Tag: Alan Belcher

Did Chris Weidman Pull an Anderson Silva on Alan Belcher?

Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Weidman just pulled a Mauricio “Shogun” Rua on Alan Belcher.At least Weidman pulled something close to a “Shogun” on Belcher; though, to be fair, the records are unlikely to recall any meeting in which UFC president Dana Whi…

Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Weidman just pulled a Mauricio “Shogun” Rua on Alan Belcher.

At least Weidman pulled something close to a “Shogun” on Belcher; though, to be fair, the records are unlikely to recall any meeting in which UFC president Dana White ever offered Belcher to Weidman for UFC 155, despite Belcher asking for a bout with Weidman in November.

Still, Weidman said what he felt, and instead of getting put on blast by White for not wanting Belcher, he instead drew Tim Boetsch, who recently defeated Hector Lombard at UFC 149 in a lackluster affair by way of a split decision. Weidman still looks to capitalize on the strength of his UFC on Fuel TV 4 win over Mark Munoz, and Belcher is sidelined with a spinal fracture. Belcher‘s spinal fracture would have taken him out of a UFC 153 fight with Vitor Belfort had Belfort not chosen to step up and face UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones at UFC 152.

Was it a wise move by Weidman? After all, Belcher is seen by some as no more than a top-15 middleweight, at best, despite beating Rousimar Palhares in May. Meanwhile, Palhares stands as no more than a top-25 middleweight, which begs a question as to how much it meant for Belcher to snap Palhares‘ three-fight win streak.

It meant something to beat the man who many thought had the best chance to submit Anderson Silva, as fighters knew what Palhares looked for in going for the win, and yet few could prevent it from happening. Still, there’s no question that if Weidman thought taking the fight with Boetsch was a better career move than taking on Belcher, he made the right call.

However, he pulled a “Shogun,” not an “Anderson Silva.” To some, pulling an “Anderson” means healing quickly once someone else comes along. To others, it means not fighting a friend, even though he technically already did, all while not really fighting a “friend.”

A “Shogun,” as Weidman did pull off, is a step up from an “Anderson.” Remember when Rua got moved from UFC 149 to UFC on Fox 4 and drew Brandon Vera as an opponent, despite the UFC offering Glover Teixeira to Rua? What Weidman did was basically that. Just as Glover was seen as at least higher up in the ranks than Vera, Boetsch stands as a higher-ranked foe than Belcher currently. It may not do any more for Weidman to beat Boetsch than it would for Weidman to beat Belcher, but he’s doing what he needs to do to solidify his status as the only true challenge left for Silva.

If you can fault him for that, good for you. I can’t fault him for it, and I have my reasons why. When all is said and done, it could be a different story, but let’s allow for UFC 155 to play out before we go any further into the matter, because a lot can and likely will change before that event is all said and done.

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Alan Belcher vs. Chris Weidman Head-to-Toe Breakdown

Among the top contenders in the middleweight division are Alan Belcher and Chris Weidman. Though it is not certain who their next opponents are and where they will fight, a hypothetical matchup between the two is quite enticing.Both men are vastly diff…

Among the top contenders in the middleweight division are Alan Belcher and Chris Weidman. Though it is not certain who their next opponents are and where they will fight, a hypothetical matchup between the two is quite enticing.

Both men are vastly different. Belcher is a long-time veteran of the sport just bursting into the title picture. Weidman is young gun, bursting into the title picture in the early part of his career.

Here is a head-to-toe breakdown of the two, should they ever meet.

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Chris Weidman Needs to Move Past Anderson Silva and Take Another Fight

The middleweight division is a thin division, thanks to the dominance of current UFC middleweight champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva.Yes, it still holds names such as Mark Munoz, Hector Lombard, Alan Belcher, Chris Leben, Jake Shields and UFC 152 sta…

The middleweight division is a thin division, thanks to the dominance of current UFC middleweight champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva.

Yes, it still holds names such as Mark Munoz, Hector Lombard, Alan Belcher, Chris Leben, Jake Shields and UFC 152 standouts Michael Bisping and Brian Stann.

But how many fighters are true contenders to the throne?

Tim Boetsch garnered an uninspiring split decision win over Lombard at UFC 149, Leben is suspended for another few months, Shields recently returned to middleweight in “a Jake Shields fight” against Ed Herman and, as stated before, Bisping and Stann do battle at UFC 152.

To the division’s credit, it has its share of dark horse contenders and prospects to watch, as does every active men’s and women’s division in the sport right now. As far as the middleweight division is concerned, however, the 185-lb. weight class is back where it was after Silva’s UFC 82 victory over Dan Henderson—meaning that, in no kind words, the division is on its butt and looking for someone to simply challenge Silva’s skills and abilities.

Enter Chris Weidman, who knocked Munoz out last month at UFC on Fuel TV 4, openly declared his intentions to challenge for the title and finds himself one victory away from challenging for the belt.

