Tag: Kelvin Gastelum

Vitor Belfort Suggests “CM Punk” For Retirement Fight

CM Punk seems to be the walking punch line of the UFC (well, besides the GSP vs. Michael Bisping fight), so it seems completely appropriate that former light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort would use his as the butt of his.

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“Just for the laughs”

CM Punk seems to be the walking punch line of the UFC (well, besides the GSP vs. Michael Bisping fight), so it seems completely appropriate that former light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort would use him as the butt of his.

As we all know, Vitor came off of a less than stellar performance Saturday night, losing via 1st round TKO against middleweight newcomer Kelvin Gastelum. Although Vitor had some early success, Kelvin’s crisp boxing skills and constant pressure proved too much for the Pride veteran. In a recent interview with Flocombat, Vitor announced that he was tired of facing the murders row of UFC opponents and wanted a much “smoother fight.”

“It would have to be an interesting fighter, but not a top fighter”, Belfort said. “I’ve been fighting good guys before: Dan Henderson, [Chris] Weidman, Dan Henderson, ‘Jacaré’ [Souza], [Gegard] Mousasi and now Kelvin [Gastelum]. These are all hard fights, so if you can book a smoother fight… What’s the name of that guy from WWE? CM Punk would be a good fight”, Belfort laughed. ”CM Punk, let’s get it on. That would be a really good fight.

Yep, you read right. Vitor Belfort wants “CM Punk” for his swan song at UFC 212. While he was obviously just joking (I think…) we thought it would be fun to throw in our opinion on how the fight might play out. In fact, we found a video we feel accurately displays our thoughts and sentiments.

You get the picture. But in all seriousness, Vitor is aiming to end his highlight reel career on June 3 rd in Rio De Janeiro Brazil, and at 205 lbs to boot. Who should he fight next?

 

Lionel Harris-Spence is a writer, filmmaker, and functioning alcoholic. You can catch him screaming obscenities at flat screens on fight night.

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Kelvin Gastelum Training With Anderson Silva’s Old Mentor Prior To UFC 212

Kelvin Gastelum has a huge upper-hand heading into his fight with Anderson Silva at UFC 212. Gastelum has been training with King’s MMA head-coach Rafael Cordeiro as of late, and he’s looked phenomenal in his last few bouts under the Brazilian’s tutelage. His most recent knockout of Vitor Belfort last weekend set up Gastelum to call

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Kelvin Gastelum has a huge upper-hand heading into his fight with Anderson Silva at UFC 212.

Gastelum has been training with King’s MMA head-coach Rafael Cordeiro as of late, and he’s looked phenomenal in his last few bouts under the Brazilian’s tutelage. His most recent knockout of Vitor Belfort last weekend set up Gastelum to call out former middleweight king Anderson Silva to share the Octagon with him next, and ‘The Spider’ gladly accepted.

Silva has a history with Gastelum’s head-coach, Cordeiro, who trained the former 185-pound champ in Chute Boxe back in the early 2000’s. Cordeiro recently discussed his history with Silva with AG Fight (translation via Bloody Elbow), and admits his allegiance lies with Gastelum despite his friendship with ‘The Spider’:

“I got some history with Anderson Silva back from 2001 and 2002 when I trained him at Chute Boxe,” Cordeiro said. “Now, everything has changed. Friendship apart, that’s a competition and we’re all here to win. We all hope to win and I hope Kelvin Gastelum walks out victorious.”

Cordeiro stated that he and Silva remain friends today despite having been on the opposite corners of the Octagon lately, and says there is no beef between him and his former protégée:

“Anderson has been at Kings MMA a few times, I have a good relationship with him, we talk over the phone and there’s no beef between us. A fight is a fight, that only shows how professional we are. Anderson has been in the opposing corner when Werdum faced Big Nog and that didn’t affect us.

“In the end, however, when Werdum tried to hug him, there was no hug, but that’s behind us. I was Anderson’s coach in the past, when I was his coach. I’m not anymore and I don’t feel disrespectful at all about it”.

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Anderson Silva vs. Kelvin Gastelum Booked For UFC 212 Tilt in Rio de Janeiro

Kelvin Gastelum’s wish has been granted. After finishing Vitor Belfort this past Saturday night (March 11) inside the Centro de Formacao Olimpica do Nordeste in Fortaleza, Brazil, Gastelum called for a fight with future Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Hall of Famer Anderson Silva. It didn’t take long for the middleweight to receive some good news. Today […]

Kelvin Gastelum’s wish has been granted. After finishing Vitor Belfort this past Saturday night (March 11) inside the Centro de Formacao Olimpica do Nordeste in Fortaleza, Brazil, Gastelum called for a fight with future Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Hall of Famer Anderson Silva. It didn’t take long for the middleweight to receive some good news. Today […]

Anderson Silva vs. Kelvin Gastelum Fight Announced for UFC 212

Anderson Silva didn’t get who he wanted, but he is getting a bout at UFC 212.
The 41-year-old will fight Kelvin Gastelum at the June 3 pay-per-view in Brazil, UFC announced Tuesday.
Silva, an MMA legend and former middleweight champion, last fough…

Anderson Silva didn’t get who he wanted, but he is getting a bout at UFC 212.

