Vitor Belfort laments failed armbar against Jon Jones in 2012 title fight: ‘I could’ve ripped that arm off’

Vitor Belfort laments failed armbar against Jon Jones in title fight I could've ripped that arm offFormer light heavyweight champion, Vitor Belfort claims he was a lamb when he should have been a lion against…

Vitor Belfort laments failed armbar against Jon Jones in title fight I could've ripped that arm off

Former light heavyweight champion, Vitor Belfort claims he was a lamb when he should have been a lion against rival, Jon Jones during their 205 pound title clash back in 2012, lamenting a stunning failed armbar attempt on the current heavyweight champion in the opening round.

Belfort, an alum of the UFC, retired from professional mixed martial arts competition back in 2018, suffering a hellacious opening round front kick KO loss to compatriot and fellow former light heavyweight gold holder, Lyoto Machida in their native Brazil.

As for Jones, the former undisputed light heavyweight champion and current heavyweight gold holder, has been sidelined through a pectoral tendon tear back in November, seeing a scheduled heavyweight title fight defense against Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 fall to the wayside at Madison Square Garden as a result.

Vitor Belfort regrets failed armbar against Jon Jones

And reflecting on his light heavyweight title siege against Jones back in 2012 in the main event of UFC 152, Belfort – who revealed he suffered a fractured rib ahead of the bout, claimed he should have broken the Endicott native’s arm during a tense armbar attempt. 

“In that Jon Jones fight, I only reaped what I sowed,” Vitor Belfort told Jota Jota during a recent interview. “I could have ripped that arm off. So why didn’t I? Because I didn’t. I was a lamb when I should’ve been a lion. I wne into their fight with a fractured rib. That was the only day when Jon Jones was in extreme danger in his career. The only fight that he practically lost and then managed to turn it around.”

“I think he was a great lion, and I was a great lamb,” Vitor Belfort explained. “I realized that when I signed a contract from my spiritual father and my spirtiual brother. When I signed the contract, ti said ‘I’ll show mercy to my opponent or try to be a sportsman.’ A sportsman is someone who obeys the rules and he will try to follow them. I wasn’t a sportsman, I was being Jon Jones’ buddy. I should’ve ripped his arm off, it was the time for me to be the lion.”

Quote of the Day: “It Doesn’t Make Sense” for Lyoto Machida to Fight Alexander Gustafsson


(I’ll never let go, Lyoto. I’ll never let go…)

We’re of two minds about the latest interview snippet from Lyoto Machida’s manager, Jorge Guimaraes, in which he all but sealed the door on the potential of a Machida/Alexander Gustafsson fight following the Swede’s call out of Machida some weeks ago. On one hand, Machida was promised a title shot with a win over Dan Henderson at UFC 157, and to his credit, he was able to do so (albeit in rather tepid fashion). On the other hand, Dana White then promised Gustafsson a title shot with a win over Gegard Mousasi before that all fell apart.

But on the third hand, Machida was offered a shot against Jon Jones on short notice at UFC 152, then turned the goddamn thing down. Throw in the fact that Jones already choked Machida unconscious at UFC 140 and couldn’t care less if he ever fought Machida again, and it would appear that the Brazilian isn’t exactly in the position to be making demands. Regardless, Guimaraes told Lancenet that Machida would prefer to sit on the sidelines until this whole Jones/Sonnen nonsense is finished (translation via FightersOnly):

Lyoto is on stand-by list waiting for the winner of Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen. I think it is almost impossible for Chael to win this bout, but anything may happen. A fight is a fight, but it has already been scheduled, there’s no history about it.

Lyoto is the number one contender and he is only waiting to see who is going to be the winner of this fight. He is not convinced about Jones…he is not convinced from that loss.


(I’ll never let go, Lyoto. I’ll never let go…)

We’re of two minds about the latest interview snippet from Lyoto Machida’s manager, Jorge Guimaraes, in which he all but sealed the door on the potential of a Machida/Alexander Gustafsson fight following the Swede’s call out of Machida some weeks ago. On one hand, Machida was promised a title shot with a win over Dan Henderson at UFC 157, and to his credit, he was able to do so (albeit in rather tepid fashion). On the other hand, Dana White then promised Gustafsson a title shot with a win over Gegard Mousasi before that all fell apart.

