Vitor Belfort Vs Yoshihiro Akiyama: UFC 133 Major Update
By Sean Farrell
UFC president Dana White revealed to ESPN UK that a middleweight matchup between Vitor Belfort and Yoshihiro Akiyama has been scheduled for UFC 133 later this summer. This fight is expected to be the human form of Rock-em-Sock-em Robots as both men have an amazing output and are always in exciting bouts.
“Verbal agreements are in for a battle between two of the most exciting fighters in the middleweight division,” said White. “Coming off three straight Fight of the Night performances, Yoshihiro Akiyama will take on former UFC light-heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort in Philadelphia.”
Vitor Belfort has established himself as a legend in the sport of MMA and one of the best middleweights in the world over his almost fifteen year career as a professional. Since he exploded onto the scene with a lightning knockout of fellow legend Wanderlei Silva at the UFC’s first and only trip to Brazil back in 1998, “The Phenom” has since compiled a record of 19-9 over several different promotions (including Pride and Strikeforce) as well as dealt with numerous tragedy as his sister was kidnapped and killed and he recently lost his grandmother.
After rejoining the UFC and knocking out former middleweight champion Rich Franklin in his first fight back with the promotion, Belfort earned himself a shot at the middleweight crown. Like all other comers to “The Spider’s” throne however, Belfort was turned away in short order, losing via first round knockout due to a front kick to the face when the two met this past February.
Japanese-Korean judoka Yoshihiro Akiyama has proven himself to be one of the most exciting fighters in any sport over his sixteen-fight professional career. “Sexyama” as he’s refered has earned Fight of the Night honors in all three of his UFC performances, each of which was a close and hard-fought contest. Akiyama’s overall record stands at 13-3, while his UFC record is 1-2. His most recent outing saw him drop a unanimous decision to every middleweight’s new enemy: Michael Bisping.
UFC 133 is scheduled to go down on August 6th at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.