Vitor Belfort vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama set for UFC 133 in Philadelphia

Slug-Fest! gonna be a good fight but it seems to me that Belfort will be to quick for Sexyama. That being said if Sexy does grab a hold of Vitor and turn it into a scramble/brawl he could pull out a decision.

i think akiyama will be cut this time, he really needs to defend his head and not make it as a punch absorber.

I really don't like this fight for Akiyama, Bisping picked him apart, leben out slugged him and Vitor is a better striker than either of them, this is too tough of a matchup for him for coming off a 2 fight losing street, he really needs to drop down to 170 if he wants to be a top level fighter, the size difference between him and Belcher/Bisping was absolutely ridiculous in their fights.

Nice watching you fight in the UFC Akiyama!

poor guy the man is in desperate mode to win a fight

and they put him with Vitor Belfort!



Joe Silva must be jealous of sexyama! lol

Well I guess Leben didn't necessarily out slug him but he beat him nonetheless.

slug fest?! vitor is not a slugger, he is an accurate striker with speed. akiyama is a slugger, he will happily stand in front of you and get hit as many times as you hit him but thats not belfort. akiyama to get knocked out is my pick.

akiyamas opponents only get harder and harder, i dont want him to get cut by the UFC

akiyama cant catch a break...a two fight losing streak and they give him marquardt first, then belfort? he mustv pissed some1 off

I think Belfort's speed is gonna be the factor in this fight, Akiyama is gonna walk in and Belfort will hit him with a few good combinations in the first round then in the second Akiyama will look for Judo throws and get caught ending the fight

Thats kind of what I was try'n to say, either u'll see a KO in the first or Sexyama will turn it a knock em down drag out war.

Sexyama does not want to make this into a brawl against Belfort or he will get KO'd by Belfort superior striking. Better if Sexyama mixes this up, gets within range and utilize his Judo more and breaks Belfort's will just as Randy Couture did.

I have to agree. And I say this, not just because he may or may not get knocked out, but because he is looking at the dreaded three-fight losing streak. He's great to watch, which is why he has won three consecutive Fight of the Night bonuses, but I would rather not see him get cut. He is one of few Asian fighters on the big stage and at this point in his career, I'm not sure that he would ever rebound. He should try fighting a little smarter, not boring, but just a bit more methodical. With that said, even if he does lose, the UFC might give him another shot since he comes to fight, but you never know.

I don't think he would get cut for those reasons: exciting with a HUGE asian fan base.

Screw the BS he has a huge American fan base as well, If Americans like him, im sure every other MMA informed country do as well.

I think this fight is going to be similar to that of Akiyama vs Bisping in the way that Belfort is just going to pick Akiyama apart like Bisping did and prolly will finish him....man Akiyama has had some tough fights in UFC no easy wins for him

awesome stand up battle in the making

I always love a fellow Judoka or Sambo practitioncer, they're so rare in the sport nowadays and they're always exciting to watch (in regards to the top tier talent and competition).



Sexyama (at this point) is the better mixed martial artist out of the two. Belfort is way overrated. It's Akiyama's stamina that holds him back, and costs him fights. If he just had a higher endurance level, he'd be a top 5 middleweight. He possesses world class Judo, above average striking (especially for a Judoka) and a concrete chin.



Akiyama CAN win this fight but he needs to have his cardio at a 100%... and then some.

suprised vitor would accept against someone on 2 losses, akiyama was somewhere in the middle of the div. on his debut, after 2 loss he has to be close to the bottom now..

but he's a 'japanese superstar' i guess so, different rules

although im a big fan of Akiyama but I dont understand how he is getting Belfort after losing to Bisping.Even when he lost against Leban he fought Bisping which just doesnt make any sense

We don't care how many loss akiyama has. He is always really exiting and gives hard time to his opponent. Who has 3 consecutive fight of the night in the ufc ?

Chris Lytle??

I don't understand why Akiyama is getting a top 5 MW and Bisping will probably get another top 20 fighter.

Belfort is not a top 5 fighter.

Then name 5 guys who are better than him.

According to ESPN, you are right. According to this site, you are wrong. I think Vitor would make pretty quick work of Maia and Jacare. They don't have the stand-up skills to have much chance. Okami and Chael would probably take him down and beat him up.

Same as Bisping they give to belfort a top 20 MW fighter

Even though Akiyama is putting on exciting fights he only win in the UFC was a bullshit decision against Alan Belcher and yet he is still getting better opponents each time

I think the UFC is trying to give Belfort a fight he's going to take decisively against a fighter who won't crumble early so Vitor gets a little cage time with "a game opponent" they want Sexyama to go out there and do what he does put on an exciting fight take a whole lotta punches and at the end Vitor will K.O him early 2nd round and the UFC will be able to promote Vitor again as this phenom striker because alot of new fans of the sport really after watching the Silva fight say Belfort was never that good any ways and he's just another hyped fighter to fight Silva. so they want him to K.O some1 with a known iron chin. But Belfort's for real man he'll get it 2gether and be back. I don't think he'll ever beat A.Silva But he'll be number 2 and 3 middleweight consistently

so if Akiyama loses does he face anderson silva next? seriously every time he losses they give him a better opponent, from leben to bisping to Marquardt and now to the previous #1 contender! I would think the UFC might wanna build up their most popular Asian fighter but i guess they really dont like him that much.

Need a win.



I'll be pulling for Belfort.

Sexyama shoudnt get in slugfests with guys like belfort and bisping man.

he has to think smart again and make a decent gameplan

I've read a lot of people questioning Akiyama fighting Belfort.



Akiyama has put on some exciting fights, win or lose--winning fight of the night 3 times. Akiyama has some name recognition and along with Belfort, will be able to be main card.



On the other hand, Vitor Belfort catapulted to a title shot in the MW division. Before his victory over Rich Franklin, he did not fight often, nor did he fight top-ranked opponents. His winning streak is not exactly a who's who of MMA contenders since he lost to Dan Henderson in Pride, except for Franklin.



So I see this fight as making sense, with both fighters coming off losses, and both having blurry rankings and both needing a win--Akiyama being the most needy.



From the UFC's point of view, it is a win-win--if Belfort wins, he can be built back up, and the flash knockout eventually put down as a lucky kick.



If Akiyama wins, he is redeemed by defeating a big-name in the middle-weight division, which would justify keeping him on and for promoting further fights. Also, there are 128 million people in Japan, and many martial arts fans--so Akiyama's success would pay dividends.

i dont really like this match up. i think akiyama should get a little easier competition, let build some cofidence back up. give belfort to blecher, he derserves a step up in competition.

Feeding Yama to Belfort to regain some kudos after Silva loss.