The MMA Hour is back in your life. Here’s a rundown of who will be stopping by Monday’s show and when:
1 p.m. ET — Chris Weidman will look back at UFC on FX 7’s main event and ahead to what’s next for him.
1:20 p.m. — “King” Muhamme…
The MMA Hour is back in your life. Here’s a rundown of who will be stopping by Monday’s show and when:
1 p.m. ET — Chris Weidman will look back at UFC on FX 7’s main event and ahead to what’s next for him.
1:20 p.m. — “King” Muhammed Lawal will preview his Bellator debut on Thursday night.
1:40 p.m. — Karl Amoussou will discuss his Bellator welterweight title fight on Thursday night.
2:40 p.m. — UFC play-by-play man Mike Goldberg will stop by to discuss his recent hiatus and return to the broadcast booth.
3 p.m. — We’ll answer your #themmahour questions on anything and everything going on in the MMA world. Hit us up on Twitter using that hash tag, leave a question in the comments section below, or give us a call. The best question will win a prize. Also, update our “Ric’s Picks Challenge” after UFC on FX 7 and predict UFC on FOX 6.
Plus, we’ll be taking your calls on anything and everything. Got a question or comment? Give us a call at 1-888-418-4074.
Watch the show live below beginning at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT/ 6 p.m. GMT. Subscribe to The MMA Hour on iTunes: audio feed here; video feed here. Download previous episodes here. Listen to the show via Stitcher here or via TuneIn here.
As soon as Vitor Belfort stopped talking, I knew one thing: Either he was crazy or I was. There’s no other explanation for how two men could have two such divergent world views.To be fair to Belfort, he had just finished a cage fight, disposing of top …
As soon as VitorBelfort stopped talking, I knew one thing: Either he was crazy or I was. There’s no other explanation for how two men could have two such divergent world views.
To be fair to Belfort, he had just finished a cage fight, disposing of top contender Michael Bisping with a head kick that required a recalibration of the UFC’s carefully crafted schemes for the middleweight division in 2013. He was never really rocked, but he took a few to the noggin. I could forgive him some confusion.
But his speech didn’t just seem a little off to me. It was straight bonkers. The stuff of fiction. Crazy talk. Judge for yourself:
Take that punk ChaelSonnen…get him out. Dana, Lorenzo, kick him out. Let me fight Jon Jones. I need that rematch. Take that clown away. Go home…You did a reality show. Go home. Let me fight the real champion. Champion against champion, not that clown.
As a monologue, it wasn’t quite Shakespeare. But inside the cage isn’t often where a man does his best thinking. Later on Fuel TV, after the adrenaline had died down a bit, Belfort attempted to gather his thoughts and try again. The essence, however, was much the same:
[Sonnen] is a clown. Get out. Get out of the way. He just got knocked out pretty bad by Anderson Silva then he fights Jon Jones. He doesn’t deserve the reality show. Let me fight—real champion versus real champion. I know he’s a good athlete, but he needs to go to the back of the line. Let me fight the rematch.
So let’s get this straight. Not only does Belfort apparently think that he is a UFC champion, despite not holding a title since 2004, he also wants the UFC to cancel a fight it has invested millions of dollars in and hours of television time in order to allow him to step in and take on the best light heavyweight in the world? A light heavyweight who, by the way, dismantled him in brutal fashion just a matter of months ago.
His reasoning?
Sonnen recently lost decisively to Anderson Silva at middleweight and doesn‘t deserve the shot.
Everything about his bizarre request is antithetical to real sport. Belfort, in case you missed it, was fighting Bisping at middleweight, not light heavyweight. That’s a division he hasn’t competed in regularly since all the way back in 2007.
Further complicating the issue?
He’s just 3-2 in his last five fights.
The idea of Belfort, or Sonnen for that matter, being granted a title shot would seem ludicrous were it not for the precedent set by—and here’s where it really gets trippy—VitorBelfort.
His critique of Sonnen‘s title shot was tinted with more than a little irony. Belfort, too, was granted a shot at Jon Jones, despite having spent years fighting at middleweight. Belfort too was granted his shot despite losing, in an all-time highlight reel knockout fashion, to Silva.
Don’t get me wrong. There is every reason to rail against Sonnen‘s title shot. It’s insulting to the very idea of sport, a blatant money grab that demeans the work done to separate cage fighting from boxing and pro wrestling, its combat sports brethren not known for transparent or sensible matchmaking.
