In case you were unable to join us for Saturday’s free fights at UFC on FX 8, you missed business as usual in the UFC’s Middleweight division. Vitor Belfort defeated former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold via a spin-kick knockout in the first round, meaning that all signs kind of point to a Silva-Belfort II event in the near future – that is, if Chris Weidman doesn’t pull off an upset when he faces Anderson Silva for the UFC Middleweight Championship at UFC 162.
As for the rest of the event, you can read the results after the jump, as well as some other big UFC news and headlines of the day, including whether or not that Silva-Belfort rematch will actually happen.
Vitor Belfort vs. Luke Rockhold – Belfort KO in the first round
Chris Camozzi vs. Ronaldo Souza – Souza wins with the arm triangle in the first
Rafael dos Anjos vs. Evan Dunham – dos Anjos gets the unanimous decision (to which I call BULLLLLLLLSH*T)
Joao Zeferino vs. Rafael Natal – Natal gets the UD
Hacran Dias vs. Nik Lentz – Lentz also gets the UD
Mike Rio vs. Francisco Trinaldo – Trinaldo wins with the triangle in the first
John Cholish vs. Gleison Tibau – Tibau wins with the guillotine
Michel dos Prazeres vs. Paulo Thiago – Thiago gets the UD
Yuri Alcantara vs. Iliarde Santos – Alcantara wins with a first round TKO
Roger Hollett vs. Fabio Maldonado – Maldonado with the UD
Azamat Gashimov vs. John Lineker – Lineker with a second round TKO
Chris Cariaso vs. Jussier Formiga – Formiga with the UD
Jeremy Larsen vs. Lucas Martins – Martins KO in the first round
It wasn’t the most exciting event in recent memory, but it was… something. I don’t know, I thought it was wholly underwhelming, but free fights are free fights, so I can’t complain. My only real complaint is that I thought Dunham was totally jobbed. Even Dana White agreed.
Is a shot at the title next for Belfort?
Maybe. As with any Belfort fight, it all comes down to his use of testosterone-replacement therapy. Of course, Belfort actually attributes his four-match winning streak to getting better with age, but the amount of eye rolling that occurs as he says that must be immeasurable.
Sure, he’ll be cleared to fight despite his use of TRT any time he wants to fight in Brazil, but will that sh*t fly in Las Vegas, where White and the UFC would most likely want to host a fight as big as Silva-Belfort II? Hell no.
As MMA Junkie points out, Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer won’t issue a TRT exemption for Belfort to fight in Vegas, so of course the 36-year old handles this decimation of his image and reputation with great seriousness.
Belfort declined to discuss his testosterone use following his win.
“Can somebody beat him up for me, please?” Belfort requested when asked by MMAjunkie.com about his situation. “Can somebody beat him up?
“You’re boring man, you’re boring. Get out of here. … I’m not going to talk to you. Talk to my hand.”
Belfort took a similar approach when pressed again on the issue by a Brazilian journalist.
“Are you joking?” Belfort asked. “You’re joking, aren’t you?”
Whatever, if Belfort doesn’t want to take it seriously, I’d rather keep watching Silva pad his record against the other guys. Hell, give me Costa Philippou or Yushin Okami against Michael Bisping in the meantime.
Hey, what’s going on with the Bantamweight title?
With Dominick Cruz still recovering from his ACL surgeries and complications, Renan Barão has served as a competent interim Bantamweight Champion, with his most recent victory coming against Michael McDonald in a title defense at UFC on Fuel TV in February. Alas, as Barão was set to defend the title again at UFC 161 in June, he has reportedly pulled out of the main event with a foot injury.
According to ESPN, Barão won’t have the time needed to recover from this undisclosed injury, which leaves UFC 161 without a main event. The event is anchored by two light heavyweight matchups, including Maurício Rua vs. Antônio Rogério Nogueira and Rashad Evans vs. Dan Henderson, so one of those will likely be elevated to main event status. I defer my disappointment over this to Brittney Palmer.
