The card will be held in Fortaleza Brazil and will headed by a 5 round middleweight bout between Vitor Belfort and Kelvin Gastelum. While Gastelum is notorious for missing weight at 170, he had no problem hitting the 185lb weight limit on the nose earlier today. Belfort also made weight at 186 lbs.
As the weigh ins have just wrapped up, it appears UFC Fight Night Fortaleza is upon us.
The card will be held in Fortaleza Brazil and will headed by a 5 round middleweight bout between Vitor Belfort and Kelvin Gastelum. While Gastelum is notorious for missing weight at 170, he had no problem hitting the 185lb weight limit on the nose earlier today. Belfort also made weight at 186 lbs.
Gastelum is coming off of a 2 rd K.O. that sent Tim Kennedy into retirement and Vitor is coming off back to back losses. However, both fighters are looking for a W.
Probably the most overlooked match on the card is a 155lb bout between Edson Barboza and Beneil Dariush. Except for a 3″ reach advantage, both fighters are pretty much identical, but more importantly, both fighters can “bang.”Barboza is a stand up wizard who won knockout of the year in 2012 when put the lights out on Terry Etim before he ever hit the ground.
While Beneil is no slouch on the feet, you can bet he either wants to get this fight to the ground or up against the fence. In my opinion, Beneil is the more well rounded fighter. He needs to continue to pressure Barboza throughout the fight and not spend too much time in open space. Either way this will be a fine fight to watch and could put one of these fighters in the conversation with the best in the division.
Vitor Belfort looks to get another high profile win as he faces off against new middleweight addition Kelvin Gastelum. It’s a tough fight for both men but for different reasons. But before I delve into the analysis, I do want to touch on the fact that Belfort is truly a monster. To be in this sport for over twenty years and still be considered a live dog is something truly special. But Kelvin Gastelum is no joke and if Belfort is going to beat him, he’ll need the perfect game plan going in.
Vitor Belfort looks to get another high profile win as he faces off against new middleweight addition Kelvin Gastelum. It’s a tough fight for both men but for different reasons. But before I delve into the analysis, I do want to touch on the fact that Belfort is truly a monster. To be in this sport for over twenty years and still be considered a live dog is something truly special. But Kelvin Gastelum is no joke and if Belfort is going to beat him, he’ll need the perfect game plan going in.
Kelvin Gastelum has had his troubles making down to welterweight which forced the UFC’s hand in sending the prospect up to middleweight. Where it seemed like Gastelum would have trouble with larger opposition, he instead opened many eyes with his thrashing of middleweight veteran Tim Kennedy. After facing adversity in the opening round, Gastelum used his speed advantage to rattle off fast, slick combinations that eventually left Kennedy broken. Gastelum will want to strike in this match as well but also mix in his strong wrestling as well. Belfort is still blindingly fast and extended exchanges could prove to be Gastelum’s undoing. A nice blast double under a failed Belfort straight left could certainly be the tool Gastelum needs to outduel the veteran.
On the other side of the equation, Vitor Belfort had definitely seen brighter days. Age, and a lack of TRT, is catching up with ‘The Phenom’ who lost his last two bouts against Gegard Mousasi and Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza. Neither of those fighters are cakewalks, but the ease in which they were able to dismantle Belfort gives one a feeling of foreboding heading into this match. But Vitor Belfort has never been one to back down from a challenge so he intends to show the young gun Gastelum he still has some juice left. What Belfort will have to do is put doubt in the young man early. A southpaw counter fighter, Belfort will have to make Gastelum pay for staying in the pocket. Gastelum himself is a southpaw which will make certain counters easier, a pull counter and a counter right hook comes to mind. When Gastelum comes into strike Belfort will have to counter sharply or at least give the young prospect something to worry about every time he rushes in. Keeping his back off the cage will be essential to avoiding wrestling clinches, takedowns and a barrage of strikes as Gastelum enjoys great success beating the breaks off fighters along the fence. A strong pivot out after every exchange will both get Belfort’s hips out of danger for a takedown as well as potential open up the left straight or uppercut should he feel compelled to use it. Countering off of Gastelum kicks should also be a priority for the former light heavyweight champion.
Will this be the swan song of the great Vitor Belfort? Will Kelvin Gastelum cement himself as a legit middleweight contender? Guess we’re all gonna have to tune in to see.
Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.