But on the third hand, Machida was offered a shot against Jon Jones on short notice at UFC 152, then turned the goddamn thing down. Throw in the fact that Jones already choked Machida unconscious at UFC 140 and couldn’t care less if he ever fought Machida again, and it would appear that the Brazilian isn’t exactly in the position to be making demands. Regardless, Guimaraes told Lancenet that Machida would prefer to sit on the sidelines until this whole Jones/Sonnen nonsense is finished (translation via FightersOnly):

Lyoto is on stand-by list waiting for the winner of Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen. I think it is almost impossible for Chael to win this bout, but anything may happen. A fight is a fight, but it has already been scheduled, there’s no history about it.

Lyoto is the number one contender and he is only waiting to see who is going to be the winner of this fight. He is not convinced about Jones…he is not convinced from that loss.

The fight between Jones and Sonnen is going to happen now, it doesn’t make sense to fight Alexander. We’re almost there. If it were a little before, this fight could have already happened, but he just fought… and Dana White has made it clear that Lyoto is the number one. We’ll be waiting. 

First off…not convinced? For a guy who has been on both ends of some questionable decisions in his career, you’d think Machida would at least give due credit to the guy who was responsible for turning him into the human water urine balloon pictured above. And secondly, Machida’s reasoning seems to hinge on the fact that Jones will come out completely unscathed from his fight with Sonnen on the 27th. Actually, that one seems about right.

In either case, we think it’s safe to say that the promos for Jones/Machida II are going to suuuuuuuck

J. Jones

Do Dana White’s Antics Help or Hurt the Growth of MMA and the UFC?

Dana White’s increasingly inflammatory and pernicious antics are making the UFC look bush league—unworthy of a deal with a major network such as Fox. This isn’t about White’s frequent swearing. This isn’t about his choice of attire&mdas…

Dana White‘s increasingly inflammatory and pernicious antics are making the UFC look bush league—unworthy of a deal with a major network such as Fox. 

This isn’t about White’s frequent swearing. 

This isn’t about his choice of attire—trendy T-shirts—that some might say is unbefitting an executive. 

This isn’t even about his notorious disdain for certain media members

This is about White’s attitude toward the fans and toward criticism of the UFC’s product. 

Recently, the main event of UFC on Fuel TV 9 fell apart. Rising Swedish star Alexander Gustafsson was supposed to face Gegard Mousasi in the latter’s long-awaited UFC debut, but the fight never came to pass. 

A cut above Gustafsson’s eye kept the Swede from being cleared to fight by the Swedish MMA Federation. 

An intriguing main event with established fighters disappeared in the stroke of a pen on a medical form. 

The UFC lost a main event, and fans lost the only meaningful fight on the card.

UFC brass scrambled to find a replacement and ultimately put the unheralded, unheard of, desperately outmatched Swedish journeyman Ilir Latifi opposite Mousasi in the main event. 

Let that sink in. 

The UFC likes to call themselves the “Super Bowl of MMA,” yet a 7-2 (one NC) fighter that had no significant wins and no name value was deemed good enough to main event one of their cards. True, these were trying circumstances, but the world’s largest and most prestigious MMA promotion should be better prepared. 

An obvious solution to losing a main event is to bump up the co-main event or to otherwise shuffle the card around to make it satisfactory at the very least. 

This couldn’t be done with UFC on Fuel TV 9; the talent on the card was lacking. It was a classic “boxing card’ in the sense that the main event was the only reason to watch; the undercard was less than nothing special. 

When fans vocalized their thoughts to Dana White over Twitter, he berated them:

This isn’t the first time the UFC president has lashed out at unhappy fans. 

UFC 152 featured a flyweight title fight between Demetrious Johnson and Joseph Benavidez. Paying customers weren’t too thrilled with the match, and they made their thoughts known in the form of boos and Internet jeers.

White was characteristically recalcitrant. 

“Let me tell you what: If you didn’t like that flyweight fight, please, I’m begging you, don’t ever buy another UFC pay-per-view again,” he told MMAJunkie.com after the event. 

He continued his incisive rant against the fans, saying “Don’t ever buy another one…I don’t want your money. You’re a moron, you don’t like fighting, you don’t appreciate great talent, or heart, if you didn’t like that flyweight fight.” 

White’s intransigence is concerning. 

When Vince McMahon puts on a terrible wrestling pay-per-view, he doesn’t call the fans idiots. When a boxing match fails to deliver, the promoters don’t take to Twitter to sling insults with trolls or even legitimate commenters. 

