UFC 126: Silva vs Belfort

[Guest Dusty Finish]

.... is this Saturday. Right now I'm struggling to think of any UFC card from the past that has looked stronger on paper- Kid Yamamoto vs Demetrios Johnson doesn't even make the free-tv prelims.

 

The Middleweight division desperately needs a new top man to freshen things up- alas, I can't see past "The Spider" comfortably retaining once again in the main event. Belfort has never been someone you can back to win with any great confidence. Vitor's standup game makes him fodder for Silva's 8-point counterstriking, so the champ will be happy to back off and let Belfort chase while he gagues his range. Silva also has vastly superior footwork & head movement, and while Belfort does have underrated takedowns, I don't believe he has sufficient top control to keep a BJJ black belt at bay for more than a few seconds, unless he can get him to ground against the fence, posture up and strike.

 

A Belfort win would be lovely, but I just don't see it. He's cut to 185lbs once (vs Lindland), and failed to make weight for the Franklin fight at a catchweight, so he'll likely be struggling past the first frame- Silva to retain in the second or third.

 

It's no secret that I've yet to be fully convinced by Ryan Bader. Bones Jones has no worries on that score, so I predict the real semi-main doesn't get out of the first round. Crushingly for Jones, however, I believe his teammate Rashad Evans is the worst possible matchup for Shogun so- I'm calling it now- I reckon the 205lb game of hot potato continues and "Sugar" takes the belt back next month, putting Jonny in limbo.

 

Other than unestablished divisions (eg. Menne & Tanner at 185lbs), has a one-time champion ever fallen so far out of the title picture as quickly as Forrest Griffin? I really don't see what he offers at the top end of the division any more. Rich Franklin's superior pacing a technical striking sees him take a 3 round decision.

 

The Miguel Torres fight should be a showcase for he. Ellenberger-Rocha is a strange inclusion on the main card, but I suppose wins over Pyle and Howard make the former fairly relevant in the current climate. Rocha looked to have slick submissions against Kris McCray, but a strong wrestler like Jake should be a sterner test of good he is off his back. The urge for new contenders to get excited about makes me hope Rocha looks good and picks up the win, but prediction-wise I'll sit on the fence.

 

Oh.... I'm calling the upset at bantamweight and taking Demetrios over Yamamoto, too!

 

Paul Kelly - Donald Cerrone has FOTYC potential: "The Cowboy" will be looking to make an early impression in a stacked division, so I'm taking him by second round TKO. The outcome of Mendes-Omigawa should go a way to sorting an early pecking order at 145lbs- should Mendes pick up the win, he's probably one win away from a shot at Aldo (at most- could be right away), although anyone unfamiliar with WEC and who loathes the likes of Fitch & Lentz would do well to give him a miss.

[Guest The Beltster]

I'm having a hard time seeing Rashad beating Sho Gun, and I really like Rashad.

[Guest Frank Botch]

Word on the street, the streets of the internet, is that the Kid fight could be bumped up to the Spike prelims. Could be just Dana rambling on his twitter though. I hope it makes it though.

 

And yeah pretty amazing card, can't see Anderson having any problems, should a pretty easy win for him. Not sure how exactly, won't suprise me if Belfort bores him and he coasts to a decision. Hoping Forrest gets destroyed, and I'm sure he will, Bader is probably Jones' toughest fight yet, but I can see him squeezing by him, I'm leaning towards a decision though. Not fully convinced by Jones yet though he obviously has huge potential(and he's only like 22 so it's not a knock on him). Most looking forward to Cerrone/Kelly, should be a war. Prelims look good, always love watching Anderson, strong semi main, Franklin/Forrest is a big fight... yeah should be great.

[Guest Dusty Finish]

Word on the street, the streets of the internet, is that the Kid fight could be bumped up to the Spike prelims. Could be just Dana rambling on his twitter though. I hope it makes it though.

 

Been confirmed now that it'll be streamed live on Facebook, like the Fight For The Troops prelims were. This is a dilemma- it must be watched, but generally I can't abide live streams. Do I risk the assumption that it makes the 3 hour broadcast at some point?

[Guest John Hancock]

The Facebook live stream wasn't at all bad actually. No random cutting out, or freezing, or the usually dumb-f*ckery associated with live streams.

 

There was about 30 minutes of random shots of tanks between each fight though, which got pretty ridiculous.

[Guest Frank Botch]

Yeah I'm used to wrestling and boxing streams so the facebook one looked fine to me, I'd be pretty suprised if it didn't make TV at some point though.

[Guest Frank Botch]

I love this dude, the Lesnar stuff is pretty hilarious. God speed and party on!

 

[YOUTUBE]3MVOUu2vf-I[/YOUTUBE]

 

Anderson pimpin at the press conference.

 

http://www.cdn.sherdog.com/thumbnail_crop/600/_images/pictures/20101215025240_1_and_belf22.JPG

 

Below are highlights from today's Press Conference:

 

Anderson Silva

 

• Whats important is to be remembered as the better person I am today, not the best Brazilian fighter.

 

• There are a lot of great fights, but the fight of the decade would be me fighting my clone.