But Belfort has walked in Chael‘s shoes. There’s every reason for fighters to be huffy about Sonnen‘s unearned opportunities. Belfort, however, lives in the sport’s only other glass house. Almost anyone can complain—except VitorBelfort.
I can understand Belfort‘s confusion in the cage. UFC matchmaker Joe Silva has encouraged fighters to call out specific opponents, giving potential matchups some extra oomph and excitement, making a typical fight feel more like a grudge match. For Belfort, picking a target couldn’t have been easy. He’s already lost in devastating fashion to both Silva and Jones. He’s a top-tier fighter, but one without a clear path to the title.
So, in a roundabout way, he actually called out ChaelSonnen. Sure he ostensibly demanded a shot at Jones, but it was Sonnen he insulted, Sonnen he name called and Sonnen who responded to his verbal assault on Fuel TV:
I’m really confused as to what’s going on? We’re not in the same weight class. I don’t know if he knows he’s not the champion. I keep hearing him say champion versus the champion. He keeps saying to move out of the way. I wouldn’t tell somebody to move out of the way, but I’d damn sure knock them out of the way. And Vitor, that’s one thing you’re not going to be able to do…Let me be really clear and speak directly to you Vitor. You have been telling the world that you want to meet Jesus and I will gladly arrange that travel, but first I am going to get rid of Jon Jones, then you are next. Vitor, I accept. Don’t make any mistake about that. You have called me out twice now.
The result here was brilliant. If Sonnen beats Jones, Belfort has made himself a logical choice to be Chael‘s first defense. After all, we’ve already established that rules and records are out the window when it comes to these two men.
If Jones beats Sonnen, as most experts predict he will, Belfort is still a super opponent for Chael‘s next fight. It won’t be for the title, but thanks to all the back and forth, will still be the hottest grudge match of the year.
VitorBelfort may indeed be crazy. But if so, he’s crazy like a fox. His insane post-fight rambling may not earn him a shot at Jones and may have caused many to scratch their heads in confusion, including me. He knew exactly what he was doing, though. A high-profile bout with Sonnen, the best money match he could possibly hope for, awaits.
The UFC returns to the Windy City this weekend boasting a title fight and several bouts with future championship implications. Flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson takes the main event slot and will meet Ultimate Fighter 14 winner John Dodson for…
The UFC returns to the Windy City this weekend boasting a title fight and several bouts with future championship implications.
Flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson takes the main event slot and will meet Ultimate Fighter 14 winner John Dodson for the title. They are arguably the two quickest men in MMA.
Also on the card are Quinton Jackson, Glover Teixeira, Donald Cerrone, Anthony Pettis and other top fighters in MMA today.
Here are predictions you can take to the bank for UFC on Fox this weekend.
What exactly does it mean to be well-rounded?Is it a fighter’s ability to mesh individual disciplines like striking, wrestling, jiu-jitsu and muay thai into one polished arsenal? Or, is it a fighter’s ability to finish fights, maintain composure, …
What exactly does it mean to be well-rounded?
Is it a fighter’s ability to mesh individual disciplines like striking, wrestling, jiu-jitsu and muay thai into one polished arsenal?
Or, is it a fighter’s ability to finish fights, maintain composure, strike with intelligence and keep a focused game plan?
Truthfully, it can be either. But for a meaning that’s often tossed around the sport of MMA these days, there’s only a handful of athletes currently gracing the UFC roster that encompass the essence of truly being well-rounded.
At UFC 156, Frankie Edgar will take on Jose Aldo for the UFC featherweight championship. Although the chance to hold UFC gold is enough to motivate any professional fighter, “The Answer” has the opportunity to become the third fighter in history to win…
At UFC 156, Frankie Edgar will take on Jose Aldo for the UFC featherweight championship. Although the chance to hold UFC gold is enough to motivate any professional fighter, “The Answer” has the opportunity to become the third fighter in history to win gold in multiple divisions.
Currently, online bookie Bovada has Edgar as a 2-to-1 underdog against Aldo, which translates into a 33.3 percent chance of obtaining this lofty goal. Despite what the odds suggest, Edgar has a much better shot at achieving greatness.
It is understandable that Aldo would be the betting favorite; however, it doesn’t appear that oddsmakers haven’t taken into account the effects of a 13-month layoff on the champion.
Anyone who saw UFC 129 knows that Aldo is susceptible to ring rust. After a training injury kept him out of action for seven months, “Scarface” faded immensely in the later rounds of his return bout against Mark Hominick.
When you consider that Edgar is able to keep his foot on the gas for 25 minutes while applying constant pressure to his opponent, the proverbial cards have been dealt in a way that suggests an upset.