Remember all the crap we were talking about the UFC?…well we take all that back. No, not really, but this is certainly a step in the right direction. Up and comer Yair Rodriguez will be facing UFC veteran Frankie Edgar on May 13th in Dallas Texas.
Remember all the crap we were talking about the UFC?…well we take all that back. No, not really, but this is certainly a step in the right direction. Up and comer Yair Rodriguez will be facing UFC veteran Frankie Edgar on May 13th in Dallas Texas.
That’s right, the UFC 211 card just keeps getting better. In a recent twitter post, UFC Espanol spilled the beans and put out this nifty tweet of the two featherweights.
Edgar is 6-1 in his last 7 fights, losing to Jose Aldo but exonerating himself with a unanimous decision victory over Jeremy Stevens.
Yair has been flawless, with a 10-0 record including 6-0 in the octagon, he made short work of B.J. Penn and has looked light years ahead of his competitors. This kid is a lot to handle and if Frankie’s smart he’ll put him on his ass within the first 5 minutes.
Yair has the reach and height advantage which is made even more pronounced when he pulls out his street fighter kicks. You can bet that he wants to keep this fight in open space and at range. But if anyone can pull it off, it’s Frankie.
If Yair can get pass Frankie Edgar you better believe he will no longer but up and coming – he will have arrived.
With the addition of this fight along with Eddie Alvarez vs. Dustin Poirier, Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs Jessica Andrade, and Stipe Miocic vs. Junior Dos Santos, this card is shaping up to be a real barn burner. We’ll keep you posted!
UFC Fight Night 106 is fast approaching and one fight that catches my eye is the match up between Francisco Trinaldo and Kevin Lee. Both are prospects, both have shown tons of improvement since their UFC debuts, and both fight in a completely different style. That style clash makes for a pretty damn intriguing match up, but the fact that Francisco Trinaldo at 38 years of age is putting a beatdown on many of his younger opposition makes this a Cinderella story any fight fan can find intriguing. That being said, Kevin Lee is no slouch and could easily bring Trinaldo’s streak to an end.
UFC Fight Night 106 is fast approaching and one fight that catches my eye is the match up between Francisco Trinaldo and Kevin Lee. Both are prospects, both have shown tons of improvement since their UFC debuts, and both fight in a completely different style. That style clash makes for a pretty damn intriguing match up, but the fact that Francisco Trinaldo at 38 years of age is putting a beatdown on many of his younger opposition makes this a Cinderella story any fight fan can find intriguing. That being said, Kevin Lee is no slouch and could easily bring Trinaldo’s streak to an end.
With a mostly striking oriented attack, Francisco Trinaldo has changed since he first debut in the UFC back in 2012. Once a brawler with an over aggressive fighting style, Trinaldo has tapered things quite a bit and has created for himself a striking based attack that is focused on movement and sudden rhythm changes to throw his opponents off their game. He can be bouncing light on his feet backwards then suddenly move forward with a straight or looping left hand or left body kick when fighting an orthodox opponent. His movement will serve him well in this match up as Kevin Lee loves nothing more than to come forward and use his wrestling game. If Trinaldo is able to keep up his lateral movement throughout the fight, Lee will have trouble getting in on his hips. He’ll need to remain diligent and avoid his brawling tendencies.
Kevin Lee’s road to victory is pretty straight forward. He’ll want to use his striking skills primarily to set up his takedown. He has a great reactive double leg takedown and knows exactly when he should abandon the wrestling game and shoot in for a double or a single. Even if the takedown is unsuccessful, Kevin Lee could use his game to smother Trinaldo into the fence. Where Lee is sure to find success with his wrestling game is drawing Trinaldo into an exchange. If he can bring some of that old brawling Trinaldo out, Lee will have little issue ducking under the strikes and entering in on the hips of ‘Massaranduba’ for a reactive double.
Both men have tools to bring the other into their game so strategy is absolutely key in this match up. The intangibles will be equally important like scrambles and the orthodox versus southpaw tactics, but ultimately it’s the fighter that draws the other into their rhythm that will ultimately prove to be the victor.
Who do you think wins: the veteran Francisco Trinaldo or the young prospect Kevin Lee?
Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.