 

• I believe it doesn't make a difference what we've trained, we've trained hard and Saturday there's no where to run.

 

• The belt is a symbol of hard work. It is important. I'm out there to put on the best performance I can.

 

• Vitor is a great fighter, like a lot of fighters I have faced and its going to be fun.

 

• (UFC Rio) is going to break down barriers and create opportunities that they may not have had.

 

• In Brazil, a lot of people talking about this fight. Two of the greatest fighters from Brazil in the cage on Saturday.

 

Vitor Belfort

 

• Ray Sefo and Randy Couture will be in my corner.

 

• Something happened in my life a couple years ago, people who knew me back then but who don’t know me now, its a disadvantage for them.

 

• When I met Jesus I learned a lot of principles.

 

• I am relaxed now, I don’t have pressure, like the pressure when I became champion at 19. Now I am having fun.

 

• If I get a cut I don’t care, I get fixed after the fight, If I break, I get fixed after. I am there to have fun.

 

• I am there to fight and do my best. That is the only thing Dana and the UFC require from the fighters.

 

• The belt is something to conquer; if you want to get to the tip of the mountain you have to sacrifice something of yourself.

 

• To get the gold you must buy the field. The only way to get the gold is to buy the land and dig in for the one little piece.

 

• My camp was about training to fight the best pound for pound fighter in the world.

[Guest The Beltster]

I wish Bas was my dad.

[Guest John Hancock]

I wish Bas was my dad.

 

The reality of having Bas Rutten as a Dad is slightly less bad-ass;

 

7w8FrMtw1dw

 

~ I HAVE DECIDED; I'm going to buy this PPV. The more I think about it, the hotter this card looks.

Edited February 3, 2011 by John Hancock

[Guest The Beltster]

Bas was even cool doing uncool old dad things.

[Guest Frank Botch]

Anderson is ready to rape. In the figurative ''take your manhood'' way. I think.

 

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XgUh-2vXAbs/TUnZpEmQEaI/AAAAAAAAA9c/zGfcgaJfbgk/s1600/6.gif

 

Jones ready to... I got nothing.

 

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XgUh-2vXAbs/TUnYx8YM9qI/AAAAAAAAA9U/HdnZtnF8r-M/s1600/4.gif

 

Picks in bold.

 

Middleweight Championship bout: Anderson Silva © vs. Vitor Belfort

Light Heavyweight bout: Forrest Griffin vs. Rich Franklin

Welterweight bout: Jake Ellenberger vs. Carlos Eduardo Rocha

Light Heavyweight bout: Jon Jones vs. Ryan Bader

Bantamweight bout: Miguel Torres vs. Antonio Banuelos

[Guest John Hancock]

Silva vs. Belfort

Griffin vs. Franklin

Ellenberger vs. Rocha

Jones vs. Bader

Torres vs. Banuelos

 

Forrest Griffin sounds like he's considering killing himself. I'm tempted to change my prediction, because by the sound of him, Griffin might just give up half way through the fight and start trying to hang himself off the Octagon.

 

h9E0ImA4p14

Edited February 4, 2011 by John Hancock

[Guest The Beltster]

I'm pretty sure Forrest suffers a certain degree of mental retardation.

[Guest Frank Botch]

Jeez, Anderson stole that dudes soul. Or else he's just hedging his bets ahead of another defeat, ''I don't train as hard as I used to.'' Either way, quit whining. And I like how he thinks he'll be forgotton after retiring, no one rates/cares about you now.

 

There's like fifteen threads on Sherdog about the face off at the weigh in,what Anderson said and the significance of the mask he wore, dudes are gossiping like old women... apparently though Anderson said ''You're f*cked'' and Belfort said ''I'm in.'' Not that I get involved in this idle gossip.

Edited February 5, 2011 by Frank Botch

[Guest Kasabifan]

If Bader wins, we riot.

[Guest Frank Botch]

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_XgUh-2vXAbs/TUyZ4bxnh6I/AAAAAAAAA9s/_nZBlOO5WwQ/s1600/11.gif

 

It is on, does anyone here speak portugese for the love of God. lol@Dana rocking the Dickhouse shirt.

Edited February 5, 2011 by Frank Botch

[Guest John Hancock]

Is there history with Silva and Belfort that I don't know about? They must have been in rival favela gangs or some sh*t (lol, racism) because they looked seriously unhappy to see each other.

[DC 536]

As far as I can tell, Belfort trained with Silva, but then left to go elsewhere. That's probably over-simplifying things (and missing some things as well).

[Guest Frank Botch]

There's some pretty wild theories on Sherdog about the whole thing, some are just totally ridiculous... like even more ridiculous than the favela thing. Anderson wore a mask to taunt Belfort about his sister etc, people just making shit up. But yeah no one knows for sure, I've seen the training thing around too, that's probably the most likely... though they seem to really hate each other.

 

[YOUTUBE]r-AbZnes3tQ[/YOUTUBE]

 

This fight is going to be AWESOME. How dare they boo Anderson.

[Guest The Beltster]

Maybe they are just working the marks, promoting the fight? The fighting is MMA is real, but the storylines and angles are just as fake as they are in wrestling.