UFC on FX7- Bisping vs. Belfort
WATERWORKS
You remember when Wagner Prado looked like he was about to cry?
After clubbing Phil Davis early in the first round of a UFC on Fox 4 fight, an errant eye poke led the referee to bring a doctor over to examine Prado's eye. The doctor asks him if he can see and, unaware it will stop the fight, Prado answers honestly. The ref waves off the fight and Prado's grimacing howl becomes an enduring image. Both men leave disappointed, as do the viewers.
The rematch? Couldn't have gone more the other way. One of the best wrestlers in the UFC smothering Prado until Davis finally submitted him with an arm triangle. Mr. Wonderful, indeed.
Still- we saw Prado's fire in that first fight and Davis felt his power. Watching him fight again gets me excited.
THE BIGS
It makes sense that if you get in shape, you would fight better. Still, it felt surprising when a slimmed-down Ben Rothwell looked as good as he did. But then again, he never really looked bad, he just looked really bad. McDonald's had desecrated his temple. But even when Big Belly Ben lost to Cain Velasquez, he battled gamely. And who knows what happens if the ref lets him get to his feet? (Probably more pain from Cain, but still!)
Remember when Fabricio Werdum submitted Fedor and appeared to forever be known as The Man Who Beat Fedor First? A few impressive victories later and Werdum appears to be growing from that highlight, not being contained by it. But Gabriel Gonzaga has yet to taste the waters beyond The Man Who Head-kicked CroCop. Beating a Buff Ben points him in that direction. Can Gonzaga get him to the ground for a nasty submission? Or might Rothwell shut him down with some power punches? It will be fun to watch and who knows- maybe we'll see another magical head kick.
BRAWN
How many times must "The Count" Michael Bisping beat outstanding talent before we finally respect him as a force in the middleweight division? The turn had to start after his close loss to Chael Sonnen whom everyone expected to breeze to an easy victory. Talented across the board yet no outstanding features outside of his cardio. And his smart, British mouth. There was a time Dan Henderson's Hall of Fame knockout of Bisping cleansed us of his grating, nasal twang but time passes and continued excellence buys you cache with a discerning fight crowd. Continued excellence also buys you a shot at Anderson Silva's title belt if you can get past...
The image of a young Vitor Belfort's fist jackhammering Wanderlei Silva across the octagon must run through Bisping's mind. The "Vitor Blitz" takes no prisoners, but it does wear out and usually after the first round. Can Belfort find Bisping's chin early on and add to both of their highlight/lowlight reels? And what about a submission? Most of us forgot about Belfort's black belt in BJJ until he nearly arm barred the unstoppable Jon Jones.
We can probably guess Saturday's outcome- Vitor blazes out of the gates while Bisping dances out of the way for several rounds, inflicting his brand of point-earning damage. Who wins? You have to think Bisping will be smart enough to keep his distance until those juggernaut arms of Belfort slow down. After that? Maybe Belfort catches him once- and that's all he'd need with that kind of power, but it's hard to imagine Bisping ever giving him that chance.
Here is the full Saturday night line-up on FuelTV (prelims) and FX:
Vitor Belfort vs. Michael Bisping
C.B. Dollaway vs. Daniel Sarafian
Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Ben Rothwell
Thiago Tavares vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov
Milton Vieira vs. Godofredo Castro
Ronny Markes vs. Andrew Craig
Diego Nunes vs. Nik Lentz
Edson Barboza vs. Lucas Martins
Iuri Alcantara vs. Pedro Nobre
Ildemar Alcantara vs. Wagner Prado
Francisco Trinaldo vs. C.J. Keith
You remember when Wagner Prado looked like he was about to cry?
After clubbing Phil Davis early in the first round of a UFC on Fox 4 fight, an errant eye poke led the referee to bring a doctor over to examine Prado's eye. The doctor asks him if he can see and, unaware it will stop the fight, Prado answers honestly. The ref waves off the fight and Prado's grimacing howl becomes an enduring image. Both men leave disappointed, as do the viewers.
The rematch? Couldn't have gone more the other way. One of the best wrestlers in the UFC smothering Prado until Davis finally submitted him with an arm triangle. Mr. Wonderful, indeed.
Still- we saw Prado's fire in that first fight and Davis felt his power. Watching him fight again gets me excited.
THE BIGS
It makes sense that if you get in shape, you would fight better. Still, it felt surprising when a slimmed-down Ben Rothwell looked as good as he did. But then again, he never really looked bad, he just looked really bad. McDonald's had desecrated his temple. But even when Big Belly Ben lost to Cain Velasquez, he battled gamely. And who knows what happens if the ref lets him get to his feet? (Probably more pain from Cain, but still!)
Remember when Fabricio Werdum submitted Fedor and appeared to forever be known as The Man Who Beat Fedor First? A few impressive victories later and Werdum appears to be growing from that highlight, not being contained by it. But Gabriel Gonzaga has yet to taste the waters beyond The Man Who Head-kicked CroCop. Beating a Buff Ben points him in that direction. Can Gonzaga get him to the ground for a nasty submission? Or might Rothwell shut him down with some power punches? It will be fun to watch and who knows- maybe we'll see another magical head kick.
BRAWN
How many times must "The Count" Michael Bisping beat outstanding talent before we finally respect him as a force in the middleweight division? The turn had to start after his close loss to Chael Sonnen whom everyone expected to breeze to an easy victory. Talented across the board yet no outstanding features outside of his cardio. And his smart, British mouth. There was a time Dan Henderson's Hall of Fame knockout of Bisping cleansed us of his grating, nasal twang but time passes and continued excellence buys you cache with a discerning fight crowd. Continued excellence also buys you a shot at Anderson Silva's title belt if you can get past...
The image of a young Vitor Belfort's fist jackhammering Wanderlei Silva across the octagon must run through Bisping's mind. The "Vitor Blitz" takes no prisoners, but it does wear out and usually after the first round. Can Belfort find Bisping's chin early on and add to both of their highlight/lowlight reels? And what about a submission? Most of us forgot about Belfort's black belt in BJJ until he nearly arm barred the unstoppable Jon Jones.
We can probably guess Saturday's outcome- Vitor blazes out of the gates while Bisping dances out of the way for several rounds, inflicting his brand of point-earning damage. Who wins? You have to think Bisping will be smart enough to keep his distance until those juggernaut arms of Belfort slow down. After that? Maybe Belfort catches him once- and that's all he'd need with that kind of power, but it's hard to imagine Bisping ever giving him that chance.
Here is the full Saturday night line-up on FuelTV (prelims) and FX:
Vitor Belfort vs. Michael Bisping
C.B. Dollaway vs. Daniel Sarafian
Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Ben Rothwell
Thiago Tavares vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov
Milton Vieira vs. Godofredo Castro
Ronny Markes vs. Andrew Craig
Diego Nunes vs. Nik Lentz
Edson Barboza vs. Lucas Martins
Iuri Alcantara vs. Pedro Nobre
Ildemar Alcantara vs. Wagner Prado
Francisco Trinaldo vs. C.J. Keith
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