I don't think this guy is as good as him and some of his fans think he is. I think he's forgetting he lost to Akiyama and Jason Day in the last two years.
Akiyama was a fairly high ranked fighter that he had a somewhat controversial fight with, Kang was considered a top MW and Cote even after a long lay off is a serious test for anybody. Like Belcher or not his record lately is damn impressive.
I think that he's in a funny situation where he's won against some top tier guys at MW, and yet, has still failed to impress in a way that separates him from the pack. Despite winning, other than his terrible tattoo I find his fights to be forgettable.
I've found it to be the exact opposite. He's got 2 SotN victories and his loss to Akiyama was split decision that I personally thought he won and it scored them a FotN bonus. His fight with Gouveia netted him a FotN bonus as well.
Thats 4 "of the Night"s in his last 4 fights. He must be doing something right.
He does have some solid wins over Santiago, Kang, Gouveia, Cote but even though that Akiyama was close, I thought he lost. That Ed Herman fight was real real close and could have gone either way (it was a split dec). or maybe it's because alot of his wins seem like they come off from fluke finishes. Like that Kang fight, he was losing until Kang put himself into that submission. In the Gouevia fight he was getting tagged and swining for the fences until something landed..
or maybe it's because alot of his wins seem like they come off from fluke finishes. Like that Kang fight, he was losing until Kang put himself into that submission. In the Gouevia fight he was getting tagged and swining for the fences until something landed..
This. Kang was handing him his ass until he jammed his head in a guillotine that was obviously there. He has lost to some really mediocre guys and never seriously strung wins together. He should get a decent name after beating Cote and if he wins that fight, we'll talk. Until then he is just another decent fighter in the MW division.
I like Belcher a lot and im a fan of his. While he may be somewhat delusional in his self-perception as a superstar or top contender, he really isnt that far off from a title shot and is a pretty good fighter in the MW division. I like the article's idea of letting him fight Vitor Belfort to see who gets the next title shot after Sonnen. Belcher is down, it would be a great fight, and it would satisfy his desire for a shot at the title as well as seeing if Vitor is still in good shape to deserve a title shot.
I think another problem for Belcher is that ridiculous divide between the champ and everyone else. If Franklin were still champ, I'd be interested in seeing Belcher fight. But Belcher vs. Silva? C'mon. Silva is just so far ahead of the guys in his division that matchups are hard to justify for him.
Akiyama landed more strikes in the first 2 rounds. Belcher's rout in the 3rd round gives people the impression that Belcher's loss was controversial.
Some people might say Belcher's punches hit harder but let's be serious here, neither fighter was ever at risk of getting knocked out, it was just a boxing match and both of them hit about as hard as wearing 12oz gloves. Akiyama's face was busted up, which kind of reminds me of high school fights--the guy who bloodies you up by breaking your nose gets the nod even if he only landed that 1 punch and got hit 100 times.
Belcher's stance is pretty stiff too, it reminds me of Paul Daley's. Anderson Silva would just do the Roy Jones Jr. dance and pepper you till your face is purple and bleeding.
He beat an incredibly rusty Patrick Cote and he thinks he can take Anderson Silva??? I wonder if he has ever seen Silva fight.....Seriously, I understand you have to talk some to get noticed but Belcher wouldn't last a round if he actually fought Silva. Throw him in there against Bisping or Wandy or better yet Vitor and see how he does. If he wins he still doesn't have a chance against Anderson but atleast he can would have something to talk about.
Inconsistency is the key here. The loss to Akiyama was a bit controversial, but it was close enough to not be a robbery. He has losses to Grove, Day, and Okami. The guy cant seem to keep a good winning streak going. He beat a guy that has been out of the game for quite awhile and a dude that got cut after there fight. I dont really see how that should earn him any kind of special attention at this point. His win over Kang isnt particularly impressive either, Kang proved that he is barely above a can when he came to the UFC. He lost to the only top five middleweight he has faced, forgive me if I dont get the hype train.
Even in his last fight, he near on spiked Cote and then when Cote looked up to the ref as if to say 'wtf?', Belcher grabbed his neck. I honestly think he got a bit lucky.
I'd like to see him Belfort. "The Phenom" hasn't at 185 yet since he returned and he would be fighting Anderson after over a year off. Belcher would be a good test.
Akiyama was tooling him until one of his eyes closed then he fought him even. People who think that fight was even close are delusional. I disproved any ones ability to score that fight for Belcher without altering the judging criteria round by round when the crying was happening. One stupid judge giving Belcher the fight doesn't mean he should win. It means that judge shouldn't be allowed to score MMA fights because he sucks and has an illogical and inconsistent system.
Andy or Vitor would murder him. Belcher wouldn't even be a top 20 guy if he didn't have a huge size and reach advantage over almost everyone in the division.
I dont understand how people dislike him. He doesnt come off as a jackass to me. He is respectful and everything he just wants some recognition from UFC. He also is telling the truth with Chael vs Silva.
He has displayed a grittiness in his past few fights....
His brawl with Wilson was a great showing of toughness.... that slam he used on Cote showed his stregnth from an akward position... we've seen him submit opponents and his MT is fluid enough to stand with damn near any MW....
I want to see him get a top fiver in his next bout...
Belcher got robbed in the Seyramma fight. Plus he's improved a ton since then. IMO Cote would KO Sexyrama. Belcher versus Vitor would be badass:thumb02:
I don't think Belcher is mad about the quality of guys he is facing but even Cote/Belcher made little sense for either fighter. Neither guy had much to gain by beating the other since both are guys who climbed up the back door and never got the marketing machine behind them. IMO Cote and Belcher both should be far more revered than Bisping, Okami or Marquardt but for some reason they get largely ignored. He doesn't want tougher fights he wants Marquee fights that translate to dollar signs.
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