Comparisons with other fields aside, we can all agree that telling fans not to buy or watch your product is a peculiar business strategy. Callously insulting your fanbase isn’t the best strategy for long-term growth, either.

White is hurting the brand’s image when he goes off on tirades against his paying customers. What other major company or corporate figurehead does that?

This is not to say that White is inherently bad and needs to be replaced. White’s frequent swearing, choice of clothing (remember his “dickhouse” shirt?), giving away free tickets and positive use of social media (#Hunt4UFC contests and the like) have earned him many fans and more than 2.5 million Twitter followers. 

If speaking and dressing like a regular person rather than a pretentious CEO made him such an uncouth barbarian, would he have been invited to speak at the prestigious Oxford Union Society back in 2010?

White is a unique character and telling him to act like an anodyne drone wouldn’t be constructive. His personality, while polemic, isn’t the problem.  

White plays the “cool rich guy” gimmick well. It works. It appeals to the UFC’s key demographic of 18 to 34-year-old males. Who would a young, testosterone-laden man better relate with and prefer more, a stiff like Bud Selig or a cussing, informal character like White?

But White being ornery and dissing the fans—the people that are carrying and supporting his company in the form of television views, PPV buys and merchandise sales—is inexcusable and can only be harmful. 

When enough of the fans are angry, like they were after UFC on Fuel 9‘s main event vanished, White needs to look at his own organization for the blame. The audience is never at fault for not happily accepting an inferior product.

 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 153 Pay-Per-View Buys Confirm That Squash Matches Are Totally Hot Right Now


(We’re sorry, Stephan, but unless those things are actual guns, you’re getting your ass kicked tonight.) 

In the days leading up to UFC 153, many of you (and by you, we mean the entire MMA Interwebz) had some less than favorable things to say about the pairing of Stephan Bonnar and Anderson Silva. As if the bookies hadn’t told us all we needed to know, the general consensus among fans seemed to be the evening’s main event was a “travesty, a sham, and a mockery” that “blasphemed the great sport of MMA” and was a “completely meaningless squash match” whose “insulting pairing” would be reflected in “the abysmal pay-per-view numbers it receives.” And those were the favorable comments.

But for every fifteen of you complaining, there were apparently five or more of you who were forced to stifle your true excitement over this matchup like a pedo at a tee-ball game, because if the early numbers are any indication, squash matches featuring unstoppable killing machines are the new superfights. According to several reports, the pay-per-view numbers for UFC 153 are in the range of 340,00 to 410,000 buys. These numbers not only exceeded expectation, but are not that far below September’s squash match of the month featuring Jon Jones and Vitor Belfort, which managed to clear over 450,000 buys despite having those little guys that no one cares about fighting in the night’s co-main event.


(We’re sorry, Stephan, but unless those things are actual guns, you’re getting your ass kicked tonight.) 

In the days leading up to UFC 153, many of you (and by you, we mean the entire MMA Interwebz) had some less than favorable things to say about the pairing of Stephan Bonnar and Anderson Silva. As if the bookies hadn’t told us all we needed to know, the general consensus among fans seemed to be the evening’s main event was a “travesty, a sham, and a mockery” that “blasphemed the great sport of MMA” and was a “completely meaningless squash match” whose “insulting pairing” would be reflected in “the abysmal pay-per-view numbers it receives.” And those were the favorable comments.

But for every fifteen of you complaining, there were apparently five or more of you who were forced to stifle your true excitement over this matchup like a pedo at a tee-ball game, because if the early numbers are any indication, squash matches featuring unstoppable killing machines are the new superfights. According to several reports, the pay-per-view numbers for UFC 153 are in the range of 340,00 to 410,000 buys. These numbers not only exceeded expectation, but are not that far below September’s squash match of the month featuring Jon Jones and Vitor Belfort, which managed to clear over 450,000 buys despite having those little guys that no one cares about fighting in the night’s co-main event.

While the numbers for UFC 153 might not be that outstanding at a glance, first consider that aside from Anderson Silva, UFC 153 was essentially deprived of the kind of star power that casual fans are willing to fork over 50 dollars for, thanks in no small part to our friend the injury curse. The co-main event featured Dave freaking Herman for Chrissakes. Jon Fitch was on the main card, you guys. Jon. Fitch. These are not factors that normally add up to UFC gold, yet thanks to the power of one genetically-enhanced cyborg from the future and the pure enthusiasm of Brazilian fans, UFC 153 managed to come out with better numbers than UFC 147 and 150 combined.

