Vitor Belfort Reflects on Win Over Yoshihiro Akiyama

Fresh off his knockout victory over Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 133, Vitor Belfort has now had some time to reflect on his latest win. In an interview with CagedInsider.com, Belfort said he was very grateful to earn the victory over the Japanese star…

Fresh off his knockout victory over Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 133, Vitor Belfort has now had some time to reflect on his latest win. 

In an interview with CagedInsider.com, Belfort said he was very grateful to earn the victory over the Japanese star and appears to be in the best shape in his career, despite the critics writing him off following his loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 126. 

“The truth is the Vintage Vitor never left,” Belfort said.

“If you look at my record, I won 4 of my last five fights by KO and was knocked out once. I’ve had some ups and downs in my personal life but I have overcame them.”

Belfort unleashed a flurry on Akiyama that had stunned him and dropped him to the canvas at 1:50 into the first round. Coincidentally, Akiyama attempted the same front kick that had finished the Brazilian in his last bout, however Belfort read the move and timed his attack shortly after.

Although Belfort got the win, there are some who believed he landed a few illegal strikes to the back of his opponent’s head—obviously a cause for concern, but Belfort said the shots were unintentional. 

“The referee was very close watching everything. Looking back it was only one strike to the back of the head, the other was on the side. It’s a fight and things like this happen sometimes unintentionally,” he explained.

For now, the Brazilian will rest and savour his victory as he officially put the middleweight division on notice, including the champion, Silva. But despite his interest for a rematch with the champion, Belfort will have to seek another challenger elsewhere for the time being. And he said he is content with the idea.

“I will just get myself ready for my next opponent. I work for the UFC and whoever they say I fight I will,” he said.

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Quick Quote of the Day: Vitor Belfort Says He’ll Run Through Everybody Who stands In His Way to the UFC MW Title


(“Expect punches to the back of the head, every fight bro.”)

Tatame caught up with Vitor Belfort following his impressive victory over Yoshihiro Akiyama Saturday night at UFC 133 and the former UFC light heavyweight champion said he isn’t letting Dana White’s statement that he needs to “chew on” his loss to Anderson Silva for a while deter him from keeping his eye on the middleweight belt.

He says that his number one goal is to get another shot at Silva, or whomever holds the belt at the time, so he can make up for his poor showing the last time he fought for the belt at UFC 126 in February.

“That’s my wish. I don’t know what they’ll decide. I don’t know what the fans want to see and since UFC guys will evaluate the situation, saying who deserves a title shot or not… I want to fight for the belt and I’ll run through everybody who stands in my way.That’s my goal.”


(“Expect punches to the back of the head, every fight bro.”)

Tatame caught up with Vitor Belfort following his impressive victory over Yoshihiro Akiyama Saturday night at UFC 133 and the former UFC light heavyweight champion said he isn’t letting Dana White’s statement that he needs to “chew on” his loss to Anderson Silva for a while deter him from keeping his eye on the middleweight belt.

He says that his number one goal is to get another shot at Silva, or whomever holds the belt at the time, so he can make up for his poor showing the last time he fought for the belt at UFC 126 in February.

“That’s my wish. I don’t know what they’ll decide. I don’t know what the fans want to see and since UFC guys will evaluate the situation, saying who deserves a title shot or not… I want to fight for the belt and I’ll run through everybody who stands in my way.That’s my goal.”

“The Phenom” said that he was happy with his win over “Sexyama” and that his patience in the fight and his advanced level of conditioning, which is a result of years of experience and the right mix of coaches, made the difference in the bout.

“When I’m fighting, I always want and outcome like this one, but it’s not always that things go according to our plan, but I always go for the KO and that’s my expectation every time I’m fighting,” he explains. “That’s the mature Phenom. If the time goes by and the guy doesn’t get more mature, it’s a waste of time. I’m more mature and I’ve changed some things in my trainings, like using the natural gym with my coach Alvinho (Alvaro Romano), I added many things from my past and some new things I’ve learned. We combined it all and brought a Vintage Belfort. With no doubts, I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in my entire career, I’m feeling like a 19 years old boy with the maturity of a 34 years old man.”

If he doesn’t get his wish of a title shot in his next appearance, Belfort says fans can expect him to go out and prove that he deserves a shot in the coming months.

“You can hope I’ll bring my A game, that’s the only thing I can promise my fans: I’ll give my best on my next goals towards a new chance at the belt.”

