UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson II will air on November 7, 2015 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
#4 VITOR “THE PHENOM” BELFORT (24-11-0) vs. #12 DAN “HENDO” HENDERSON (31-13-0)
This is a five round main event in the middleweight division. In this fight are two fighters that had previously faced each other two times prior with Henderson winning the first fight in Pride and Belfort winning the second in the UFC so it only makes sense to have them face each other for a third time to see who is really the better fighter. Belfort brings boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, judo and jiu-jitsu that has helped him become successful in three different weight classes and even becoming a former Light Heavyweight Champion. Henderson brings striking and wrestling to this fight that has helped him compete in three weight classes as well as giving him many great victories with him being the fourth and last man to ever defeat Fedor Emelianenko. Now what will make this fight worthwhile is not just the fact that this is the third time these two will face each other, but because both of these fighters are planning to make a great comeback in their careers and what better way to start off their new path than to finish a long forgotten trilogy fight. Both fighters contain a great mix of both feet and ground game, but what will be the key factor in this fight is cardio in which Henderson holds a the advantage especially from his Olympic wrestling that has helped him overcome many fights. If Henderson paces himself and at the same time and causes damage to Belfort then he will be able to finish or overcome the fight in a decision. Though if Belfort gets Henderson in a fury of punches then it will be lights out for Henderson and he will be back on the losing end again. My prediction: Henderson wins via knockout in Round 1.
#4 GLOVER TEIXEIRA (23-4-0) vs. #9 PATRICK “DURKIN” CUMMINS (8-2-0)
This is a three round fight in the light heavyweight division. In this fight are two fighters that are coming off of a win and are looking to continue their winning streak by adding another impressive victory to their record. Teixeira brings powerful striking and jiu-jitsu that helped him not only get back on a winning streak, but also made him go on a seven year winning streak with twenty wins in that time span. Cummins brings striking and wrestling that has helped him get back on the right track and also lead him to impressive victories over a short MMA career. Now Cummins has ground game and striking to keep toe-to-toe with Teixeira, but what will be the deciding factor in this fight is Teixeira’s striking that comes with great knockout power and that is something Cummins has never faced before. It looks like Teixeira has this fight in the bag and will continue his current winning streak, unless Cummins can put his wrestling to good use and wear down Teixeira enough to where he could TKO him or even perform a submission hold on him and cause one of the biggest upsets in the light heavyweight division. My prediction: Teixeira wins via knockout in Round 1.
#12 FABIO “CAIPIRA DE ACO” MALDONADO (22-7-0) vs. #14 COREY “BEASTIN 25/8” ANDERSON (7-1-0)
This is a three round fight in the light heavyweight division. In this fight are two fighters at the bottom of the leader board hoping to find their way into the top spots and to do so they plan to make an impressive win with the hopes of not only getting on the winning streak, but also earn fights against top contenders as well. Maldonado brings boxing and jiu-jitsu that has lead him to thirteen wins by knockout and also giving him a chin that can take a massive amount of punishment. Anderson brings jiu-jitsu and wrestling that has helped him become successful in all three methods of victory. This fights seems like a legit fight, but what will be the key factor to a victory in this fight will be striking power which Anderson has and Maldonado does not seem to show much in his fights. Though Maldonado’s chin is very tough and with him being able to take massive amounts of punishment it looks like Maldonado could use that to his advantage and make Anderson wear himself down to the point that he sneaks a knockout victory in without Anderson ever knowing what hit him. My prediction: Anderson wins via knockout in Round 2.