In 2003, Randy Couture became the first man to hold gold in unique weight classes. After losing the UFC heavyweight championship, “The Natural” decided to cut down to 205 pounds and test his luck. He defeated Chuck Liddell for the interim light heavyweight championship and a place in the history books.
It wasn’t until five years later when B.J. Penn also joined the elite club. Penn surprisingly defeated Matt Hughes for the UFC welterweight championship in 2004, and then pummeled Joe Stevenson to capture the lightweight championship in 2008.
Since shocking the world with upset victories over Penn and former champion Sean Sherk, it is foolish to count Edgar out regardless of which opponent stands across the cage.
Even though Aldo has a reputation of being one of the world’s best pound-for-pound fighters, I would estimate that the odds on this fight are very close to even.
Despite 16 years of wear-and-tear fighting against the absolute best mixed martial artists in the world, Brazilian superstar Vitor Belfort has never looked better.At his age, few men do.Even with 32 professional MMA bouts under his belt since 1996…
Despite 16 years of wear-and-tear fighting against the absolute best mixed martial artists in the world, Brazilian superstar VitorBelfort has never looked better.
At his age, few men do.
Even with 32 professional MMA bouts under his belt since 1996, “The Phenom” looks like he’s barely slowed down at all, as seen at UFC on FX 7 when he violently shut down co-headliner Michael Bisping with a spectacular high kick.
But was it all his own natural talent? Or was Belfort aided by something extra?
No, we’re not talking about any sort of divine favor from God, although He’s certainly one of Belfort‘s most prominent and often-mentioned sponsors.
What’s really the question of the hour is whether or not Belfort is on testosterone replacement therapy, better-known to most as “TRT.”
And if not testosterone, is he “on” anything at all?
It’s hard to tell, as Belfort has always been one of those freakishly muscular figures reminiscent of horrible 1990s comic book covers. But even ESPN writer Brett Okamotocouldn’t get a straight answer out of the UFC veteran, despite asking point-blank:
ESPN: Some fighters in their 30s have been diagnosed with low testosterone levels and received exemptions to use testosterone replacement therapy [TRT]. Have you ever applied for TRT or would you consider it?
Belfort: If a question is private, I have the choice to answer or not. If I make it public, it’s not private anymore. If I want to say something private I will say it, but I keep to myself and I respect the laws of the sport… This is too controversial, why am I going to say something that doesn’t accomplish anything? If it’s legal, they know what to do. If it’s legal, there’s nothing to say about it. It’s legal.
Wow. Talk about implausible deniability.
Maybe Belfort‘s trying desperately to abide by that pesky Ninth Commandment, or maybe he’s just afraid to make any kind of stance against MMA’s rampant drug problem.
After all, his new training camp—the aptly-named “Blackzilians”—includes the likes of Alistair Overeem, Thiago Silva and Melvin Guillard, who have four positive drug tests between the lot of them.
Moreover, Belfort himself has tested positive for steroids (via MMA Weekly) in the past, something Bisping was all too keen to remind everyone (via MMA Mania). That’s likely why Belfort danced around the subject with ESPN, saying that he is no one’s judge or jury:
That’s the problem with the rule, is that everyone is so radical. That’s my opinion. I’m very faithful to the things I believe in and I’m working on myself. I don’t like to judge. When you judge people, it sounds like you are God. We live in a freedom country. It is what it is.
But at the end of the day, this is a case where firm answers (or lies) would go a long way.
Yes, Belfort has always looked fast and powerful, especially at middleweight.
But with the question of TRT hanging in the air, it only prompts the eye to be a little more critical of the middleweight (and part-time light heavyweight) when he steps on the scale or into the Octagon.
“Did he always look that ripped?”
“Can you believe how fast he is?”
Just to be fair, it’s very possible that Belfort looks stronger than ever because of that miraculous-sounding Dolce Diet.
Maybe it’s that unshakable faith in Jesus Christ helping his fists fly straight and true, right smack into the back of his opponents’ heads.
But until Belfort comes clean, there’s always going to be that doubt.
Has clean living, a smarter diet, the Florida air, a new camp and saying extra prayers pushed “The Phenom” back into the elite ranks of this sport?
Or has he simply found a new way to augment his natural fighting ability?
Until someone eventually talks—or a positive test turns up for high testosterone—the answer will have to stay concealed with at least three people: Belfort, whoever manages his supplements and Jesus Christ.
McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist and FightFans Radio writer. His work has appeared in GamePro, Macworld and PC World. Talk with him on Twitter.
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