Vitor chokes out Anthony Johnson

Vitor Belfort defeated Anthony Johnson by submission (rear naked choke) at 4:49 of the first round.

It's very possible UFC 142 may mark the final time fans see Johnson inside the Octagon. After coming in 11 pounds over the 185-pound limit for his middleweight debut, Johnson was submitted in the opening round of his botu against Belfort.

Johnson started off strong with two takedowns. However, conditioning and quick standups from referee Dan Miragliotta appeared to lead to Johnson's defeat.

After the second standup, Johnson looked spent and desperately shot in for another takedown. Belfort easily stuffed the takedown and took Johnson's back. From there, Belfort softened Johnson with punches and locked up a rear naked choke.

Belfort has won seven of his past eight fights, with his only loss during that time coming against middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Though a rematch with Silva might be a tough sell, Belfort is well on his way to another shot at the belt.

UFC 142: Anthony Johnson misses weight, Dana White issues a statement

UFC President Dana White, as expected, was a little fuming that Anthony Johnson failed to make weight for his UFC 142 co-main event against Vitor Belfort tomorrow night at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janiero, Brazil.

"Rumble" tipped the scale at 197-pounds, 11 pounds over the contractual limit of 186, which "The Phenom," a former heavyweight, was able to make without incident.

Here is White's reaction from today's weigh in show on FUEL TV:

"Rumble Johnson is not on weight today, and when I say he's not on weight he's way off weight. This is not the first time this has happened with Johnson. He moved up to 185-pounds so this wouldn't happen to him at 170 pounds, and here we are in the same position. Belfort came in like a professional on weight, and Anthony Johnson comes in as a total unprofessional, way overweight. The stipulation is, Vitor does not want him to weigh more than 205 pounds by tomorrow. So we will see how this plays out. He'll weigh in today and have to weigh in tomorrow. As a fighter, you are a professional. You are contracted to come in at a certain weight."

Johnson was fined 20-percent of his purse, which now goes to Belfort, and is required to weigh less than 205-pounds on fight night, or his bout against the Brazilian will be canceled.

Everyone thought a move to middleweight was what Johnson needed to contend in the UFC however, with a move as such it seems there are still many things to figure out and do.

UFC 142: Who's ready for a Knock out?

Every MMA fan loves a good knockout, and in the fight between Vitor Belfort and Anthony Johnson, I would not recommend taking a break from the action. This fight may not last long. Both of these men possess the striking skills and precision to put any man in their weight class to sleep. Vitor Belfort has been knocking people out in the UFC since 1997. Anthony Johnson is part of the new breed of MMA strikers who is taking a foothold in the UFC and beyond.

Each of these men is dangerous and different in their approach to their combat. Below we will discuss each man's strengths and weaknesses and then break down the fight.

Anthony "Rumble" Johnson

Anthony Johnson is a debuting middleweight who often had extreme difficulty making the welterweight limit. He often drained much of his stamina and strength due to the fact that he had to lose so many pounds. Johnson himself now admits to the weight loss bothering and hindering him. What is scary about that is Johnson was already a top fighter at welterweight. Now that he is not forced to make that huge weight cut he will retain his power far better.

Johnson could end the fight with strikes, but it is also interesting to note that he has been effective with his wrestling when he needed it. He used it to easily dominate Dan Hardy in a fight where, although it lacked the frenzied attack of a normal "Rumble" Johnson fight, his wrestling helped him control his opponent. This could be a significant factor in the latter part of the fight if Anthony thinks he is behind on the cards.

Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort

Vitor Belfort has had a rollercoaster ride in the UFC middleweight division. He easily dispatched Rich Franklin and then was forced to sit on the sidelines due to injury. Then for some reason unknown to me Belfort was still given a shot at Anderson Silva and his UFC middleweight title after only one win in the UFC (which was at a catchweight of 195).

The Spider then frontkicked Vitor back down the ladder. However, soon after Vitor dispatched Yoshihiro Akiyama in less than a round, which sets up this UFC 142 showdown with Anthony Johnson. If Vitor wins in Rio it will be his first winning streak in almost three years. He seems to still have the fire of a warrior burning in him, enough to attempt to win a championship.

Vitor will need to finish this fight early in my eyes. He tends to fade in the later rounds and so does his punching power. Vitor has never scored a knockout after the second round. Can he still be effective in the later rounds when Johnson will still be strong?

The Breakdown

Both of these guys are going to be looking for the knockout. If Vitor can connect early he is a phenomenal finisher. When the "Phenom" smells blood in the water he moves in for the finish better than anyone in the business. The only problem is that Anthony Johnson is an even better fighter at middleweight than he was at 170 pounds. Johnson will survive the early onslaught.

