No one has ever questioned the skills of Alan Belcher. He wouldn’t have been given the nickname “The Talent” unless he had the ability to back it up. The problem with Belcher has been his commitment to fighting, and taking the sport seriously.
At UFC 113 earlier this month, Belcher showed just how dangerous he can be when he picked up the most impressive win of his career by submitting Patrick Cote and earned himself Submission of the Night honors.
Belcher isn’t too happy with his employer however. He spoke with Sherdog.com and expressed his displeasure for the way the UFC is handling his progress in the middleweight division.
“I don’t know what [UFC matchmaker] Joe Silva’s deal is. Through my career, I’ve pushed for certain fights, and I don’t know if it’s Joe’s personality or what, but I think he’s not an Alan Belcher fan.”
“They haven’t brought me in to lose any fights,” Belcher said. “They haven’t tried to set me up or anything. [Joe Silva is] cool and everything; it’s just … I don’t know. It seems like I’m sitting there screaming: ‘The fans want to see me fight big fights.’ I’ve got a big following, and I’ve got not just a flashy style; I have an explosive striking style. The fans want to see it, but he’s not hearing it, man. It doesn’t matter. As time goes by and I keep winning fights, they have to give me the big fights.”
“It’s all a mess, man,” Belcher said. “All the best guys in our division have all been losing. It’s just weird. The ranking system in the middleweight division … it’s all jumbled up. You’ve got Belfort trying to get better. It just sucks, man. I just wish there was a little bit more of a clear path to know who I [have] got to beat to get where I want to go. Even if I’ve got to fight two or three more fights, I wish there was just an easier way of ranking us and moving us along that way.”
“What do I have to do to get on a poster? What do I have to do to get on a ‘Primetime’ show or when Spike TV comes to your school and stuff?” Belcher asked. “I need to put a lot of work into this, and I feel like I’m on top of the game and there [are] a lot of fans out there that haven’t gotten the opportunity to know who I am yet. I just feel like I should be pushed a little bit more, and I feel like I should be making more money.”
Belcher made his intentions known after his win over Cote that one day he will fight current UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva regardless of what division it will take place.
