “Vitor is back!” only to see him “back” for one or two fights?

He had the world at his feet at 19 and could’ve been one of the top pound-for-pound fighters of all time. Instead, he will just be remembered as one of the greatest middleweights and owner of some of the most explosive hands in MMA.

Still, Belfort shouldn’t hold his head in shame after he calls it quits. He’s reached the top of the mountain multiple times and has a long and storied career.

“The Phenom” has fought at an elite-level and fought top level talent for the past 15 years. But fans have to be left with a taste for more as Belfort could’ve and should’ve been so much more.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Kenny Florian: With His Career in Jeopardy, How Will We Remember ‘KenFlo’?

Kenny Florian has had a lengthy career in the UFC, but it may be coming to an end before the fighter is ready to call it quits. Florian spoke with the Boston Herald about his career-threatening injury. As of right now, obviously I can’t compete a…

Kenny Florian has had a lengthy career in the UFC, but it may be coming to an end before the fighter is ready to call it quits.

Florian spoke with the Boston Herald about his career-threatening injury.

As of right now, obviously I can’t compete and train like I was at all. I’m just kind of doing what I can and hoping that things heal up and get better. I’m just kind of in a holding pattern. That’s why I decided to do this commentary for the time being and take this next six months to really heal up and try to make some money on the side. It sucks. The last couple of months I’ve just been figuring out what’s going on and what I’m going to do. (BostonHerald.com)

“KenFlo” has found a second calling it seems with the commentary. He’s grown into one of the most recognizable faces of the UFC, and he’s a big part of the UFC Tonight show on FUEL TV and has also been a part of ESPN’s MMA Live for years.

But how will the Massachusetts native be remembered?

To me, Florian will be remembered much in the way Dan Marino is remembered in the NFL. Marino was a great QB for years. He put up video game-like stats and set all kinds of records.

But he never won “the big one.”

Much the same can be said of Florian while glancing at his career.

At first glance, Florian’s career record of 16-6 might not seem like it’s all that great, but when you consider all but three of his fights took place in the UFC, going 14-5 in a UFC career is pretty good.

Florian possessed great jiu-jitsu and deadly muay-thai techniques on the feet. His elbows were some of the best in the business, evident by his wins against Alex Karalexis and Joe Lauzon.

Though his career had many highlights, “KenFlo’s” career will be remembered by four particular fights.

The first would be the match against Sean Sherk in 2006 for the UFC Lightweight title. It would be clear from the loss that Florian needed to evolve his MMA game considerably in order to challenge for a title again.

Florian would do so and rattle off six straight wins before challenging BJ Penn at UFC 101. This is the second fight Florian will be remembered by.

From the moment the fight started, Florian was outclassed in every manner of MMA, and it was clear that Penn was simply too much for him. But Florian wouldn’t let this embarrassing loss derail his career.

He strung together two wins and challenged Gray Maynard at UFC 118 in Boston. Florian’s fight against Maynard is the third bout in question.

Most fans felt that with the Boston crowd backing him, “KenFlo” couldn’t lose. He had the standup to hurt Maynard on the feet and the jiu-jitsu to counteract Maynard’s strong wrestling.

Unfortunately for the fans in attendance, Florian couldn’t pull the trigger. For all three rounds, Florian seemed gun-shy and simply let Maynard lay on top of him to grind out a decision.

The loss led Dana White to declare that Florian chokes in big fights.

Frustrated with the defeats on the big stage at lightweight, Florian decided it would be in his best interest to drop a weight class.

“KenFlo” won in his featherweight debut and set up a title showdown with Jose Aldo. Florian was unable to utilize his game plan and was defeated via unanimous decision.

The bout against Aldo, which could be his last fight ever, is the fourth fight fans will remember when they reflect on Florian’s career.

A drop to 145 pounds seemed like a desperation move for Florian and his gamble failed to pay off. He wasn’t the favourite against Aldo, but “KenFlo” certainly had the tools to dethrone the featherweight champion.

Florian’s evolution from a pudgy middleweight to featherweight is filled with remarkable feats. He certainly had his moments and will undoubtedly go down in UFC history as one of the best lightweights.

But his failures in the big fights will always be the first thing to come out of fans’ mouths when mentioning “KenFlo.”

“Kenny Florian? Yeah, he was good, but he never won a title.”

