UFC 126: Vitor Belfort – “It’s Time”
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The time will eventually come for longtime UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson "The Spider" Silva to relinquish his belt to someone else. The question remains however, if that time will be next Saturday at UFC 126 when Silva meets #1 contender and fellow Brazilian Vitor Belfort at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Many believe that Belfort, in fact, is the man to take that belt from Silva, but as we all found out this past summer that is easier said than done.
Belfort is coming into this title fight riding the strength of five consecutive victories including his most recent, a UFC 103 TKO in September 2009 of former 185-pound champion Rich “Ace” Franklin. In that bout, Belfort proved that his striking skills are still top of the line as far as middleweight competitors are concerned. It took him a period to feel Franklin out, but once he finally zeroed in, he found his mark repeatedly and finished Franklin at 3:02 of the 1st round.
Belfort looks to finally be focused on the bright career ahead of him and not relying solely on his potential. Now in his third stint with the UFC, he has put the unfortunate death of his sister in 2004 and his PRIDE steroid scandal in 2006 behind him and is focused on the task at hand. With that being said, there is no better time for him to dethrone the champion than right now when he is at the top of his game.
Few contenders are left for Silva to dispose of and few have given him much trouble, so why should Belfort be any different? He is known specifically for his lightning quick hands and the constant pressure he puts on his opponents. As of late, Belfort has also shown surprising patience when utilizing his strikes. Not one of those attributes is enough to put away Silva, but the combination of all those skills just might be.
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What happens to Belfort if he is crowned the new middleweight title-holder? First off, his popularity will rise to an all-time high as well as his marketability would also grow. As far as the next step in his career, it may include proving himself once again in back to back bouts. As mentioned previously, there isn’t really that many middleweight contenders knocking on the door, so unless George St. Pierre is serious in moving up to 185 or Dana White will really give the talented but relative unknown Yushin Okami his long awaited title shot, count on Silva getting an immediate rematch.
Will Vitor Belfort be the man to finally take down Silva and shock the UFC? If both competitors’ previous bouts are any indication, it is possibly happen. Either way, you can expect a competitive match up as this main event looks to be one of the best all year.
By Nick Russell
ProFighting-fans.com Staff Writer