At least one individual fighting on the UFC 152 card believes that Vitor Belfort will pull off the upset of a lifetime by taking out UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
When UFC middleweight Michael Bisping was asked by MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani (video courtesy of MMA Fighting) if he was picking “The Phenom” over Jones (at the 6:36 mark), he had an interesting response:
“Listen…I’ve just got a feeling he’s [Belfort] going to pull off the upset,” Bisping began. “Not in a disrespectful way to Jon Jones, I think Jon Jones is an incredible champion, and on paper Jon wins. But, when you’re the underdog and you have nothing to lose like that, and he truly has nothing to lose, he’s expected to lose and if he loses, so what? He stepped up a weight class to fight the champion. I think that makes him dangerous: he has the tools, he has the knockout power, he has the speed. Who knows, you know?”
“The Count” also recommended that “Bones” should rely on his takedowns and ground and pound to defeat Belfort, since a left hand from the Brazilian could be a “good night for anybody.”
Belfort enters the UFC 152 headlining bout, hosted at the Air Canada Centre, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, as a 6-to-1 underdog and is generally not expected to make it out of the first round.
Nevertheless, the former UFC light heavyweight champion is feeling good heading into the title fight.
“I’m ready,” Belfort told MMA Junkie. “It’s all in my mind. I’m taking advantage of what is positive. Focus on the positive, not what is negative.”
Bisping takes on Brian Stann in the event’s third main card fight. For his thoughts on that fight, as well as his recent feud with flyweight Joseph Benavidez, watch the interview in its entirety.
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