So although we may never get the Silva/Jones superfight we’ve always wanted, enough of us will keep tuning in for the mere opportunity to watch either one of them beat the shit out of a hapless opponent. Based on these numbers, we estimate that Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen will do upwards of 24 million buys, receive it’s own television spin-off, and return to theaters in stunning 3D in 2014. And the Ferris wheel keeps on a spinnin’.

No wonder Silva doesn’t want to fight Chris Weidman or Michael Bisping; their chances of not being completely embarrassed out there lie just outside the fan’s interest range. Andy knows that we want to see him keep his hands at his sides, evade then shuffle back to where his opponent just tried to hit him, and deliver one-shot knockouts at the drop of a hat or not see him at all. You know what your audience likes, Joe, now set up the Silva vs Kyle Maynard super-squash-match-extravaganza that we have all been begging for!

J. Jones

Bold Insane Statement of the Day: Cub Swanson Could Beat Jose Aldo “10 Out of 10 Times”…In a Rematch

I’m a bit puzzled, Potato Nation.

You see, when I sat down at my computer after lunch, I was under the assumption that I was still participating in this thing we call Planet Earth. Little did I know that, while reheating the few scraps of ground beef that managed to survive Meatloaf Monday, I had apparently been thrust into some sort of magical UNICEF fantasy world in which everyone was twelve stories high and made of radiation and Cub Swanson can claim that he would kick Jose Aldo‘s ass 10 times out of 10.

Confused? Well just listen to what Cub told Sherdog’s “Beatdown” radio show and prepare to be even more bewildered:

I know that I could win that fight 10 out of 10 times if we did it again. It’s not even an issue to me anymore. I’d actually like my brother — would love for my brother — to fight him, who’s an up-and-comer, which I feel is more of a fair fight. I don’t really feel like [himself vs. Aldo] would be a fair fight at all.

Call me old fashioned, but when I make some contrived, ridiculous, he’s-got-to-be-joking statement, I’d like to think I did the math right when making said statement. This isn’t Vietnam, Cub, there are rules here. AND YOU CAN’T JUST START THE FIGHT COUNTER WHEREVER YOU WANT.

But since you’re a man of numbers, allow me to throw one at you. Eight. You lasted eight seconds with the dude the last time around. According to Michael Bisping, that is 14 minutes and 52 seconds less than a typical virgin lasts on prom night. And now you want your brother to be next in line at the slaughterhouse? It looks to me like somebody completely missed the point of The Hunger Games. 

I’m a bit puzzled, Potato Nation.

You see, when I sat down at my computer after lunch, I was under the assumption that I was still participating in this thing we call Planet Earth. Little did I know that, while reheating the few scraps of ground beef that managed to survive Meatloaf Monday, I had apparently been thrust into some sort of magical UNICEF fantasy world in which everyone was twelve stories high and made of radiation and Cub Swanson can claim that he would kick Jose Aldo‘s ass 10 times out of 10.

Confused? Well just listen to what Cub told Sherdog’s “Beatdown” radio show and prepare to be even more bewildered:

I know that I could win that fight 10 out of 10 times if we did it again. It’s not even an issue to me anymore. I’d actually like my brother — would love for my brother — to fight him, who’s an up-and-comer, which I feel is more of a fair fight. I don’t really feel like [himself vs. Aldo] would be a fair fight at all.

Call me old fashioned, but when I make some contrived, ridiculous, he’s-got-to-be-joking statement, I’d like to think I did the math right when making said statement. This isn’t Vietnam, Cub, there are rules here. AND YOU CAN’T JUST START THE FIGHT COUNTER WHENEVER YOU WANT.

But since you’re a man of numbers, allow me to throw one at you. Eight. You lasted eight seconds with the dude the last time around. According to Michael Bisping, that is 14 minutes and 52 seconds less than a typical virgin lasts on prom night. And now you want your brother to be next in line at the slaughterhouse? It looks to me like somebody completely missed the point of The Hunger Games. 

Honestly, I don’t even know what to make of a notion so ridiculous, except to say that I now sympathize with Mitt Romney more than I previously thought possible. At least he didn’t attempt to open a window on a plane — coincidentally causing that plane to crash into a mountain — and then declare that opening a window on a plane would definitely never cause a plane to crash into a mountain. Yeah, I know that makes no sense, but apparently we’re living in a world where we can make these kind of logical leaps without repercussion.

