This weekend will mark the UFC’s first event of 2013 as UFC on FX 7 gets underway. Surging middleweights Vitor Belfort and Michael Bisping will toe the line in an attempt to take one step closer at a title fight with longtime champion, Anderson S…
This weekend will mark the UFC’s first event of 2013 as UFC on FX 7 gets underway. Surging middleweights VitorBelfort and Michael Bisping will toe the line in an attempt to take one step closer at a title fight with longtime champion, Anderson Silva.
With Chris Weidman, Hector Lombard and YushinOkami all waiting in the wings, an impressive victory is imperative for each man. The winner may very well find himself challenging for divisional gold with a spectacular win on Saturday night.
The question is: who has the goods to make a title shot reality?
Michael “The Count” Bisping has been the face of English MMA ever since he won Season 3 of The Ultimate Fighter. That is a heavy burden to carry for nearly seven years, but Bisping has done a solid job of representing his homeland.The fact that one sta…
Michael “The Count” Bisping has been the face of English MMA ever since he won Season 3 of The Ultimate Fighter. That is a heavy burden to carry for nearly seven years, but Bisping has done a solid job of representing his homeland.
The fact that one star has remained on top for so long doesn’t mean to suggest that the UK hasn’t developed some killer talent over the years. New prospects have emerged recently, and if they can continue their forward momentum, they could one day carry the torch for the UK.
Here’s a look at the 10 best active fighters from the United Kingdom, ranked on their overall skills.
This weekend, the UFC returns to Brazil with an exciting card full of prospects and contenders. Headlined by Michael Bisping and Vitor Belfort, the main card will take place on FX.The co-main event will be contested in the middleweight division, as Ame…
This weekend, the UFC returns to Brazil with an exciting card full of prospects and contenders. Headlined by Michael Bisping and VitorBelfort, the main card will take place on FX.
The co-main event will be contested in the middleweight division, as American wrestler C.B. Dollaway meets Ultimate Fighter: Brazil competitor Daniel Sarafian. It is an interesting matchup that will give us a preview of how potentially good Sarafian can be.
Here is a head-to-toe breakdown of the Dollaway-Sarafian scrap.
Vitor Belfort and Michael Bisping are set to headline UFC on FX 7, which will open the UFC’s 2013 schedule. The fight card is not packed with big names, but it avoided the main-event injury bug that plagued the UFC throughout 2012.According to UFC pres…
Vitor Belfort and Michael Bisping are set to headline UFC on FX 7, which will open the UFC’s 2013 schedule. The fight card is not packed with big names, but it avoided the main-event injury bug that plagued the UFC throughout 2012.
According to UFC president Dana White (via MMAFighting.com), a middleweight title shot will be on the line when Belfort and Bisping step into the cage. However, Bisping will be the only fighter eligible to earn said title shot, as Belfort has already been knocked out brutally by 185-pound champion Anderson Silva.
Though Belfort and Bisping will get most of the attention, there are some more meaningful fights on the UFC on FX 7 main card. As the 2013 UFC schedule nears, let’s take a look at what each of the UFC on FX 7 competitors will need to do to pick up their first wins of the year.
In preparation for his collision with Vitor Belfort Saturday night at UFC on FX 7, Michael Bisping scoured the combat sports landscape to find sparring partners who could mimic Belfort’s quick-fisted southpaw style.It sounds like the search went pretty…
In preparation for his collision with VitorBelfort Saturday night at UFC on FX 7, Michael Bisping scoured the combat sports landscape to find sparring partners who could mimic Belfort‘s quick-fisted southpaw style.
It sounds like the search went pretty well. Bisping said Monday on The MMA Hour broadcast with host Ariel Helwani that he brought in Bellator middleweight knockout artist Alexander Shlemenko, UFC veteran Jay Silva and (before Saturday) Strikeforce standout Lorenz Larkin, among others.
Bisping, who said he also worked with boxers and jiu-jitsu players in preparation for the bout, expressed satisfaction over his training camp and said he felt ready to fight.
Getting hold of decent southpaw sparring partner can be quite tricky…but I’ve prepared very well for this fight and I’m feeling very, very confident.
Shlemenko (46-7) has 27 career wins by knockout and, like Belfort, throws hard, fast punches. The Russian has trained with Bisping before.
Larkin (13-0-1) has eight wins by knockout. Silva (8-6) competed twice in the UFC Octagon back in 2009 and 2010.
Also during the interview, Bisping (23-4) made a slightly unusual admission for a fighter when he acknowledged that his trash talk with Belfort (and plenty of other opponents before that) provided personal motivation to fight; not just grist for the PR machine. “He’s a decent human being but we’re going to fight so I’m going stir the pot a little bit,” Bisping said “I’m going to do what I need to do to mentally prepare. I certainly fight better when I’m like that.”