 

UFC: Wanderlei Silva Fires Back at Chael Sonnen; Vows to “Kill Him Fast”

Chael Sonnen, who is finally done serving his suspension from the California State Athletic Commission, has torn into fellow middleweight Wanderlei Silva recently. “The Axe Murderer,” who is set to fight Chris Leben in what promises to be a…

Chael Sonnen, who is finally done serving his suspension from the California State Athletic Commission, has torn into fellow middleweight Wanderlei Silva recently.

“The Axe Murderer,” who is set to fight Chris Leben in what promises to be a slugfest at UFC 132, has responded back to Uncle Chael.

In an interview with MMA Fighting, Silva told Ariel Helwani:

“Sonnen… I kill him. I kill him fast. This guy talks a lot of bull—-, he talks s— about a lot of fighters,” Silva remarked. 

The former Pride stand out continued with: “Don’t talk it about me because that’s dangerous, one day we’ll see each other again. I’m gonna want to know why you just hide behind a computer.”

Sonnen has went off on Wanderlei via his Twitter account, insinuating that Pride was a fake fight league where wins were insignificant, comparing it to the World Wrestling Entertainment. 

Silva, who has also been called out by Vitor Belfort during his 16 month absence from the cage, made it clear that he has no problem fighting either Sonnen or Belfort in the future.

In response to whether or not he’d accept a fight with Sonnen, Belfort responded:

“Of course, I’ll have him and I’ll have Belfort. Two good names. I’ll fight both. I’d fight Brian Stann but not right now. I don’t like Sonnen or Belfort—it’s better for me.”

Belfort is currently set to fight Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 133, after suffering an embarrassing knockout defeat to middleweight champion Anderson Silva in February.

Meanwhile, Sonnen, despite almost a full year of inactivity, is still considered by many the No. 2 fighter in the world at 185 pounds.

While the beef between Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva has been brewing for several years now, a fight between the two never really made much sense.

However, if Silva were to take out Chris “The Crippler” Leben at UFC 132 and Sonnen is able to resume his fight career as planned, a fight between Silva and Sonnen all of a sudden becomes a very real possibility. 

Whose interested in seeing Sonnen square off with Wanderlei before the end of the year?

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UFC 133 Preview: Is Yoshihiro Akiyama Fighting for His Job?

In Yoshihiro Akiyama’s short UFC career he has earned a Fight of the Night bonus in every fight. The only problem is he has gone 1-2, winning a very close fight at UFC 100 and dropping his last two fights. Akiyama has been entertaining to watch, …

In Yoshihiro Akiyama’s short UFC career he has earned a Fight of the Night bonus in every fight.

The only problem is he has gone 1-2, winning a very close fight at UFC 100 and dropping his last two fights.

Akiyama has been entertaining to watch, but entertaining losses can only get you so far.

Akiyama is 13-3 (2) overall in his career. The Japanese star has shown his great chin and ability to dish out shots just as hard as he can take them.

A combination of Akiyama’s cardio and poor planning have been his downfall in the last two fights.

Akiyama opened up strong in both bouts. Akiyama got the better of Chris Leben for much of their fight. Leben took advantage of a gassed Akiyama though, defeating him by submission with seconds left.

Akiyama faced Michael Bisping next, rocking the Brit in the first round. Bisping became more technical in his striking in the next two rounds and won the fight by decision.

Akiyama is never in a boring fight and as one of Japan’s top stars, he is a great asset to the UFC.

But Akiyama will have to do more in order to keep his job.

One step in the right direction would be to defeat his next opponent, Vitor Belfort at UFC 133.

Belfort was the most recent victim of middleweight champion Anderson Silva. A win over Belfort would put Akiyama’s career back on track.

Akiyama will come in highly motivated to win. Not just to keep his job, but as a dedication to the people who have had to suffer because of the terrible earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March.

If the fight is an exciting one and Akiyama loses, I don’t believe he will lose his job just yet. He will be on the chopping block, however, if he can’t turn it around.

Akiyama has international appeal and is an exciting fighter. But seeing him cut may become a reality if he does not win.

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Vitor Belfort and 10 of the Most Undeserving MMA Title Challengers

This concept is nothing new to mixed martial arts fans.Every once in a while, someone will get a title shot who really doesn’t deserve it. In result, MMA fans everywhere are left scratching their heads, asking “What the (expletive)?”Sometimes these guy…

This concept is nothing new to mixed martial arts fans.

