| Cat--Smasher | 05-07-2012 11:54 AM |
After outgrappling Palhares, Belcher wants to knock out UFC champ Silva
After outgrappling Palhares, Belcher wants to knock out UFC champ Silva Quote:
"There's a lot of guys I could fight," Belcher told MMAjunkie.com (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps | MMAjunkie.com). "But seriously, while I'm on this roll right now, wouldn't it be a nice thing to see me fight Anderson Silva? I think I can knock him out."
Belcher, of course, is on quite the run. A 2010 eye injury that required two surgeries kept him out of action for 16 months, leading to him becoming a bit of a forgotten man in the middleweight division. However, he's currently 6-1 in his past seven fights, with the lone loss coming in a hotly contested split-decision loss to Yoshihiro Akiyama at 2009's historic UFC 100 event.
"A lot of people believe I won the fight with Akiyama, obviously," Belcher said. "He went to the hospital afterwards. I mean, I really hurt him bad. If that fight counted as a win, that's seven in a row for me. But even if not, I have a legit four in a row now against top opponents. I'm on a pretty nice streak."
Ironically, Belcher says the same eye injury that pulled him away from the sport is what's now powering his current drive. Briefly faced with the real possibility that he'd never fight again, Belcher found his passion for the sport reignited.
"It was a lot of waiting before I even got released to go back and train," Belcher said. "During that time, I was scared that I was never going to be able to compete in MMA again. Now that I'm back, I have a newfound love for it, and I realize my real reason for doing this is not to prove anything to anybody but myself just because I love this sport. I don't want to do it unless I'm going to be the best. That's what I'm going to do."
And to be the best, you've got to beat the best, which Silva clearly has been for years at 185 pounds.
Belcher realizes there are a few key middleweight matchups on the horizon, including Michael Bisping vs. Tim Boetsch, Mark Munoz vs. Chris Weidman and even Vitor Belfort vs. Wanderlei Silva, all of which will have some impact on the 185-pound title picture. But with Silva set to face Chael Sonnen on July 7, Belcher finds no reason to wait for those other bouts to play out.
If "The Spider" wins, "The Talent" is ready to pounce.
"I hope Anderson Silva beats Chael Sonnen and I go straight to the title shot," Belcher said. "I mean, there's no 'too fast.' Stranger things have happened.
| After outgrappling Palhares, Belcher wants to knock out UFC champ Silva | MMAjunkie.com |
