Why Vitor Belfort must beat Anthony Johnson at UFC 142? – UFC Special
On January 14, 2012 the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will host UFC 142. The event is scheduled to take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at the HSBC Arena. The UFC officials had confirmed the bout in November 2011 after UFC
CEO Dana White announced the main card bouts. The middleweight bout featured in the main card will be fought between Brazilian MMA fighter Vitor Belfort and American MMA fighter Anthony Johnson.
Both fighters have won the last bout they contested in but they have faced losses in their careers. UFC and MMA fans would be eager to watch the two fighters take out their aggression on each other at UFC 142. For Belfort, he would
be looking for a win to further extend his MMA career.
He enjoyed a five bout winning streak from April 2007 to September 2009 but lost to Anderson Silva at UFC 126 in February 2011. For Belfort, this win was a real loss in his UFC career for it was for the UFC Middleweight Championship.
Belfort was unable to beat the pressure he was put through in the fight by Silva and lost the bout in the first round.
If Belfort wants to get another shot at the UFC Middleweight Championship, then he would need to score a win against Johnson in Brazil. The 34-year-old Belfort made his UFC debut at UFC 37.5 in June 2002 against Chuck Liddell but
ended up losing the bout. Later in his UFC career he proved his worth and won the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship by beating UFC legend Randy Couture at UFC46 in January 2004.
This win boosted his MMA career but Couture took sweet revenge by taking back the title in August 2004 at UFC 49. In September 2007, Belfort did win the Cage Rage Light Heavyweight Championship at Cage Rage 23 but he remained unable
to score any title victory in UFC. If Belfort wishes to hold the middleweight belt in his hands, then he must prove his worth and give the judges, fans and the UFC matchmakers a fight which places him in the number one contender spot for the title.
His opponent, 27-year-old Johnson would be entering the UFC ring after winning two straight bouts. He defeated Dan Hardy at UFC Fight Night in March 2011 followed by a win over Charlie Brenneman at UFC Live event in October 2011.
Being part of the middleweight and welterweight division, Johnson too would be willing to get his win over Belfort to get a possible UFC middleweight title shot in the future.
In my opinion, among the two fighters, Belfort is the one who deserves a chance to fight for the middleweight title. He has been a professional MMA fighter for nearly sixteen years and has been a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.
UFC matchmakers, in my opinion, would also want to see Belfort enter the ring for the title and make his dream of becoming a champion come true.
At the time being, Belfort would focus on his bout against Johnson. Belfort would be motivated and confident to fight in Brazil because he would get the much needed support from his home crowd. His main aim would be to give an
impressive performance which places him in the spotlight.
He would be dreaming to become the best middleweight fighter in the UFC and he can most certainly fulfill his dream. UFC 142 would be the event where he must prove his worth. A knockout or submission win in the first round of the
bout would be hovering in his mind but only time will tell if he can really win in Brazil.
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