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

10 Fighters Whose Nicknames Will Always Be Associated with Them

A fighter can’t choose their nickname; it’s one of those things that’s given to a fighter. Like a ceremonial gift from a coach of peer, a nickname means something.Or in some cases, it’s simply an inside joke within the gym, like Junior dos Santos being…

A fighter can’t choose their nickname; it’s one of those things that’s given to a fighter. Like a ceremonial gift from a coach of peer, a nickname means something.

Or in some cases, it’s simply an inside joke within the gym, like Junior dos Santos being called “Cigano” because of his long hair.

Sometimes, a fighter’s nickname even becomes bigger than the fighter themselves. That’s the case with the people on this list. They were not the first or the last person to have these nicknames, but the people on this list will always be associated with them.

Begin Slideshow

UFC Undisputed 3 Predicts Jose Aldo over Chad Mendes at UFC 142

UFC 142 is this weekend, and many fans are arguing over who will win between Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes. Luckily, the people behind UFC Undisputed 3 have released another prediction to help settle the argument. UFC Undisputed 3 ran 25 AI simulated match…

UFC 142 is this weekend, and many fans are arguing over who will win between Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes. Luckily, the people behind UFC Undisputed 3 have released another prediction to help settle the argument.

UFC Undisputed 3 ran 25 AI simulated matches and some of the results were quite lopsided.

Surprisingly (to me at least), Mendes won the first round 80 percent of the time. This comes as a surprise as most analysts predict Aldo to come out strong in the opening frame and has shown the tendency to fade in later rounds.

Mendes also had success with his takedowns during the simulation, achieving a takedown on 72 percent of his attempts. If Mark Hominick can manage to wrestle Aldo to the ground, Mendes should have no issues either.

Once on the ground, Aldo attempted 48 submissions throughout the simulations, but only won via submission once. This is one of the question marks in this bout.

Mendes hasn’t face a lot of submission attempts in his career but was able to stifle Rani Yahya’s BJJ game in their match.

On the feet, Aldo landed approximately 50 percent more strikes than Mendes. That number is likely to be a little higher as Aldo’s striking is deadly while Mendes is no doubt a capable standup fighter, but would much rather make this into a wrestling match.

All in all, Aldo won 14 of the 25 simulations.

What does this mean?

It means this fight is likely a lot closer than what some people think it is. Aldo has looked vulnerable in his two UFC appearances and Mendes is no joke at 145 pounds.

Can Aldo stop the furious takedown attempts and keep his belt? Or will Mendes wrestle his way to a victory and take the title from the Brazilian?

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Mixed Martial Arts: The Top 10 Potential PPV Matches of 2012

2012 looks to be a breakout year for the UFC and for MMA in general.The UFC on Fox deal looks to bring MMA to a truly mainstream status and will provide numerous outlets for exposure. Strikeforce will remain in business and now has the ability to put o…

2012 looks to be a breakout year for the UFC and for MMA in general.

The UFC on Fox deal looks to bring MMA to a truly mainstream status and will provide numerous outlets for exposure. Strikeforce will remain in business and now has the ability to put on entertaining fights instead of trying to worry about competing with the UFC.

Bellator will continue to assert itself as the second promotion in the U.S. and should keep putting on entertaining shows, much like the WEC we all miss.

There’s also a bundle of potential matchups that should be on any MMA fan’s calendar. From rematches to grudge matches, 2012 will provide us with numerous great potential matches.

Begin Slideshow

UFC 142: Technical Breakdown of Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes

At UFC 142, Jose Aldo will defend his featherweight title against Chad Mendes. At first glance, the bout is another classic “striker vs. grappler” matchup, but if we take a closer look, there’s a lot more coming into play.Aldo looked indestructible dur…

At UFC 142, Jose Aldo will defend his featherweight title against Chad Mendes. At first glance, the bout is another classic “striker vs. grappler” matchup, but if we take a closer look, there’s a lot more coming into play.

Aldo looked indestructible during his WEC run, demolishing anyone and everyone put in front of him. His aura of invincibility has disappeared somewhat following two lackluster performances in the UFC.

Mendes meanwhile has gone undefeated throughout his career, defeating a number of tough opponents like Erik Koch, Cub Swanson, and Rani Yahya, among others.

The battle for the featherweight title promises to be an interesting one as Mendes will look to impose his will on Aldo, but will need to find some success with his striking as well.

Begin Slideshow