VITOR BELFORT IS BACK
With a resounding victory over longtime UFC headliner Rich Franklin, Vitor Belfort answered any remaining questions about his ability to succeed in the current UFC landscape.
But it wasn’t the “old Vitor”, as so many people are fond of saying. That version of Belfort would have jumped in swinging and immediately gone for the kill, risking it all for one wild shot at finishing the fight in spectacular fashion.
No, this was a very different Vitor, a “new Vitor”.
It’s been publicized that Belfort began training in Machida Karate prior to this bout, and you can see touches of Machida’s style all over Belfort here. From the simple, unmoving karate stance to the patience that allows you to wait for an opening before striking, Belfort’s style had Lyoto Machida written all over it. And that’s a very dangerous thing for the rest of the middleweight division.
Dana White told us at the post-fight press conference that Belfort would receieve the next title shot at Anderson Silva. This is the fight White has been longing to make for months, ever since going on Spike television and talking about Belfort while the Brazilian was still under Affliction contract. Any type of win from Belfort over Franklin would earn him a title shot; luckily it was an emphatic one.
Can Belfort beat Anderson Silva? It’s tough to say. Silva is still the best in the world and can beat anyone at any moment in time. Belfort, however, has the tools to end the Spider’s championship reign, and he’ll get his chance in early 2010.
JUNIOR DOS SANTOS IS A HEAVYWEIGHT FORCE
Going into UFC 103, it was apparent that Junior dos Santos was an unknown commodity in the UFC’s heavyweight division. A devastating puncher with blazing hand speed, dos Santos had finished his prior two opponents too quickly for observers to get a real grasp on his game.
In going three rounds with an aging and hapless Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, however, we were able to see enough of dos Santos to know that he’s a legitimate threat in the heavyweight division. Filipovic is obviously a fighter long past his expiration date, but he was able to sporadically land a few decent power shots throughout the fight, and dos Santos took them and kept going.
People within the dos Santos camp tell me that his ground game is breathtaking. We haven’t even seen a hint of it, though, because he’s never come close to going to the ground.
Where does dos Santos go from here? I have to believe that he’ll likely be matched up with Gabriel Gonzaga or the winner of next month’s Cain Velasquez/Ben Rothwell fight. Dana White noted after the show that dos Santos is in the mix for a title shot, and I believe one more win will secure him a shot at the gold.
THE LIGHTWEIGHT DIVISION JUST BECAME INTERESTING AGAIN
Tyson Griffin’s stunning finish of Hermes Franca created a log jam at the top of the UFC lightweight division.
Griffin has always been considered a good fighter, but his knack for forcing fights to go the distance has kept him out of consideration for a title shot. With the victory over Franca, a fighter who had only been finished once in his entire career (at a Shooto event in 2005), Griffin elevated himself into the upper echelon of the division.
The only problem? Gray Maynard and Griffin are teammates, and Maynard is also in consideration for a title shot.
The difference in this situation is that, unlike many other teammates in the sport, Griffin will fight Maynard. He says it’s not an ideal situation and would prefer not to, but if the matchup has to be made and there’s no way around it, then he’ll gladly do it.
Dana White was thrilled about this prospect. And since champion B.J. Penn isn’t fighting until December, there’s potential for a Maynard/Griffin bout to be made near the end of the year. Not only would it determine the number one challenger for the title, but it would also send a simple message to fight camps around the world: if Maynard and Griffin can fight each other for a title shot, so can you.
