On Oct. 13 the UFC will pay another visit to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.The event, UFC 153, will be headlined by a bout that will see featherweight champion, Jose Aldo, put his title on the line against Erik Koch. Today it was reported that an intriguing w…
On Oct. 13 the UFC will pay another visit to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The event, UFC 153, will be headlined by a bout that will see featherweight champion, Jose Aldo, put his title on the line against Erik Koch. Today it was reported that an intriguing welterweight bout would be added to the fight card as Jon Fitch will face Erick Silva from HSBC Arena.
MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani was the first to report on the fight, tweeting:
Just about to board my flight to LA but I can confirm that @jonfitchdotnet and @ericksilvamma have verbally agreed to meet at UFC 153.
Fitch (23-4-1-1) is coming off a devastating loss to Johny Hendricks at UFC 141.
The fight ended quickly, with Hendricks landing a big left hand that put Fitch on his back and brought Steve Mazzagatti scurrying in to end the fight just 12 seconds into the first round. The one-punch knockout ended Fitch’s six-fight winning streak, dropping him down the divisional rankings while at the same time sending Hendricks’ stock skyward.
Fitch had been set to make his return to the Octagon on the July 11 UFC on Fuel TV card against Aaron Simpson, but a knee injury knocked Fitch from that event.
Silva (14-2-0-1) has been impressive since joining the UFC in August of last year.
He has fought three times for the promotion and has not yet had to extend himself beyond the first round. His first bout ended in 40 seconds, as he earned a knockout victory over Luis Ramos at UFC 134.
His next bout, against Carlo Prater, ended at the 29-second mark of the first round. The fight was mired in controversy, as referee Mario Yamasaki ruled that Silva’s strikes landed to the back of Prater’s head and disqualified Silva. The UFC awarded Silva his win bonus for the fight, an indication that perhaps it disagreed with Yamasaki’s ruling.
In his third bout, Silva stopped Charlie Brenneman at the 4:33 mark of Round 1, taking the fight via tap out to a rear naked choke.
This fight will be a big test for both Fitch and Silva. Fitch will look to prove that he rates as a top contender in the division, while Silva will attempt to continue his climb up the welterweight rankings.
Well, that didn’t take long.Less than 24 hours after Vitor Belfort posted on Twitter that he would accept the challenge of surging contender Alan Belcher, MMAJunkie.com has confirmed that the bout is officially set for the UFC’s return to Brazil in Oct…
Belfort has been outspoken about wanting another shot at middleweight champion Anderson Silva, and he recently campaigned for a bout with Chris Weidman in order to achieve his goal. While Weidman shot down that idea, it appears that the former UFC champion will settle for a bout with Belcher in his home country.
“The Talent” has looked great in the UFC for the last several years. Aside from a controversial decision loss to Yoshihiro Akiyama back at UFC 100, Belcher has gone undefeated in his last seven Octagon appearances.
If Belfort can get through Belcher, then it will be his third consecutive win after getting knocked out by Silva in spectacular fashion at UFC 126. His other wins include finishes of Akiyama and Anthony Johnson.
UFC 153 takes place on October 13 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and the card has definitely beefed up in the last few weeks. As of right now, the main card looks like this:
Jose Aldo vs. Erik Koch – UFC Featherweight Championship Quinton Jackson vs. Glover Teixeira Vitor Belfort vs. Alan Belcher Rony “Jason” vs. Sam Sicilia
Stay tuned to B/R MMA for news, analysis, predictions and previews for all things MMA.
(Buy all of the Lombard stock you can….wait…he WHAT?! THEN SELL DAMMIT, SELL!!)
If you are the type of MMA fan that gets his news from CagePotato and only CagePotato, we’d like to thank you for your dedication. Surely you will be rewarded in the afterlife for your selfless sacrifice. At the same time, you’ve more than likely missed out on all of the middleweight calamity that has happened over the past few days, as we deemed it less important than photos of mutilated hands, anti-Mandy Moore smear campaigns, and things of that nature. Clearly we made the right choice, but like we said, we appreciate your dedication.