I see Johnson being able to survive the early flurries of Vitor and looking for counter opportunities early even a takedown if he gets clipped. If the fight goes into the second or third round Johnson will still have the advantage due to his pace. He will stay steady attacking throughout and Belfort will fade as he has historically done in the past. Anthony Johnson wins this fight and moves into the top 10 at middleweight in style. This fight will be a slugfest with fight of the night written all over it.

Countdown to UFC 142 Belfort vs Johnson

Check out the Countdown to UFC 142 featuring Vitor Belfort and Anthony Johnson.

UFC 142: Rumble Johnson vs. Hardy, Mark Hardy on Twitter

With UFC 142 just around the corner, middleweight Anthony Johnson finds himself in a war of words with an unlikely enemy.

Instead of trading verbal jabs with opponent Vitor Belfort, Johnson's newest—and strangest—detractor happens to be Mark Hardy, father of UFC welterweight Dan Hardy.

Mark Hardy recently sparked a feud with Johnson over Twitter when he replied to a tweet by the UFC about their newest addition to the middleweight roster. In the tweet, Johnson claimed that he would "break Vitor," to which Mark Hardy replied, "He lies."

Infuriated by the post, Johnson replied with a tweet of his own, directing his anger at Mark Hardy and not at his son.

@Mark_Hardy4 for some1 who son lost 4 fights in a row u need 2 focus on dan instead of worrying about me. I like dan he's a fighter shit happens no1 is perfect but since you wanna start running ur mouth. Ill get dirty wit u. When was the last time dan won a round since his loss 2 GSP? Once again no disrespect 2 dan. This is directed 2 u cuz u talk 2 fuckin much 4 no reason.

Refusing to stay quiet, Mark Hardy had more to say about Johnson, tweeting good luck to his UFC 142 opponent while cautioning Belfort about Johnson's possibly less than truthful ways.

Mark Hardy then posted, "How's training going?" The tweet was accompanied with an image of a man eating a giant burger, a jab at Johnson's history of missing weight.

Johnson retorted by challenging Mark Hardy to a few rounds in the Octagon, but the feud's antagonist replied by calling Johnson "boring."

After a few more exchanges, the back-and-forth tweeting died down—for now. But as members of the mixed martial arts community know, bad blood is a stain not easily removed.

Anthony Johnson vs. Vitor Belfort: UFC 142 Co-Main Event Preview

The UFC is traveling to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for UFC 142 this Saturday, and the co-main event features two explosive middleweights in Anthony Johnson and Vitor Belfort.

After a successful run at welterweight, Johnson has made the move up to 185 pounds for the opportunity to face Belfort and stake his claim as a contender.

"Rumble" comes to the HSBC Arena fresh off an impressive and dominant first round knockout victory over Charlie Brenneman.

Prior to his display of explosive striking against Brenneman, Johnson outclassed Dan Hardy with superior wrestling to earn a unanimous decision victory.

Overall, Johnson has collected seven victories in the sport's premier organization heading into Saturday's showdown with Belfort.

Now, apart of the Blackzilians in south Florida, Johnson trained under the tutelage of Mike Van Arsdale, Henri Hooft and Flavius Silva.

Having spent time in Johnson's camp, it's safe to say that he's in the best shape of his career and the change in training was a great move for the former welterweight.

As for Belfort, he returns to the Octagon in his country and is looking to win back-to-back fights since being knocked out by champion Anderson Silva in February of this past year.

In preparation for Johnson, Belfort spent the duration of his camp in Las Vegas with coaches Ray Sefo and Gil Martinez.

Since 2007, Belfort has only seen defeat once and that was to the aforementioned Silva at UFC 126.

Belfort bounced back six months later to defeat Yoshihiro Akiyama by opening round knockout at UFC 133.

"The Phenom" possesses lightning quick hand-speed that has paved his way for success throughout his championship career.

However, the Brazilian veteran doesn't use kicks or takedowns in his attacks, and while that approach was successful against Akiyama, it'd be wise for him to do everything in his power to keep Johnson guessing.

It's no secret what Belfort's game plan will be on Saturday night as he prefers to keep his fights standing, but what remains unknown is whether Johnson will utilize his advantage in wrestling to mix things up throughout the fight.

Both fighters possess exciting fighting styles and one should expect an amazing fight between two of the division's most explosive.

Oddsmakers would like Belfort to defeat Johnson, but "Rumble" holds the edge in athleticism and wrestling, which I expect him to utilize to score the upset victory.

UFC 142 Aldo vs. Mendes Back in Brazil

The UFC will make its return to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on January 14 with a fight card that will be headlined by a featherweight title fight. UFC featherweight champion, Jose Aldo (20-1) will fight in front of a Brazilian crowd for the first time since 2007, when he defends his title against the unbeaten Chad Mendes (11-0).

