Fighter Profiles
Paulo Thiago (14-5)
Michel Richard dos Prazeres (16-0)
CageWall Event Page
UFC on FX 8: Belfort vs. Rockhold
Overview
Paulo Thiago was originally scheduled to fight Lance Benoist, but an injury to Benoist forced him to withdraw. Replacing him is UFC newcomer Michel Richard dos Prazeres.
Fighter Profiles
Paulo Thiago (14-5)
Lance Benoist (6-2)
CageWall Event Page
UFC on FX 8: Belfort vs. Rockhold
Overview
Paulo Thiago will have his home country fans rooting him on for a much needed win. Brazil’s special police force member has lost 4 of his last 5, but aside from the 1st round knockout at the hands of Siyar Bahadurzada, they’ve all been decision losses. One of the losses, against Diego Sanchez, even won “Fight of the Night”. He’s 32, but watching his last fight against Dong Hyun Kim, that’s not really a factor. Kim was relentless with his grappling attack and Thiago hung in there. It was a horrible fight to watch, and if you’re looking for evidence to justify cutting boring styles of fight, Kim would be the first one to go. I only know that Thiago is still in great shape for him to withstand that attack and it will be great to see him at home fighting for his UFC life.
Jon Jones submits Vitor Belfort
An awesome card of fights from start to finish. A great comeback for the UFC that certainly helps us forget about the UFC 151 cancellation. A big congrats to the promotion and to all the fighters who really fought their asses off.
The attendance at the Air Canada Centre was 16,800 with a gate of $1,921,000.
Fighter Bonuses and Results for UFC 152: Jones vs Belfort:
Jon Jones faces off against Vitor Belfort
Weigh-ins for ‘UFC 152: Jones vs Belfort’ took place Friday afternoon at the Mattamy Athletic Centre at The Gardens in Toronto. All 24 fighters made weight except for Charles Oliveira who missed by two-tenths of a pound. After some discussion on stage, it was agreed that the fight will go on as scheduled, and he was not fined.
A pretty high energy weigh-in overall. Seth Baczynski was cutting it close and came up with a bunch of layers, but he made it. Sean Pierson and Matt Hamill received good cheers from the crowd. The Stann-Bisping fight announcement received a nice applause, as did Brian Stann. Bisping however was met with half boos, half cheers. Vitor received a nice applause, but Jon Jones was mostly boo’d throughout his intro and when he was interviewed by Joe Rogan. He took it with a smile though.
Breaking news, this event is still not cancelled. If Vitor gets injured though, all bets are off. Let’s hope there’s none of that nonsense. Unfortunately though, we are stuck with a lopsided title bout and a so-so card overall. Some good matchups but I still have a bad taste in my mouth from the UFC 151 cancellation. I’m sure it will all be forgotten though post-event, especially since the frequency of events jacks up a notch following this one with seven events happening up to and including UFC 154 on November 17th. Things should get back on track nicely.
My predictions are below. This post can also be used as a discussion post to express any related views you may have on this event.