Every once in a while, someone will get a title shot who really doesn’t deserve it. In result, MMA fans everywhere are left scratching their heads, asking “What the (expletive)?”

Sometimes these guys get title shots based on their popularity, political reasons, or just because of a lack of legitimate contenders.

Here are 10 fighters who really didn’t deserve the title shot they were given.

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MMA Top 10 Middleweights: Mark Munoz Rises

Filed under: UFC, Strikeforce, Rankings, MiddleweightsCould Mark Munoz be a future contender to Anderson Silva’s middleweight title? That’s a question few people would have asked before UFC 131. But after Munoz beat Demian Maia, it’s a serious question…

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Could Mark Munoz be a future contender to Anderson Silva‘s middleweight title? That’s a question few people would have asked before UFC 131. But after Munoz beat Demian Maia, it’s a serious question.

After defeating Maia, Munoz is 6-1 since moving down to middleweight, with the only loss coming by split decision to Yushin Okami, the UFC‘s current No. 1 middleweight contender. Munoz is probably only one more win away from being the UFC’s best option to fight Silva, assuming Silva beats Okami.

Munoz would be a huge underdog to Silva, of course, but every middleweight is a huge underdog to Silva. And Munoz, a former NCAA champion wrestler, at least has the tools to threaten Silva where he’s weakest. Munoz and Silva are friends and training partners, and they might not wish to fight each other. But if both of them win their next fights, we could be heading toward a situation where fighting each other is what the UFC asks them to do.

See where I have Munoz ranked among the middleweights in MMA below.

(Editor’s note: The individual fighter’s ranking the last time we did middleweights are in parentheses.)

1. Anderson Silva (1): The last time Silva lost, it was by disqualification when he illegally kicked Okami in the head on the ground. Since then Silva is 14-0, with half of those wins coming by first round knockout or technical knockout.

2. Chael Sonnen (2): Sonnen still deserves to be ranked No. 2 because of his impressive win over Okami and his tough fight with Silva, but soon he’s going to start dropping because of inactivity. There doesn’t seem to be any end in sight for Sonnen’s problems getting an athletic commission to license him.

3. Vitor Belfort (3): Belfort’s 19-9 record really doesn’t do his career justice, as the nine losses are to a who’s who of great fighters: He’s lost to Randy Couture twice, Alistair Overeem twice and Kazushi Sakuraba, Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Dan Henderson and Anderson Silva. Up next for Belfort is Yoshihiro Akiyama.

4. Yushin Okami (4): Although Okami does technically have a victory over Silva on his record, Silva was getting the better of Okami before he was disqualified for the illegal kick. If Okami can beat Silva in their August rematch in Rio, it would probably be the biggest upset of the year in MMA.

5. Mark Munoz (NR): Getting knocked cold by Matt Hamill might have been the best thing to ever happen to Munoz. That fight made him decide to move down from 205 pounds to 185, and he’s much more impressive at the lighter weight.

6. Demian Maia (5): The Maia-Munoz fight could have gone either way, and even in defeat Maia showed that his striking is continuing to improve. However, the fight also showed that Maia can’t just submit anyone he gets to the ground. In his first five UFC fights Maia submitted all five opponents, but in his last six fights he hasn’t submitted anyone.

7. Brian Stann (6): A matchup between Stann and Munoz would make a lot of sense as a next step for the UFC, and the winner would have a strong case for being the next No. 1 contender in the middleweight division.

8. Ronaldo Souza (7): Jacare, the Strikeforce middleweight champion, will defend his title against Luke Rockhold in September. Rockhold is 7-1, and all seven wins are by first-round stoppage, but he’s not on the same level as Jacare, who should be able to make Rockhold tap.

9. Wanderlei Silva (8): The soon-to-be 35-year-old Silva isn’t the fighter he once was, but his UFC 132 fight with Chris Leben promises to be an all-out war. And if he wins in spectacular fashion, it’s possible that the Axe Murderer could get the next shot at the middleweight belt.

10. Michael Bisping (10): With no UFC events in England this year, Bisping will not have any fights in his homeland for the first year since 2006, when he was an Ultimate Fighter contestant. Instead Bisping will coach on The Ultimate Fighter and take on Jason “Mayhem” Miller in December.

 

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