I picked him to lose his last two fights, the first badly, but he came out with 2 quick kos; maybe he finally has turned a corner. On the other hand, both those fights went his was from start to finish, he never had much trouble. In fights where he has an opponent he can't get rid of right away he tends to give up and just stop fighting, and I just can't see him going on any sort of run if that is still the case. The fact that he didn't even make the catchweight really raises serious questions about any future at 185. As for beating Anderson Silva, I just cannot see him winning that fight. Anderson can actually outstrike him, which is Vitors best weapon. Anderson is very good at keeping the fight slow for the first round, which I think will lead to Vitor being frustrated and eventually giving up mentally. So while I may be wrong about him yet again there are at least 3 major problems with him. He didn't even make 195; not a good sign if he wants to fight at 185. The fights he has won have all been early, which is obviously a good thing, but it doesn't answer the questions about his will. The division is stacked; Marquardt has looked unbeliveable, the group of world class BJJ guys, like Toquinho, Leites, Maia, and Almediea all pose a threat, and relating back to point 2, Hendo just dismantled him by taking his soul and grinding him down with solid wrestling; I think he would do it again. So maybe Im wrong, and I don't want to seem like Im hating on him, because I am a bit of a fan, a neutral at worst, but the hype train building is all a bit much. I think he would lose to Silva and Hendo, probably to Marquardt, and the rest all depends if they can get him out of the first few min and break his will; being a big Toquinho fan I really think he has the best chance of the elite grapplers, I would pick him to win outright actually. So Ive been wrong the last two times, but I think he will dissapoint those who are already calling him the heir apparant to Anderson.
He is the Zab Judah of MMA. Belfort's problems are all mental. He is a complete fighter who doesn't utilise his arsenal. He is a talented fighter who can cave in mentally ala CroCop.
the only middleweight id give a shot at beating silva at the minute... if he gets his head straight and is fully fit and focused then he is a danger to silvas crown,a big danger. big big fight this.
The middleweight division just got competitive all of a sudden. Good wins for Hendo, Nate &Vitor and Anderson has 3 legit challengers after the Leites + Cote match ups.
The Zab Judah of MMA? So you're saying he's all physical ability with no real skills? I disagree. I do think Vitor has turned a corner. He seems a lot more patient and calculating these days then he used to be. I agree that Anderson would beat him, but I think Vitor is capable of fighting at a methodical pace these days, and he's proven it in his recent fights. We still have to see how he responds to adversity, though.
I think Vitor has turned that corner as well. He's come to terms with the loss of his sister and seems to understand his place inside the ring. I would still favor Anderson Silva over Vitor - because Silva has more tools to work with. Vitor has never displayed much in terms of kicking. Out of all the possible contenders to Anderson's throne - Vitor is the one I see having the best chance to beat him. If Vitor cannot make the 185 limit and decides to settle in to the 205lb division instead - he is a threat to everyone in the top ten. Whichever division he decides to make his home - they should just drop him in and let him go. Vitor is back and ready to make some noise.
Thats what I was hoping we could find out from the Franklin fight. Vitors never won any big fights where had to handle adverisity. Skills and talent wise he looks as good as ever, hes in great shape it appears and mentally I think hes the strongest hes ever been but damn I wanna see him have to pull a win out in a fight where he was not neccesarily hurt but atleast getting tagged a few times.