And while there’s little denying that Swanson has clearly elevated his game since the loss to Aldo at WEC 41, we can’t exactly condone the spewing of such mathematically retarded points as the one he is trying to make. We’ve heard of poking the bull, but Swanson sounds like he’s trying to jam his thumb right up the bull’s butt hole

But on the off chance that Swanson is not next for a featherweight sacrifice title shot after his beatdown of Charles Oliveira at UFC 152 (because who really knows what the hell is happening at 145 anyway), he has offered up several options for Sean Shelby to consider.

The Koch fight, I think he’s a real tough kid. I was supposed to fight him twice and I feel terrible that I wasn’t able to follow through with that for the fans and for him. That’s something I want back. The Zombie is just somebody who everybody loves. Everyone thinks he’s the best up-and-comer, and I don’t think so. That’s somebody I would love to throw down with. Lamas, he’s a stud and I felt like that was my fight and I messed up and I would like to give it another shot.

Well, for once we’re in agreement. Swanson has more than earned a shot at some top-level competition, the question is, who would you like to see him fight next?

J. Jones

And Now He’s Fired: Charlie Brenneman Axed by the UFC After Back-to-Back Losses


(Noke had carefully selected his training partners to mimic how Brenneman would look on fight night. / Photo via neurovisual)

In the space of two fights, UFC welterweight Charlie Brenneman went from co-headliner to curtain-jerker. So where do you go next if you get TKO’d in 45 seconds by a non-contender on the Facebook portion of a card? The unemployment line, son. Don’t let the door hit ya where the Good Lord split ya.

That’s right, Brenneman has been released by the UFC after taking his second consecutive first-round stoppage loss to Kyle Noke at UFC 152, which followed his submission loss to Erick Silva at UFC on FX: Johnson vs. McCall in June. With his most recent loss, “The Spaniard”‘s overall UFC record dropped to 4-4, including decision wins over Jason High, Amilcar Alves, Rick Story, and Daniel Roberts, and previous TKO losses to Johny Hendricks, and Anthony Johnson. In other words, his victories were mostly forgettable, but his losses were all highlight-reel material. Not a good look.

Brenneman was disppointed but hopeful after getting the news, telling Bloody Elbow’s Steph Daniels:


(Noke had carefully selected his training partners to mimic how Brenneman would look on fight night. / Photo via neurovisual)

In the space of two fights, UFC welterweight Charlie Brenneman went from co-headliner to curtain-jerker. So where do you go next if you get TKO’d in 45 seconds by a non-contender on the Facebook portion of a card? The unemployment line, son. Don’t let the door hit ya where the Good Lord split ya.

That’s right, Brenneman has been released by the UFC after taking his second consecutive first-round stoppage loss to Kyle Noke at UFC 152, which followed his submission loss to Erick Silva at UFC on FX: Johnson vs. McCall in June. With his most recent loss, “The Spaniard”‘s overall UFC record dropped to 4-4, including decision wins over Jason High, Amilcar Alves, Rick Story, and Daniel Roberts, and previous TKO losses to Johny Hendricks, and Anthony Johnson. In other words, his victories were mostly forgettable, but his losses were all highlight-reel material. Not a good look.

Brenneman was disppointed but hopeful after getting the news, telling Bloody Elbow’s Steph Daniels:

Basically, I realized after my last fight that I wasn’t in a good situation. A week had passed, and yesterday I got a call from my manager/trainer, Mike Constantino. He just said it as succinctly as possible, which is how I prefer it, ‘It’s not good, you’re cut.’

There’s nothing really to say. I kind of made my own bed, and I hope to get another chance. I lost to Kyle Noke, and when someone says, ‘You got caught early’, I have to counter that by saying that I shouldn’t have left him the opening to hit me. That’s just the way it goes.

I’m not closing the book on anything. The UFC is where I want to be, and it’s where I will be again. I give up a lot to fight. I don’t live with my wife. I live in New Jersey so I can devote myself to training, when all my family lives in Pennsylvania. It’s not a question of drive and passion. I have plenty of that. When that drive naturally expires, then I’ll think about stopping.

So will this just be a temporary setback for Brenneman? And does anybody think the firing was unwarranted, or had he gone as far as he could go in the promotion?