The co-main event of the evening will feature a middleweight bout between Vitor Belfort and Anthony Johnson.

The only loss of Aldo's career came in 2005 when he was stopped in the second round by a Luciano Azevedo rear naked choke. Since that loss, Aldo has gone on a 13-fight winning streak, capturing the WEC featherweight title by defeating Cub Swanson in June 2009. When the WEC folded, Aldo was named UFC champion. Since transitioning to the UFC Aldo has defended his title twice, defeating Mark Hominick and Kenny Florian.

Aldo's opponent, Chad Mendes has compiled a 6-0 record while fighting under the Zuffa umbrella, with his last win coming against Rani Yahya at UFC 133, which took place in August 2011.

The middleweight co-main event will see Anthony Johnson compete in that weight division for the first time, as he moves up from the 170 pound division, a weight that he had struggled to make in the past. His opponent, UFC veteran Vitor Belfort, is looking to use a win over Johnson to launch his name into the mix for a shot at the middleweight title.

UFC 142: Anthony Johnson "More Explosive, More Athletic, Better" at Middleweight

Anthony Johnson has gone up a weight class (so now he's just a large middleweight instead of a titanic welterweight) but to him, that only makes life easier.

"This is easy," Johnson said at the UFC 142 media conference call.

"I weigh 215 right now and I still feel great. The weight is gonna come off no problem. So that’s why I feel so good, because I don’t have to cut the weight that I used to cut."

"I’m more explosive, more athletic, everything has just come to where it needs to be. I’m peaking at the right time. Right now, middleweight is where I am, and that's all I'm thinking about," said Johnson.

Johnson formerly fought in the welterweight division and his gargantuan size enabled him to dominate opponents.

But the man who will be welcoming him to the 185-pound weight class—Brazilian striking phenom Vitor Belfort—isn't a man who is easy to dominate.

However, such a test doesn't daunt Johnson.

"It’s not intimidating at all," he said. "It’s actually motivating for me. It makes me even more hungry because it shows me that the UFC believes in me by giving me this opportunity."

Johnson isn't scared of the man and he's not scared of the venue either—the HSBC arena in Rio de Janeiro—in which will be 15,000 Brazilian fans wanting to see Belfort leave him broken and unconscious in the Octagon.

"Going into Rio is an honor. This is where pretty much it all begin, in Rio, in Brazil."

And about the hostile crowd, what does he care?

"I don’t mind coming into anybody’s backyard and putting on a good show and fighting to the best of my ability, because that’s what I’m gonna do January 14th no matter what,” said Johnson.

Johnson will have his hands full with Belfort, who is the toughest opponent he's faced to date.

The two will square off in the co-main event of UFC 142 on January 14th.

With a victory over Belfort, who knows what challenge UFC matchmaker Joe Silva will give Johnson next.

Regardless, all Johnson cares about is longevity.

"I want to fight as long as possible. If I could be fighting at the age Randy Couture was fighting at, that would be a blessing an honor."

Win or lose on the 14th, middleweight is a more dangerous place with Anthony Johnson in it. The MMA world will see many more intriguing fights now that he's a part of that weight class.

Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva named TUF Brazil Coaches!!!!

In an announcement of epic proportions, UFC officials announced the coaches for the TUF Brazil on Tuesday.

A rivalry will finally be settled during the first ever ‘Ultimate Fighter’ Brazil as Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort square off as coaches.

Silva and Belfort are no strangers to each other. The legendary Brazilians first faced off at UFC 17.5 also known as ‘Ultimate Brazil’.

Belfort blitzed Silva with punches in the early going of the fight, finishing off his fellow Brazilian in just 44 seconds in 1998.

Now more than a decade later the two will meet face to face again in their home country of Brazil as coaches for the ‘Ultimate Fighter’.

The format for the show will run similar to the early season of the ‘Ultimate Fighter’ in the United States, with the fighters living and training in the house for six weeks before squaring off in a finale.

“The premiere is going to be March 25. It’s going to be every Sunday night on Globo. The finale will be in June, but we don’t know where that’s going to be yet,” said UFC President Dana White.

This will mark the first ever season of the ‘Ultimate Fighter’ to not take place in the United States. The UFC has long planned to expand internationally, and now they have roots in Brazil starting with this newest edition of TUF.

White along with several UFC officials traveled to Brazil for the open tryouts on Monday. Cast selection will be announced at a later date.

The ‘Ultimate Fighter’ Brazil will also air in some fashion in the United States, and as of last week the rumors were for it to show on Fuel TV, although nothing has been determined yet.

With this announcement Dana White is one step closer to aspirations of creating a TUF world cup but most of all what a good way to learn MMA and create an impact in Brazil by naming Belfort and Wandy the coaches.