Belfort vs Rockhold Recap

Vitor finishes Rockhold with a spinning heel kick.

Vitor Belfort headlined an event from Brazil and for the second time in a row, it went well for him.  You can say anything you want about him and TRT, but the bottom line is he is winning fights and is incredibly entertaining.  Here are the quick results on the prelims:

• Lucas Martins knocks out Larsen in the Fight of the Night
• Jussier Formiga outworks Chris Cariaso for a 29-28 decision
• The always entertaining John Lineker TKOs Azamat Gashimov
• Fabio Maldonado edged out a decision against Roger Hollett
• Yuri Alcantara finished Santos in round 1 with a TKO
• Paulo Thiago 29-28 on all three cards against Prazeres
• Gleison Tibau finished Cholish with a 2nd round gullotine (Cholish retired)
• Trinaldo submitted Mike Rio with a first round arm triangle choke
• Nik Lentz takes a close decision over Hacran Dias

On to the main card, there was a pair of decisions followed by a pair of finishes:

• Joao Zeferino had a good first round but gassed almost immediately.  Rafael Natal looked tired too, but had just enough in the tank to win the 2nd and 3rd round.  Natal has had a promotional newcomer fill in as his opponent twice in a row now, so look for him to get a step up in competition next time.  He is winning but does not look particularly dominant.
• Evan Dunham knew when he took a fight in Brazil against Rafael dos Anjos that he would be up against the odds.  Despite being very even in talent and ability, the crowd and apparently the judges were siding with the Brazilian.  Although the fight was super close and really could have gone either way, Dunham definitely has an argument that he won the fight.  Nevertheless, dos Anjos will take home a controversial unanimous decision victory.
• Chris Camozzi entered his fight on an impressive win streak, coming off his most recent win to Nick Ring.  He was supposed to take on Rafael Natal, but jumped at a chance to fight in the co-main event when Costa was forced to pull out of his fight.  Jacare Souza was the former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion and a world class BJJ specialist.  His much anticipated UFC debut went without a hitch when he quickly finished Camozzi with an arm triangle choke in the first round.
• Speaking of the former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion, Luke Rockhold was the last man to hold that title.  He also was the last man to defeat Jacare Souza.  He made his much anticipated UFC debut against the king of Brazil, Vitor Belfort.  After finishing Michael Bisping with a head kick knockout, Vitor decided he enjoys head kick finishes.  This time it was more spectacular.  Not only did he finish an incredible AKA (American Kickboxing Academy) fighter in the first round, but he did it with a spinning heel kick.  This kick was followed up by a barrage of punches that left the Brazilian crowd happy.  Vitor Belfort will likely get Anderson Silva next if he wins at UFC 162.

After UFC on FX my picks are at 69/118 (58.5%)

Three Stars:

1. Vitor Belfort
2. Jacare Souza
3. John Lineker