Many believe he’s at the point of readiness and that he should get the next crack at Silva’s gold.

Those who believe he’s ready for Silva are correct in their belief, as he’s torn through five tough competitors in his UFC run, and he’s kept a 9-0 career run intact, with the only thing close to a career blemish being his performance at UFC on Fox 2 against Demian Maia.

To Weidman’s credit, though, the kid took on Maia as a replacement for Bisping when Bisping stepped in to replace Munoz against Chael Sonnen.

Did you get all of that? Good.

Now, while fans are justified in arguing for Weidman’s chance at a title, Weidman still has one task to accomplish before he can challenge for the title. As it stands right now, there is still the matter of Belcher, who recently revealed that a spinal fracture would keep him out of UFC 153—though Belcher would’ve likely fought Belfort with it—and soon after announcing the injury, requested Weidman.

Since we cannot prematurely pencil in the winner of Bisping vs. Stann as a lock to meet Weidman in November, why not hope for the winner of Bisping-Stann to leave Toronto relatively unscathed so as to increase all likelihood of seeing them face Weidman in November, as they’d likely prove the prime choice for a certain title eliminator?

Better yet, why not give Belcher the chance to put his money where his mouth is and face Weidman?

Like Weidman, Belcher is also riding a nice win streak of his own, and Belcher has also been vocal in the past about wanting his own crack at Silva’s gold. Is a title eliminator between the two conceivable at this point? Should Boetsch fall under consideration for Weidman’s big chance to get to the big dance?

Regardless of whether it’s Boetsch, Belcher, Bisping or Stann, one certainty is that if Weidman really wants this shot at Silva’s gold, he’s going to need to get off of Silva for a moment and get one more win inside the Octagon. If he does not, it could be a long time before Weidman gets himself another chance at this monumental opportunity. 

Then again, the hope for MMA fans may appear as though anyone would work, as long as it’s clear that there’s a challenge on the horizon for Silva.

At the end of the day, all Silva needs is a challenge, but at this point, it doesn’t look like anyone will prove as such—unless Weidman can prove everybody wrong just one more time.

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Alan Belcher Would Like to Face Chris Weidman Next

The sprawling reach of the UFC 151 catastrophe has touched far more than just the event itself. The fallout of the debacle has stretched all the way from Toronto, Canada, to Brazil, where it has plucked middleweight contender Vitor Belfort from a …

The sprawling reach of the UFC 151 catastrophe has touched far more than just the event itself. The fallout of the debacle has stretched all the way from Toronto, Canada, to Brazil, where it has plucked middleweight contender Vitor Belfort from a UFC 153 match against Alan Belcher and inserted him into a contest with Jon Jones.

The whole thing certainly opened a door for Belfort, but what about the man he was originally signed on to fight?

Belcher, now without an opponent or a fight, is hoping his next contest will come against a title player in the 185-pound weight class. Specifically, Belcher is hoping to take on the surging Chris Weidman, a desire he expressed in a video blog he posted Sunday, August 26 (comment around the 2:40 mark).

Chris Weidman, I think that fight makes sense. I, you know, I think that….Do I think that he’s the No. 1 contender? I don’t know about that, but, you know, I think that he’s definitely up there.

Belcher also uses the video blog to explain that he suffered a back injury while training for Belfort, which severely limited his training.

That the bout with Belfort was called off was disorienting for the middleweight contender, but the opportunity to heal up and refocus provides something of a silver-lining to the deal. And if he gets his wish and lands a fight with Weidman, then the opportunity to heal up just might turn into a title opportunity before long.

Though the middleweight title landscape remains quite muddled, a win over a rising star like Weidman would greatly improve Belcher’s station in the UFC and increase his odds of fighting for gold sooner rather than later. 

So how about it? Is a Belcher vs. Weidman fight something you’d want to see?

 

Hat tip to MMAweekly.com for posting the story and linking to Belcher’s video blog.

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[VIDEO] Alan Belcher Rallies for Chris Weidman, Accidently Proves Jorge Guimaraes’ Point

With Vitor Belfort now set to fight Jon Jones at UFC 152, Alan Belcher was left without an opponent for UFC 153 in Rio. Many of us began to speculate as to who the UFC would call in to replace Vitor Belfort in a fight that had possible title implications. Nah, I’m just kidding, we were all way too busy talking about bitchassness, trolling your way into title shots and over-saturation to worry about Alan Belcher. Let’s get back to the real issues of today.

