Vitor Belfort, from Brazil, left, fights Anthony Johnson, from the US, during their middleweight mixed martial arts bout at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 142 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012. Belfort defeated Johnson. (AP" src="http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/dac762c883395401040f6a7067001072.jpg" alt="Image Detail" width="752" height="501" />
Co-Main Event Recap: Anthony Johnson vs. Vitor Belfort
Photo: Yahoo Sports
By:MMA Specialist Mike Alexander
UPDATE: ANTHONY JOHNSON HAS BEEN RELEASED
Ever since his win against Wanderlei Silva, Vitor has been aching to return home and fight in front of his family and countrymen. It took 14 years for 98’ classic with Silva, but the prodigal son returned to Rio to put on a show the only way he knew how; with a bang. On Saturday night, Belfort put an end to Anthony Johnson’s Middleweight hype train by stopping Johnson with a rear-naked choke in the first round. It was a back and forth battle from the start, but finished in a way that suggests the previous 48 hours had a hand in how everything turned out.
To say the past two days have been strange would be an understatement. In case people still haven’t heard, Anthony Johnson weighed in officially at 197lbs, 11 pounds over the maximum 186lbs allowed in Middleweight division. This being Johnson’s first shot at the middleweight division, giving him an extra 15lbs to have after moving up from Welterweight. According to the official story, Johnson was on weight three hours ahead of when he needed to weigh in. But when the UFC’s doctors checked up on Johnson, it was evident that Johnson had to rehydrate or suffer potentially damaging side effects. As a punishment, 20% of Johnson’s purse was rewarded to Vitor, as well as staying under 205lbs for a second weigh in the next day.
With both fighters passing the second weigh in, it was business as usual after that. The problem is, you can’t lose an estimated 20lbs in a day and not suffer any consequences. During the fight, it was obvious that Johnson simply looked slow and out of rhythm. He seemed to waste what little energy he had left, and recklessly tried to take Belfort down or throw the sloppy strikes. While he did get a few takedowns, the fight was all Belfort. He continued to show that his striking is the second best in the Middleweight division, behind Anderson Silva of course, and that his BJJ is still a weapon every opponent needs to fear.
Belfort and Johnson’s respective careers now cannot be anymore opposite from each other then they are right now. Belfort is riding high after two first round stoppages, as he becomes the new coach on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil, opposite of rival Wanderlei Silva. With a win over Silva, Belfort could easily see himself as the next number one contender. While Belfort’s career continues to shine, things couldn’t look worse for Johnson. Being overweight by a pound is one thing, but being overweight by 11lbs is disgraceful. He really upset the UFC brass, and showed that he has little respect for the weight loss process. This was not only Johnson’s third fight that he didn’t make weight, it may be the last time he ever weighs in again for the UFC. With Dana White openly saying that the UFC may cut him, you can’t help but shake your head in disbelief. This kid has all the potential in the world, but until he straightens his act up, he will never truly find his true potential.
As for the rest of the fights, Edson Barboza took home the Fight of the Night, as well as the Knock out bonus, with a beautiful wheel kick that floored Terry Etim. Rousimar Palhares scored yet another Submission of the Night bonus with a fantastic heel hook over Mike Massenzio. The biggest shocker of the night came from Erick Silva, who lost to Carlo Prater because of a very controversial disqualification. Silva rocked Prater with a knee early in the fight, but when trying to finish the fight, he hit Prater two times on the back of the head. Without ever warning Silva, the fight was stopped after Prater couldn’t go on, and Ref Mario Yamasaki called it a disqualification. In the main event, Jose Aldo proved that his takedown defense truly is the best in the sport by shutting down the power house wrestler, Chad Mendes, and winning by KO due to knees and punches with one second left in the first round. With this win, Jose Aldo has jumped up many P4P boards, and has personally become my #2 P4P fighter, just behind Anderson Silva.
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