Belfort’s Retirement Spoiled at UFC 212 in Brazil

Vitor Belfort vs. Nate Marquardt

Belfort’s retirement aside, and there’s not a whole lot to look forward to in this matchup between two veterans of the sport.

Vitor Belfort
Record: 25-13
Height: 6’0″ (183cm)
Reach: 74.0″ (188cm)

Belfort has discussed his retirement plans publicly before his bout against Nate Marquardt at UFC 212. In particular, Vitor has stressed that this will be his last fight in the UFC, but he may continue fighting elsewhere. An option, of course, is the ‘League of Legends’ that Belfort is continually pushing for. An organisation, or event, that would pit veterans like Belfort against each other in matches with revised rulesets. While Belfort believes this would be revolutionary for mixed martial arts, I’d prefer not to see it.

It makes sense, too, for Belfort to discuss wanting to fight ageing fighters like himself, he is looking for favourable matchups. This was apparent when he called out CM Punk for his last fight in Brazil.

Belfort enters this one on the back of a Kelvin Gastelum destruction in the main-event of UFC Fight Night 106. Despite this one being later overturned to a ‘no contest’ due to Gastelum failing a drug test for marijuana, I’m still going on the books to say Belfort is riding a three-loss streak.

Nate Marquardt
Record: 35-17-2
Height: 6’0″ (183cm)
Reach: 74.0″ (188cm)

Nate ‘The Great’ Marquardt has recently been alternating between wins and losses, with a 2-3 record in his last five outings. The last time we saw Marquardt was earlier in 2017 when Nate lost a decision to hard-hitting Sam Alvey in a snooze-fest.

A win against Alvey would have been a rejuvenation of momentum for Marquardt, who had scored a walk-off head kick KO against Tamdan McCrory in his previous bout.

Many believe that this could be the final fight for Marquardt, too, who is just one year younger than Belfort at the age of 38. However, it’s difficult to see Marquardt exiting the octagon just now, especially after raking in $112,000 for the bout against McCrory last year.

The Breakdown

While the fight itself probably won’t be too entertaining, it’s still an interesting one to break down. Both fighters haven’t looked good in recent fights, and it’s fitting that they are matched against each other.

Belfort enters this one with the least momentum, that’s for sure. Through his last three fights, Belfort’s strike tally sits at a dismal 22 strikes landed and 122 received. Belfort usually doesn’t require a high-volume of strikes to win, but he indeed needs to limit the damage that is inflicted on himself. This is especially the case against heavy-handed Nate Marquardt.

Nate lost a 28-36 strike tally against Sam Alvey after landing eight more strikes in his earlier match against Tamdan McCrory (24-16). Nate is finding a home for his punches and will likely do so against Vitor Belfort in Brazil.

Betting Strategy

I’ll be betting on Nate Marquardt to get Vitor Belfort out of the cage before the fifteen minutes are up. The value is behind us for this one, too.

Paulo Borrachinha vs. Oluwale Bamgbose

Expect a bloody affair when Paulo Borrachinha and Oluwale Bamgbose step inside the octagon with each other at UFC 212.

Paulo Borrachinha
Record: 9-0
Height: 6’0″ (183cm)
Reach: 72.0″ (183cm)

If Paulo Borrachinha wasn’t already on your watchlist when entering the UFC with an 8-0 record and eight first-round stoppages, he should be now after destroying Garreth McLellan in just 77 seconds in his UFC debut.

https://twitter.com/JakeNicholsMMA/status/869520856396865536

Borrachinha is a confident striker who loads up every single one of his punches. He also showed a high-level of fight intelligence in his UFC debut by trapping McLellan against the cage and encouraging a brawl.

Oluwale Bamgbose
Record: 6-2
Height: 5’11” (180cm)
Reach: 78.0″ (198cm)

Oluwale Bamgbose’s name is scary enough before even adding the nickname of ‘Holy War Angel’. All Bamgbose’s six victories have been first-round stoppages, meaning that both fighters sport a 100% first-round stoppage rate in victories, crazy!

Bamgbose’s debut in the UFC was a short-notice fight against Uriah Hall with just one week of preparation. It didn’t end well for Bamgbose, who was wrecked by Hall in just one round. The Nigerian has since enjoyed UFC success with a spectacular 60-second knockout victory of Daniel Sarafian. The last time we saw Bamgbose, though, was back in April 2016 in which he was close to securing a first-round knockout of Cezar Ferreira but ended up losing a decision to the Brazilian.