Always an emotional fighter, Bisping, 33, said he thrives on bulletin board material:
It could be nothing, it could any little remark, but in my head, I’m going to multiply that massively, and turn a molehill into a mountain because that’s what I need to do. That’s how I perform…that’s what fuels me.
Bisping, who has been promised a shot at UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva if he can defeat Belfort on Saturday, spoke like a man who felt secure in his top contender’s role. He noted recent losses from fellow contenders Alan Belcher and Tim Boetsch, defeats which give Bisping a clear path to a title fight if he can beat Belfort.
A longtime contender at middleweight who has never been able to get over the hump and fight for a UFC belt, Bisping seemed to express a belief that he has completed an MMA maturation process.
I haven’t fought for the title yet, and I think I’m destined to be world champion one day. No one works as hard as me. I’ve got the skill set. I’ve got the tools…Maybe in the past I wasn’t ready, but now I feel ready.
I just want to make it known, before I plunge into this specific topic: I don’t consider UFC on FX an overtly horrible card, it just isn’t very good, and a rather weak yearly launch. It’s more a slight fizzle than a bubbly overflowing of gr…
I just want to make it known, before I plunge into this specific topic: I don’t consider UFC on FX an overtly horrible card, it just isn’t very good, and a rather weak yearly launch. It’s more a slight fizzle than a bubbly overflowing of greatness, and I’m not wholly convinced that’s the strongest way to launch 2013.
VitorBelfort and Michael Bisping will fill the main event bracket, and that is one intriguing match to the say the least. We’ve got two extremely fast strikers set to tangle, and each man is well aware of the ramifications of this head-on collision.
A win for Belfort likely places him just once more victory distanced from a second crack at middleweight kingpin, Anderson Silva, who left the holy rollin’ Brazilian a battered heap on the canvas back at UFC 126. A victory for Bisping, on the other hand, more than likely earns him a title shot in his next outing.
A Bisping vs. Silva fight should produce weighty intrigue. The outspoken Brit has yet to earn his shot at the champion, and after competing in the Octagon for over six years and amassing a 13-4 record for the promotion, most would agree it couldn’t hurt to give “The Count” a shot at Silva’s title.
Anderson has beaten nearly every relevant contender in the division, save for a few new faces and Bisping. Bisping’s won five of his last six, with his only defeat in that stretch coming at the hands of ChaelSonnen. It was also—I should note—a controversial decision, as many felt The Ultimate Fighter Season 3 winner deserved the nod from the judges.
The point is this: UFC on FX 7 has a stellar main event. Bisping vs. Belfort is the kind of fight that leaves fans completely ingrained in the evening’s chaos, but what about the remainder of the card?
C.B. Dollaway, proven to be far from a fan favorite will meet TUF: Brazil’s Daniel Sarafian, but there are a few significant issues with this co-headlining bout. First, Dollawayisn’t a man that many clamor over. Second, Sarafian has enjoyed virtually zero television time here, stateside. He may as well be considered a complete neophyte with zero name recognition.
This isn’t the kind of match—on paper—that gets casual fans riled up, although an explosive debut from Sarafian could conjure major cheers from the Brazilian crowd and leave fans pining for more action from the youngster.
I expect the evening’s showcased heavyweight tilt pitting Gabriel Gonzaga against the ever-durable Ben Rothwell to elicit some raucous cheers, while it lasts. Both men typically show up to bang, and while I expect some early fireworks, this is more of a novelty fight than anything else.
The somewhat inconsistent ThiagoTavares will meet unbeaten Russian, KhabibNurmagomedov in a lightweight duel, and while this fight stands as one of the card’s more alluring battles, it’s buried in the card.
Will Nurmagomedov push his record to 19-0? It’s definitely possible, but after beating KamalShalorus and GleisonTibau in his first two Octagon appearances, it isn’t difficult to argue his right to toe the line with someone a bit higher in the lightweight pecking order.
The remainder of the card looks compelling, with a few of the TUF: Brazil alum receiving a shot on the big stage, but truth be told, Godofredo Castro may be the only man with enough star power to draw viewers to the set.
Ronny Markes is a talented guy who should provide quite the show, and it’ll be nice to see Diego Nunes attempt to build on his win over Bart Palaszewski at UFC on FX 5. But the only other major attraction (in the eyes of the casual fan) of the event is the return of EdsonBarboza, who found himself on the wrong end of Jamie Varner’s brutal pugilism at UFC 146.
In my opinion, I think UFC on FX 7 is a fine card. Intriguing fights fill the bill top to bottom, but ultimately, this isn’t a remarkable event by any stretch of the imagination, the marquee power just isn’t there. For the promotion’s first event of 2013, a few more fan-friendly fighters wouldn’t have hurt to usher in a promising new year.
UFC on FX 7 boasts anything but a disappointing lineup. However, it is without a doubt an underwhelming event for the promotion’s leap into 2013.
In preparation for his collision with