Not so fast. Alan Belcher released a video blog yesterday to discuss the whole Jon Jones saga. Interestingly enough, Belcher first discloses that he won’t be fighting at UFC 153 because he wants to let a back injury he suffered while training heal. In his words:

Rewind a little bit: Three or four weeks back, I had a real bad back problem. I went to the doctor, found out that I had a spinal fracture, so that put me out for three weeks. I didn’t bend my back, I just kept it straight. I’m like “I’m just going to get the rest I need to make this fight happen and push through it.” I was getting back in there training, and it took me a whole week to get my mind wrapped back around it, but I was like “This is a huge fight, I’m going to do it,” and there is no way I was going to back out of that fight. Once I started back and I got going, I put a lot of thought into it and I was going full force ahead.

With Vitor Belfort now set to fight Jon Jones at UFC 152, Alan Belcher was left without an opponent for UFC 153 in Rio. Many of us began to speculate as to who the UFC would call in to replace Vitor Belfort in a fight that had possible title implications. Nah, I’m just kidding, we were all way too busy talking about bitchassness, trolling your way into title shots and over-saturation to worry about Alan Belcher. Let’s get back to the real issues of today.

Not so fast. Alan Belcher released a video blog yesterday to discuss the whole Jon Jones saga. Interestingly enough, Belcher first discloses that he won’t be fighting at UFC 153 because he wants to let a back injury he suffered while training heal. In his words:

Rewind a little bit: Three or four weeks back, I had a real bad back problem. I went to the doctor, found out that I had a spinal fracture, so that put me out for three weeks. I didn’t bend my back, I just kept it straight. I’m like “I’m just going to get the rest I need to make this fight happen and push through it.” I was getting back in there training, and it took me a whole week to get my mind wrapped back around it, but I was like “This is a huge fight, I’m going to do it,” and there is no way I was going to back out of that fight. Once I started back and I got going, I put a lot of thought into it and I was going full-force ahead.

While that speaks volumes about the respect that Belcher has for both his fans and the UFC, that’s not what we’re focusing on now. Rather, let’s focus on who Alan Belcher wants when he’s ready to return to action. Aside from the standard training montages and shots of Belcher’s John Belushi tattoo (that’s who that thing is supposed to be, right?), Alan Belcher slips a call out of the middleweight division’s heir apparent, Chris Weidman, into the video. As he puts it:

Chris Weidman, I think that fight makes sense. Do I think he’s the number one contender? I don’t know about that, but I think that he’s definitely up there.

What’s strange about this call out is how out of place it is in the video. Belcher goes from talking about his back to randomly calling out Chris Weidman to immediately switching to his grappling training with pretty much no logical transitions between topics. He then goes on to say that if he was Anderson Silva’s manager, he wouldn’t let Anderson fight guys like him or Chris Weidman because they aren’t big enough names.


The Anderson Silva comments are around the 5:50 mark.

Basically, Belcher says he wants to fight Chris Weidman, but wouldn’t blame Anderson Silva for turning down a fight with the winner, because Silva deserves to be fighting big name guys like Jon Jones. Unrelated, Alan, but have you ever heard of Stockholm syndrome?

No one is saying that fighters have to be total assholes to properly promote a fight- the friendly banter between Josh Barnett and Daniel Cormier during Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey illustrated this perfectly. But when a guy randomly calls out another fighter and then says that the winner isn’t big enough to deserve a shot at the champion, it makes the call out look meaningless. It kind of makes you see where Anderson Silva manager Jorge Guimaraes was coming from when he called the middleweight division a bunch of amateur kids who can’t promote a fight. After all, if Belcher doesn’t think he deserves a shot at Silva, then why should we?

And that’s too bad, because Belcher vs. Weidman actually sounds like an excellent idea- to me at least. Do you agree? And who ya got?

@SethFalvo

UFC 153: Alan Belcher Injured, Sees Belfort vs. Jones as "Blessing in Disguise"

Late Thursday night it was announced that Jon Jones would fight Vitor Belfort for the light heavyweight title at UFC 152. It was a huge surprise and many were left scratching their heads. One person affected directly by the news was Alan Belcher.Belche…

Late Thursday night it was announced that Jon Jones would fight Vitor Belfort for the light heavyweight title at UFC 152. It was a huge surprise and many were left scratching their heads. One person affected directly by the news was Alan Belcher.

Belcher was originally scheduled to face Vitor Belfort at UFC 153. It was a middleweight bout and would likely place the victor in the number one contender role for Anderson Silva‘s middleweight belt. With Belfort pulled from the fight, Belcher was left without an opponent. 

Well, Alan Belcher went on twitter to discuss losing his opponent.

Internally at Bleacher Report we questioned the validity of the last part of the tweet. Some felt that maybe it was a typo and that Belcher meant to type “spiral fracture”. Bleacher Report reached out to Belcher’s manager Malki Kawa to confirm the injury. 

Kawa confirmed that Belcher had in fact suffered a spinal fracture. Kawa also confirmed that Belcher was hoping to be ready for a UFC return in November. He is targeting a fight with Chris Weidman which will likely be viewed by many as the number one contender for the middleweight belt. 

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