The Breakdown

While there are similarities in their chosen method of victory, these two fighters enter the octagon with entirely different combat styles.

Bamgbose is unorthodox, awkward and incorporates plenty of movement and seamless stance-switching in his game.

Borrachinha moves forward and cuts the space in which an opponent can work with. He’ll be looking to try and trap Bamgbose with his back against the cage and start throwing bombs.

Instead of moving laterally when an opponent advances, Borrachinha moves backwards with his chin up. Bamgbose is an explosive fighter who can move forward rapidly and swarm opponents with strikes. This could cause significant trouble for Borrachinha.

However, Borrachinha should be able to overwhelm Bamgbose with forwards pressure and force him to cover up, much like all of his other opponents

Betting Strategy

Borrachinha by KO/TKO is the play here!

Yancy Medeiros vs. Erick Silva

Yancy Medeiros vs. Erick Silva is set to be featured on the main card of a pay-per-view and we can expect these two to throw down inside the cage at UFC 212.

Yancy Medeiros
Record: 13-4
Height: 5’10” (178cm)
Reach: 75.5″ (192cm)

Yancy Medeiros joins forces with fellow Hawaiian Max Holloway in storming Brazil and attempting to leave with a victory. Medeiros enters this one on the back of an impressive victory against Sean Spencer at UFC 203.

Medeiros has now racked up three submission victories in his last four victories and in this time losing contests against Dustin Poirier and Francisco Trinaldo.

Erick Silva
Record: 19-7
Height: 6’0″ (183cm)
Reach: 74.0″ (188cm)

Erick Silva has long been touted as a massive prospect for the UFC but has never quite put it together. His last outing against Luan Chagas was a good one, in which he picked Chagas apart with counter shots all night long and ripped the body of his opponent in the earlier rounds. The investment paid off and when Chagas started to tire in the third round, Silva climbed onto his back and won via choke.

The Breakdown

While Medeiros looked great in his move up to welterweight, he’ll have difficult in this one due to the counter striking ability of Erick Silva.

Medeiros has a pretty lousy jab and while his strikes are long, he leaves plenty of opportunities for an opponent to land a well-timed strike. Silva is capable of digging kicks into the body or timing a counter-punch and is more than happy to wait for his opponent to make a mistake rather than insisting on initiating the combat.

Now, Silva may be the better man for the majority of the fight but Yancy Medeiros’s chin has held up pretty well lately and he may just be able to stay standing long enough to land a damaging shot on Silva.

I’ve got Silva winning this one by decision.

Betting Strategy

Erick Silva to win is currently 1.91Bet €100 to win €19191/100Bet £100 to win £191-110Bet $100 to win $1910.91Bet HK$100 to win HK$191-1.10Bet Rp100 to win Rp1910.9100Bet RM100 to win RM191 and makes for a good selection.

I’ll be recommending increasing our returns with Silva to win by decision.

Best Bets

Vitor Belfort vs. Nate Marquardt
Nate Marquardt to win by KO/TKO
Sunday 28th May, 14:00 GMT
Odds: 2.75Bet €100 to win €2757/4Bet £100 to win £275+175Bet $100 to win $2751.75Bet HK$100 to win HK$2751.75Bet Rp100 to win Rp275-0.5714Bet RM100 to win RM275  – Bet365

Paulo Borrachinha vs. Oluwale Bamgbose
Paulo Borrachinha to win by KO/TKO
Sunday 28th May, 13:30 GMT
Odds: 1.44Bet €100 to win €14411/25Bet £100 to win £144-227Bet $100 to win $1440.44Bet HK$100 to win HK$144-2.27Bet Rp100 to win Rp1440.4400Bet RM100 to win RM144  – Bet365

Yancy Medeiros vs. Erick Silva
Erick Silva to win by Decision
Sunday 28th May, 13:00 GMT
Odds: 6.00Bet €100 to win €6005/1Bet £100 to win £600+500Bet $100 to win $6005.00Bet HK$100 to win HK$6005.00Bet Rp100 to win Rp600-0.2000Bet RM100 to win RM600  – BetVictor