To sum up the middleweight soap opera in a few sentences, Vitor Belfort tried to call out Chris Weidman, stating both a respect for the fact that Weidman is the top dog at 185 (as we previously stated), and realizing that a win over Weidman would be the easiest path to another shot at Anderson Silva. Weidman promptly denied Belfort, claiming that he had all the respect in the world for the former LHW champ, but simply put, “[he] had his shot” and “right now is my time.”
(Buy all of the Lombard stock you can….wait…he WHAT?! THEN SELL DAMMIT, SELL!!)
If you are the type of MMA fan that gets his news from CagePotato and only CagePotato, we’d like to thank you for your dedication. Surely you will be rewarded in the afterlife for your selfless sacrifice. At the same time, you’ve more than likely missed out on all of the middleweight calamity that has happened over the past few days, as we deemed it less important than photos of mutilated hands, anti-Mandy Moore smear campaigns, and things of that nature. Clearly we made the right choice, but like we said, we appreciate your dedication.
To sum up the middleweight soap opera in a few sentences, Vitor Belfort tried to call out Chris Weidman, stating both a respect for the fact that Weidman is the top dog at 185 (as we previously stated), and realizing that a win over Weidman would be the easiest path to another shot at Anderson Silva. Weidman promptly denied Belfort, claiming that he had all the respect in the world for the former LHW champ, but simply put, “[he] had his shot” and “right now is my time.”
Although there has yet to be an official confirmation from the UFC as of this writing, the fight is listed on both men’s Sherdog pages, and you gotta imagine that this will be booked in the immediate future. Not only is Vitor a huge draw in Brazil, but the aforementioned fireworks are all but guaranteed when these two collide.
Belfort has picked up two straight stoppage wins since ending up on Anderson Silva’s highlight reel at UFC 126, first pummeling Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 133, then choking Anthony Johnson’s fat ass right out of the UFC at UFC 142. He was scheduled to face off against long time rival Wanderlei Silva at UFC 147, but suffered a hand injury in training that forced him to pull out from the main event matchup. Currently, oddsmakers have Belfort as a slight favorite over Belcher, but also have the likelihood of “The Phenom” withdrawing due to last minute injury at -1600.
Belcher, on the other hand, has scored four straight victories in the UFC, most recently telling said oddsmakers to go f*ck themselves by pounding out the heavily favored Rousimar Palhares at UFC on FOX 3. Belcher has also finished five of his last 6 opponents inside of the second round, and has not truly lost since getting upset by Jason Day at UFC 83 (yes, I am saying that his UFC 100 fight with Sexyama was a draw at worst. Deal with it.).
UFC 153 is scheduled to go down at the HSBC Arena in Rio De Janeiro on October 13th.
Alan “The Talent” Belcher asked fellow middleweight contender Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort for “the biggest fight of his career” and the Brazilian has accepted. Both fighters have also agreed to fight at UFC 153 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, so the fig…
Both fighters have also agreed to fight at UFC 153 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, so the fight simply awaits confirmation from the world’s premiere fight organization.
“He is the best fighter in the division and most dangerous”, Belcher told Tatame. “My ranking, I feel I am the best. I will fight to prove it. If I lose, then I’m wrong”.
Belcher was not the first choice for Belfort, a former UFC light heavyweight champion: he wanted undefeated rising star “The All-American” Chris Weidman.
Belfort called out Weidman on Twitter, who’s fresh off of a vicious knockout of Mark Munoz earlier this month, but the Serra-Longo Fight Team product respectfully declined via the social media.
Prior to UFC 149, UFC president Dana White talked about his excitement level for his plan for the 185 pound division, but Hector Lombard losing to Tim Boetsch on that card clearly led to a change of plans.
The fact that “The Barbarian” suffered a broken foot in the bout couldn’t have helped matters, either.
Being that Belcher has been campaigning for this fight, it should come as no surprise he is confident he will win and go on to face reigning middleweight kingpin, Anderson Silva.
“I believe I will beat him when I get an opportunity,” Belcher told Tatame regarding “the Spider.”
“There is no other fighter that possesses my skills in the division. Size, power, speed, black belt BJJ, well rounded striking, heart and drive,” Belcher said.
Since losing his title bid against Silva at UFC 126, Belfort has bounced back with finishes over Yoshihiro Akiyama and Anthony Johnson.
