Weidman (photo) defeated Belfort and defended his belt. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
During some moments in the first round of the UFC 187 co-main fight it seemed like Vitor belfort get the knockout over Chris Weidman and would win the middleweight belt. Vitor, however, ended up suffering an upset and ended up being knocked out in the final stretch of the first round by the North American, who maintained the title and his professional unbeaten record.
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At the beginning of the fight, after much study, Vitor managed to corner Weidman on the fence and applied a powerful sequence on Chris Weidman, who accused the coup, but resisted the punishment. After the difficult moment, the North American tried to take the fight to his comfort zone, the wrestling, and fell Belfort.
On the ground, Weidman remained and, without difficulty, managed to mount the Brazilian, who showed clear signs of having tired following attacks on his rival moments before. Even before the third minute of the first round, the champion managed to land a series of very hard punches on the ground and pound, which led to the interruption of the fight by the central referee
After the duel, Weidman commented on the triumph over Vitor and eased the tense atmosphere between them, asking the fans to demonstrate in honor of the Brazilian's career. “I think he got tired. He gave me his best blows and I managed to protect myself. I got it into my head that if it was a fight of grapple I would have to come out with the victory. Also, I would like you to applaud the Vitor belfort, because he is an icon of the sport and deserves it”, he said, to the official commentator Joe Rogan, still in the octagon.
Afterwards, the champion made an appeal to the fans, both those who followed the duel in the gym and those who watched it on TV. “Stop doubting me! Stop doubting me! Enjoy and join the team”, said Chris, in an obvious reference to the various criticisms he received, even after the title, for his victory in the rematch against Anderson Silva and belt defense against Lyoto Machida.
Soon after, Belfort also analyzed the fight, but gave all the credit to his rival for the triumph. “Chris is a great fighter, he took me to the ground and I tried to resist. I should have stayed standing, punching him, but I let him take me to the ground. He is very well trained on the ground. I have no excuses, he was the best tonight”, said the Brazilian.
Now Chris Weidman expanded his record to 13 wins in 13 professional fights. The North American still doesn't have a defined next opponent, but he is expected to be Luke Rockhold ou Ronaldo Jacare. Already Vitor belfort He has a record of 24 victories and eleven setbacks, four of them in UFC title fights.
Cowboy beats Makdessi, who gives up after fracture
D. Cerrone (photo) reached eight consecutive victories in the Octagon. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
John makdessi agreed to replace Khabib Nurmagomedov last minute in the fight against Donald Cerrone and ended up feeling the pressure of facing an athlete who is close to fighting for the belt. Cerrone applied very hard blows to the Canadian, especially sequences of high kicks, and forced his opponent to withdraw from the fight in the second round, with the suspicion that he had fractured his jaw.
Now, Cerrone has reached eight consecutive victories and has placed himself as the biggest favorite to be the first challenger for the Brazilian's lightweight title, currently held by the Brazilian. Rafael dos Anjos, precisely the Cowboy's last executioner. In his career, the American reached 28 wins, six losses and one fight without result.
Arlovski beats Browne in 'round of the year'
Arlovski (photo) beat Browne in a very busy fight. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
One of the best, if not the best, round of 2015. This is how the almost five-minute fight between the heavyweights can be described Andrei Arlovski and Travis Browne. In a duel with a lot of striking, Arlovski got the better of his friend by technical knockout, reached three consecutive victories since returning to Ultimate and got closer to a chance at the 120 kg category belt.
At first, the fight was a “monologue”, with Arlovski involving Browne with his greater mobility and hitting the Hawaiian with hard blows. However, even after showing signs of being quite shaken, Travis managed to find the strength for a counterattack that took down the “Pitbull”.
But, as already said, this was an atypical round, and, in another impressive turnaround, Arlovski got up again, cornered Browne on the railing and with a sequence of upper and crossed to his rival's chin, he managed to knock him out on his feet, forcing the central referee to interrupt.
At the end of the duel, Arlovski still apologized to his former training partner at “Jackson's MMA”, but heard a surprising response. “Never apologize for it. You were just doing your job,” said the Hawaiian.
Check out the UFC 187 results below:
MAIN CARD
Light heavyweights: Anthony Johnson x Daniel Cormier;
Medium: Chris Weidman x Vitor belfort;
Mild: Donald Cerrone won John makdessi by TKO in R2;
Heavy: Andrei Arlovski beat Travis Browne via TKO in R1;
Flies: Joseph Benavidez beat John Moraga by unanimous decision;
PRELIMINARY CARD
Flies: John Dodson beat Zach Makovsky by unanimous decision;
Welterweights: Dong Hyun Kim x Josh Burkman;
Medium: Rafael Sapo won Uriah Hall by split decision of the judges;
Welterweights: Colby covington derrotou Mike pyle by unanimous decision of the judges;
Mild: Islam makhachev beat Leo Kuntz by submission in R2;
Flies: Justin Scoggins beat Josh Sampo in a unanimous decision by the judges.
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