The main event of UFC 209 was certainly a tough one to watch as we saw two of the best welterweights engage in a staring contest for nearly the entirety of their championship fight. I kid of course, but seriously, Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson were so gun shy during the main event that it felt like neither man was doing their best to prove they were deserving welterweight champion of the world. It’s easy to say that of course, but the reality is that by the time either man decided to pick up the pace the fight was over, which left a bitter taste in everyone’s mouth.
The main event of UFC 209 was certainly a tough one to watch as we saw two of the best welterweights engage in a staring contest for nearly the entirety of their championship fight. I kid of course, but seriously, Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson were so gun shy during the main event that it felt like neither man was doing their best to prove they were deserving welterweight champion of the world. It’s easy to say that of course, but the reality is that by the time either man decided to pick up the pace the fight was over, which left a bitter taste in everyone’s mouth.
While I may have had the fight scored for Stephen Thompson, Tyron Woodley did do the most damage once again. After long periods of inactivity which saw Thompson pot shot and score points in the first and second frame, Woodley finally decided to do something in the third round with a takedown. He scored points on the ground but nothing significant and Thompson was soon back on his feet. Round four saw Thompson once again resort to his death by a thousand cuts game plan before being roughed up in the fifth round by a well time Woodley counter.
Thompson should have done a bit more as he found himself frozen in the southpaw stance for extended periods of time. Some jabs from the orthodox stance followed by a stance switch and sidekicks to the body and thigh would have made for more shots landed and more opportunities for Woodley to open himself up for counters. And therein lies the problem with this match up in the first place. With both men being counter fighters, both Woodley and Thompson have the tendency to wait for opportunities. This waiting game only led to long periods of feinting and set up (mostly on the part of Thompson) with no real meaningful strikes being thrown or landed. Love it or hate it, Woodley remained the undisputed champion Saturday night.
Perhaps even more interesting than the UFC 209 main event this past weekend was the announcement of Michael Bisping versus Georges St-Pierre for the middleweight title.
But why?
Yes, it’s an interesting fight that could make for some fireworks, but what are we sacrificing to see such this match up? While it may be a fight that gets casual fans excited, you have to consider the fact that Michael Bisping isn’t fighting the best of the best in his weight class which is the point of being champion. Yes, it’s prize fighting and athletes deserve to be paid for putting their lives on the line in the cage, and make no mistake this is a big money fight. But all this match does is hold up the rest of the middleweight division. Yoel Romero will either be on the shelf or have to fight to keep his spot in line. Jacare Souza will fight Robert Whittaker, which is admittedly a great match up. But what does the division gain with this match? An even more important question, what happens if Georges St-Pierre wins?
He’s not a massive middleweight. Hell, he wasn’t even a massive welterweight when he was competing. If he somehow gets past Michael Bisping you have to imagine that he’ll have some trouble doing battle with massive middleweights like Luke Rockhold, Yoel Romero, Jacare Souza and other big men of their ilk. The reality is, GSP is likely one and done at middleweight with a win or a loss. A loss is easy to figure out. A win means that he’ll likely vacate and move on while the division will essentially be forced into some kind of tournament situation of sorts to decide the next champion. It’s a fight no one asked for and one that will likely only cause more chaos moving forward. Still doesn’t mean it won’t be enjoyable.
What were your thoughts on the Woodley/Thompson main event and the announcement of Bisping vs St-Pierre?
Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.
Later tonight one of the most anticipated rematches will be among us. As with any big fight, everyone has their 2 cents as to who does what, and in what round. Unfortunately for them, MMA math doesn’t always add up, so we figured we’d get some insider opinions.
Later tonight one of the most anticipated rematches will be among us. As with any big fight, everyone has their 2 cents as to who does what, and in what round. Unfortunately for them, MMA math doesn’t always add up, so we figured we’d get some insider opinions.
In the first match-up between welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and number one contender Steven “Wonderboy Thompson” it was pretty much a feeling out process with a couple of highlighted big moments. This time I feel there will be more action from the get go as both fighters realize they’re going to have to go after it to really settle the score.
But don’t listen to me. Let’s let some more educated give their opinions of the main event that is the second installment of Woodley’s first title defense.
It seems to be pretty much 50/50 for the fighters, but let’s see what some of the other personalities have to say. Exhibit A: Joe Rogan.
The boys over at Fox Sports have seen a fight or two so let’s see what current middleweight champ Michael Bisping and Kenny Florian can provide a tie breaker for these tight predictions.
What do you guys think of these predictions, do the pro’s have it right?