Meanwhile, Belcher has won four in a row, including a career-defining technical knockout of Rousimar Palhares in May.
Coincidentally, Belcher’s last loss was a controversial split decision against Akiyama back at UFC 100.
Should the winner of Belcher-Belfort get the next shot at Silva, or has Weidman already proved his right to fight for the gold?
Both guys wanted it, and now it looks like it’s going to happen. After Alan Belcher and Vitor Belfort both publicly called each other out this week, it seems that Dana White had no problem setting up a bout between two of the top contenders in th…
Both guys wanted it, and now it looks like it’s going to happen.
After Alan Belcher and Vitor Belfort both publicly called each other out this week, it seems that Dana White had no problem setting up a bout between two of the top contenders in the UFC’s middleweight division, according to MMA Junkie.
This is a huge fight in a middleweight division that is suddenly jam packed with potential title contenders. The winner of this one will be in prime position to get a shot at Anderson Silva.
Throw in the fact that the fight is taking place in Belfort’s home country of Brazil and things get even more interesting.
Belfort’s striking is top notch but Belcher showcased some amazing grappling skills when he went head-to-head with Rousimar Palhares on the mat at UFC on FOX 3 making this fight one with show stealing potential.
Before UFC 134 marked the promotion’s highly anticipated return to Brazil, Royce Gracie trolled the MMA community pretty hard by claiming that he not only wanted to fight on the card, but also that he had been negotiating with the UFC in order to make this happen. Needless to say, Royce wasn’t successful.
With the UFC 153 fight card beginning to fill out for the promotion’s return to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, it now appears that one time UFC competitor Renzo Gracie wants in on the action. But, you know, only if it’s cool with everyone. As MMAWeekly is reporting:
“That’s a possibility. In my life I learned one thing, impossible is nothing,” Gracie stated about possibly competing at UFC 153.
“I love the crowd there. I love the intensity that surrounds the whole arena when you’re in Brazil fighting and Brazil is cheering. It’s a different ball game.”
Before UFC 134 marked the promotion’s highly anticipated return to Brazil, Royce Gracie trolled the MMA community pretty hard by claiming that he not only wanted to fight on the card, but also that he had been negotiating with the UFC in order to make this happen. Needless to say, Royce wasn’t successful.
With the UFC 153 fight card beginning to fill out for the promotion’s return to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, it now appears that one time UFC competitor Renzo Gracie wants in on the action. But, you know, only if it’s cool with everyone. As MMAWeekly is reporting:
“That’s a possibility. In my life I learned one thing, impossible is nothing,” Gracie stated about possibly competing at UFC 153.
“I love the crowd there. I love the intensity that surrounds the whole arena when you’re in Brazil fighting and Brazil is cheering. It’s a different ball game.”
Gracie has spent much of his life competing and teaching, but if there was one regret he has it’s that he never got to fight much in his home country of Brazil.
If that opportunity presented itself, Gracie would have an awfully hard time turning it down, and if it doesn’t happen at UFC 153 then keep your eyes on any future UFC card heading to Brazil.
So why is a man who hasn’t competed since losing to Matt Hughes two years ago at UFC 112 looking for a spot on the card? According to Renzo, it’s because he’s been getting back in shape while helping Rolles, Igor and Gregor Gracie prepare for their upcoming bouts at ONE FC 5 in Manila. As he told MMAWeekly Radio:
“To push them I’ve got to get myself in shape too. Today we did like eight rounds and then we did three more rounds of grappling. So even if I don’t want to, I get in shape, and if I get in shape, I want to fight. So I’m really looking forward to being back in there real soon.”
I have no problem with letting the aging veteran have one last fight in the UFC before he officially calls it quits. Scratch that – yes I do. Much like everyone wondered when Royce was campaigning for a return to the Octagon, who is the UFC going to find for Renzo to fight? Who? I will give Renzo credit where it’s due though: At least he’s not going full retard on us like Tim Sylvia did. What, where did you think I was going with that one?
Let’s all admit that Renzo back to the UFC would be a terrible idea and never speak of this again. But rather than end on a sour note, I’ll leave you with this. Enjoy.
On Oct. 13 the UFC will pay another visit to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