The 41-year-old will fight Kelvin Gastelum at the June 3 pay-per-view in Brazil, UFC announced Tuesday.

Silva, an MMA legend and former middleweight champion, last fought at UFC 208 in February. He defeated Derek Brunson via unanimous decision, but that bout was shrouded in controversy after many believed Brunson won the fight.

More to follow.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Fallout: After Another Loss, Vitor Belfort Should Fight Anderson Silva For His Swan Song

So I’d be lying if I said “I didn’t see Kelvin Gastelum beating Vitor Belfort like that.” It would be an egregious lie. Yet still, it was pretty rough to watch Vitor go out like that. The days where TRT Vitor, the greatest fighter of all time, annihilate his opponents with vicious combo strings is over. In his place we have a Vitor Belfort who just isn’t quite what he used to be. He’s a shell of his former self and that’s no lie. At 39 years of age and with a ton of mileage on him, Vitor Belfort should be thinking on his exit strategy. With one more fight on his contract, I could think of only one opponent that would be appropriate.

Anderson Silva.

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So I’d be lying if I said “I didn’t see Kelvin Gastelum beating Vitor Belfort like that.” It would be an egregious lie. Yet still, it was pretty rough to watch Vitor go out like that. The days where TRT Vitor, the greatest fighter of all time, annihilate his opponents with vicious combo strings is over. In his place we have a Vitor Belfort who just isn’t quite what he used to be. He’s a shell of his former self and that’s no lie. At 39 years of age and with a ton of mileage on him, Vitor Belfort should be thinking on his exit strategy. With one more fight on his contract, I could think of only one opponent that would be appropriate.

Anderson Silva.

While Vitor Belfort may have seen brighter days, the same could be said for former middleweight God Anderson Silva. Gone are the days where Silva simply shrugged off opposition, knocking them out with general ease. Now we see a Silva who struggles against opposition that he would have surely overcome in his heyday. That’s no disrespect to his past several opponents, but Silva has clearly been off his game since being slept by Chris Weidman.

Now, Kelvin Gastelum called out Silva, and since the UFC likes to pair winners with winners, he’s most likely to get the fight over Belfort. But from a purely nostalgic sense, a battle between the two Brazilians could be a great send off for either fighter. Silva talks about fighting for an extended period but what better way to call it a career fighting one of the most popular Brazilian fighters of all time in Vitor Belfort? For ‘The Phenom’ having a chance to close the book on his career against the greatest to have ever done it is not only a chance at revenge, but a match up that has a tremendous amount of meaning for both fighters as well as their Brazilian fans. Making that fight happen in Rio would generate numbers and great deal of interest.

More than likely we’ll see Vitor battle it out with a lower tiered middleweight for his potential final showdown. Until then, let’s embrace the speculation and sate our appetite with a battle of legends, past their prime, but still thoroughly entertaining nonetheless.

Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.

 

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Five Biggest Takeaways From UFC Fight Night 106

While it may not have inspired the hype of a UFC pay-per-view (PPV) event (which have been failing majorly lately), last night’s (Sat., March 11, 2017) UFC Fight Night 106 from the Olympic Training Center in Fortaleza, Brazil, delivered one of – if not the – best top-to-bottom mixed martial arts (MMA) events of the

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While it may not have inspired the hype of a UFC pay-per-view (PPV) event (which have been failing majorly lately), last night’s (Sat., March 11, 2017) UFC Fight Night 106 from the Olympic Training Center in Fortaleza, Brazil, delivered one of – if not the – best top-to-bottom mixed martial arts (MMA) events of the year thus far.

The card featured a changing of the guard when a young, up-and-coming contender beat an aging legend, another legend showing he can still compete with the best, and the far and away best knockout of the year, among other highlights.

Overall the card delivered an action-packed night of bouts where several fighters made extremely strong cases for their prospects going forward. Let’s take a look back at the five biggest takeaways from the entertaining event.

Photo by Jason da Silva for USA TODAY Sports

5.) Alex Oliveira has a permanent home at 170 pounds:

Energetic Brazilian Oliveira had some questions to answer after his first bout against Tim Means was declared a no contest due to illegal knees, and he accomplished that goal in impressive fashion by finishing ‘The Dirty Bird’ with a flawless gameplan in his home country. ‘Cowboy’ was aggressive with effective wrestling from the opening bell, and it opened a path for Oliveira to use his slick submission skills to win the bout with a fight-ending rear-naked choke in the second round.

Like his American ‘Cowboy’ counterpart (whom he lost an exciting bout to last year), Oliveira has benefitted from fighting up a weight class after depleting his body to make the lightweight limit of 156 pounds. That’s a good thing, because he missed weight before his last lightweight bout and has a short leash in that regard. As of now, it appears to be a blessing in disguise, with Oliveira looking strong and dangerous at 170 as he improves with each passing contest. It’s going to be exciting to watch the ultra-active brawler attempt to rise up the ladder in arguably the toughest division in all of the UFC.

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