Tag: UFC 153

[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. 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Lyoto Machida Wanted Jon Jones at UFC 153 in Brazil

More news is beginning to trickle in regarding the absolutely absurdity that is the Jon Jones title defense after UFC 151 was cancelled. We know that Jones is now fighting Vitor Belfort at UFC 152, but the question remains: What happened to the propose…

More news is beginning to trickle in regarding the absolutely absurdity that is the Jon Jones title defense after UFC 151 was cancelled. We know that Jones is now fighting Vitor Belfort at UFC 152, but the question remains: What happened to the proposed bout with Lyoto Machida?

On the emergency phone call yesterday with UFC President Dana White, White announced that Machida would face Jones for the UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 152 in Toronto. He made it a point to explain that Jones had to accept the fight, and that if he didn’t, there would be consequences. The UFC even went as far as to create an updated poster for UFC 152 featuring Jones and Machida. 

This brings us back to the original question of what happened to Machida? 

This afternoon, Machida’s management team released a statement explaining why the karate specialist is not fighting Jones in Toronto. 

Machida’s reasoning is because he didn’t want to take a fight on four weeks’ notice. This isn’t the first time that he’s turned down a bout on short notice. He was briefly linked to Rashad Evans at UFC 133 last summer, but tried to get additional money to take the bout. 

Regarding UFC 152, Machida had the following to say: “I want to serve the UFC and recapture the belt. I always respect my opponent. For those reasons, I must prepare myself in the manner I believe in.”

The release went even further to explain that Machida would have taken the bout at UFC 153 in Brazil had it been offered. It would have allowed for an additional three weeks for preparations.

All quotes were obtained first-hand.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 153: 5 Fights for Alan Belcher to Take Now That Vitor Belfort Is out

In the fallout of the Jon Jones debacle, Alan Belcher has been stripped of a chance to fight his previously scheduled opponent, Vitor Belfort, at UFC 153. With the whole ordeal that was UFC 151 causing much fallout, Belcher should still get a shot…

In the fallout of the Jon Jones debacle, Alan Belcher has been stripped of a chance to fight his previously scheduled opponent, Vitor Belfort, at UFC 153. 

With the whole ordeal that was UFC 151 causing much fallout, Belcher should still get a shot to fight on the UFC 153 card. His presence on the main card was important to the card, and now it looks as if he may miss out on his chance to fight.

Here are five possible opponents for Belcher to fight in Brazil.

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UFC 153: Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson vs. Glover Teixeira Head-to-Toe Breakdown

With one fight left on his UFC contract, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has an underrated, highly skilled fighter in Glover Teixeira looking to make a name off him.Teixeira, who made his long-awaited UFC debut against Kyle Kingsbury, proved why he was one o…

With one fight left on his UFC contract, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has an underrated, highly skilled fighter in Glover Teixeira looking to make a name off him.

Teixeira, who made his long-awaited UFC debut against Kyle Kingsbury, proved why he was one of the best fighters outside the UFC. He made quick work of the rugged American, earning a submission victory.

Here is a head-to-toe breakdown of the legend, Jackson, and the challenger, Teixeira.

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With Rory MacDonald Out, Jon Fitch and Siyar Bahadurzada Rally for BJ Penn Fight


I don’t always go to weddings. But when I do, I am almost interesting.

When it was announced that Rory MacDonald had suffered an injury and pulled out of his upcoming bout with BJ Penn at UFC 152, Penn seemed content to sit out and wait for MacDonald to heal. Because the fight against MacDonald was Penn’s motivation to come out of retirement, BJ Penn appears to be, dare I say, determined to fight the heir apparent to Georges St. Pierre. Yet despite Penn’s plans to wait for MacDonald, both Jon Fitch and Siyar Bahadurzada have volunteered to step in on short notice to fight BJ Penn.

It’s not hard to figure out why either man wants this fight, yet it’s doubtful that we’ll be still seeing BJ Penn across the cage from one of them any time soon.

Perhaps the more transparent – and also less likely to come to fruition – callout of the two is Jon Fitch’s casual suggestion that he should be fighting BJ Penn at UFC 153. I say this because Jon Fitch already has an opponent for UFC 153, and it is none other than Brazilian wrecking ball Erick Silva. As we’ve pointed out when the fight was booked, Silva is anything but a rebound fight for the thirty four year old AKA product. Considering that Fitch hasn’t won a fight since he beat Thiago Alves two years ago, a loss to Silva – which is certainly not outside the realm of possibility – can easily end his hopes of ever earning another title shot in the UFC.


I don’t always go to weddings. But when I do, I am almost interesting.

When it was announced that Rory MacDonald had suffered an injury and pulled out of his upcoming bout with BJ Penn at UFC 152, Penn seemed content to sit out and wait for MacDonald to heal. Because the fight against MacDonald was Penn’s motivation to come out of retirement, BJ Penn appears to be, dare I say, determined to fight the heir apparent to Georges St. Pierre. Yet despite Penn’s plans to wait for MacDonald, both Jon Fitch and Siyar Bahadurzada have volunteered to step in on short notice to fight BJ Penn.

It’s not hard to figure out why either man wants this fight, yet it’s doubtful that we’ll be still seeing BJ Penn across the cage from one of them any time soon.

Perhaps the more transparent – and also less likely to come to fruition – callout of the two is Jon Fitch’s casual suggestion that he should be fighting BJ Penn at UFC 153. I say this because Jon Fitch already has an opponent for UFC 153, and it is none other than Brazilian wrecking ball Erick Silva. As we’ve pointed out when the fight was booked, Silva is anything but a rebound fight for the thirty four year old AKA product. Considering that Fitch hasn’t won a fight since he beat Thiago Alves two years ago, a loss to Silva – which is certainly not outside the realm of possibility – can easily end his hopes of ever earning another title shot in the UFC.

And honestly, I’m sure I speak for most of us when I say I’d be okay with that. Even though BJ Penn and Jon Fitch are still tough fights for anyone to draw, they represent the past, not the future, of our sport. Watching Fitch attempt to avenge a recent draw on his record to BJ Penn, who would later call him a “glass jawed poser,” is nothing more than a regression. Like Ben asked about the “Bringing back your old self” ban, does the old Jon Fitch/BJ Penn really excite you more than the new Erick Silva? Didn’t think so, so let’s not bump the Brazilian prospect off of a card in his home country to relive a fight that, frankly, wasn’t worth remembering in the first place.

As for Siyar Bahadurzada, he recently began campaigning for the BJ Penn fight via his Twitter account, going so far as to offer to donate his entire purse to charity to prove that he isn’t fighting BJ for the money.

Siyar certainly is an intriguing enough fight for BJ Penn to consider. “The Great” impressed fans with a quick, brutal knockout over Paulo Thiago in his UFC debut at UFC on FUEL TV 2. Fans have been patiently waiting for more of him, and even though Penn recently retired, he’s still a big enough name to make this a marketable fight.

There’s just one problem: While Rory MacDonald is widely regarded as the future of the welterweight division, Bahadurzada is still only known for his lone UFC appearance. If Penn is coming out of retirement to see if he can compete against the next generation, a victory over Siyar The Great will not prove this. This isn’t to say that Siyar Bahadurzada won’t be an exceptional talent – or even that he isn’t already – but rather he isn’t nearly as established of a name as Rory MacDonald currently is.

That all being said, what do you think? Are you okay with BJ Penn waiting for Rory MacDonald? Would you like to watch Jon Fitch redeem himself against Penn? Would you like to see Bahadurzada prove his greatness? Let us know.

@SethFalvo