Co-Main Event: Johnson vs. Belfort
By: Mike Alexander
Before Jose Aldo puts his championship belt on the line against Chad Mendes on January 14, Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort (20-9) will clash with Anthony “Rumble” Johnson (10-3) in a middleweight matchup sure to produce fireworks. With both men preferring to stand and brawl, as well as possessing fantastic striking and one punch KO power, this fight could easily produce the KO of the night winner.
Vitor Belfort has been stunning MMA fans ever since he was 19 years old. A true veteran of the sport, Belfort has held titles as a Heavyweight and as a Light Heavyweight in the UFC. Coming off of a devastating KO win over Yoshihiro Akiyama, Belfort looks to make it two in a row against Johnson and move one step up the Middleweight ladder.
Known primarily for his explosive striking, Vitor looks to keep the fight standing in this fight. Many consider Belfort as one of, if not, the best boxers in MMA today. Possessing lightning quick hand speed, as well as dynamite in both hands, Vitor is not the opponent you want to stand with. But what many people forget, as well as underestimate, is Vitor’s ground game. Vitor is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Carlson Gracie, and has taken the bronze medal at the ADCC submission wrestling world championship in 2001. No matter where the fight takes place, Vitor will be comfortable and ready to end the fight in a multitude of ways.
At just 27 year old, Anthony Johnson has been a force for the past five years at Welterweight. But as the years has passed, it’s become clear that the man called “Rumble” was having too hard of a time cutting the weight to make Welterweight. Naturally, Rumble walks around at 220 lbs. So if you do the math, Rumble has been losing up to 50 lbs for the past five years, trying to make the 170 lb mark at Welterweight. Not only is that dangerous in the sense that he would be very depleted by fight night, but also losing that much weight in just a short amount of time can cause permanent damage to the body. So with the extra 15 lbs he gets to keep at Middleweight, Johnson looks to show just how explosive he can truly be.
Even though he is making his debut at Middleweight, Johnson will still be the bigger man in the contest. Heck, Johnson could fight at Light Heavyweight and still be one of the bigger guys, as hard is that is to believe. Regardless, it’s not about how big you are, but how hard you can hit, and oh boy can he hit. With seven of his past 10 wins by KO, Johnson owns to lethal hands as well as a devastating head kick. To complement his superb striking, Johnson is also a fantastic wrestler, winning the NJCAA national championship in 2004. Overall, while Johnson loves to stand and slug it out, he has the tools to take this fight wherever he wants to take it.
This fight is a tough one to predict as it could truly go either ways. According to many Vegas betting lines, they are both have been given -110 to -120 odds, with no true underdog in this fight. That being said, I am going to have to pick Rumble Johnson in this fight. Normally I wouldn’t pick against Vitor Belfort, but this is the only exception because I feel like one X-factor will decide this fight: Wrestling. If Rumble goes in with a smart a game plan, he isn’t going to want to stand up with Belfort. The fighters that have given Belfort the hardest times in his career were wrestlers like Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture, and Dan Henderson. I don’t see Vitor stopping the take down, and I don’t see him pulling off a submission against Rumble. In the end, I see Rumble winning by TKO in the 3rd round. Just don’t take your eyes off the tv though, because with these guy’s power, the fight could end much sooner than that.
Also on the card that night, Rousimar Palhares takes on Mike Massenzio in a Middleweight match up, and of course, the main event where Featherweight champ, Jose Aldo, takes the undefeated wrestler, Chad Mendes. The event takes place in Rio de Janerio on January 14th at 7pm ET, with the undercard being shown on FX.
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