• UFC 133

'No time for popcorn' warns bullish Belfort

ESPN staff
August 4, 2011
Vitor Belfort destroyed Rich Franklin at UFC 103 © Getty Images
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Vitor Belfort has warned fight fans not to blink at UFC 133, predicting a quick knockout of Yoshihiro Akiyama in the co-main event.

Belfort and Akiyama are two of the middleweight division's most explosive fighters, capable of ending a fight in one punch. There is much more to either man's game, but at the foundation of their beings is a pure desire to entertain.

Belfort won five on the bounce, including a violent TKO victory over Rich Franklin, before being defeated by Anderson Silva's memorable front kick in his last outing. Akiyama has lost his last two, but he has taken home the Fight of the Night cheque in his last three.

As a result, Belfort expects his rival to come marching forward, and he is promising fireworks in the centre of the Octagon.

"I'm gonna bang and go out looking for a knockout," the Phenom told the UFC's official website. "He's really a tough guy, he really likes to stand there and stay punching.

"I'm really focused… that's how I train myself, how I can be 100 per cent to fight my opponent. I'm ready for him… he better be ready for me.

"Philly is the city of Rocky. And Rocky is known to knock people out. So don't get your popcorn and don't leave your couch, stay there and wait [for that knockout]."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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