5 Reasons To Look Forward To UFC 126 “Silva vs. Belfort”

On February 5, 2011, the one and only UFC will hold its highly-anticipated “Silva vs. Belfort” event, featuring an epic showdown between Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort, with Silva’s UFC Middleweight Championship on the line. Also, former champions Rich Franklin and Forrest Griffin meet in what should be a hard-hitting fight filled with non-stop action. Still, some fans may be asking themselves: what are the best reasons to check out this card? Here’s my answer to just that: 5 reasons to look forward to UFC 125 “Silva vs. Belfort”.

5. A Night Of Nostalgia For WEC Fans

If you were a huge WEC fan like me, you probably still feel a bit down in the dumps now that the WEC has officially been folded into the UFC and now solely exists in our memories. But “Silva vs. Belfort” should give us a good bit of nostalgia and also maybe some “I told you so” moments, as the card features both Miguel Torres and Donald Cerrone in what should be very exciting matches. Watching these two fighters go from the blue cage to the fabled Octagon in two high-profile encounters should make for some good, nostalgic entertainment.

4. Two Isn’t As Good As Four, But Free MMA Can’t Hurt

UFC 126 “Silva vs. Belfort” marks the return of the “UFC Prelims Live” specials to the place of their inception, Spike TV. Spike will give MMA fans a full free hour of MMA action, with both Donald Cerrone vs. Paul Kelly and Chad Medes vs. Michihiro Omigawa confirmed to air during the broadcast. It’s not as good as the four free fights the UFC recently gave us over Facebook, but free and legal MMA on TV is always a good thing, and with the increasing quality of the “Prelims Live” specials, it should be an hour well worth watching.

3. The Future In Action: Jon Jones vs. Ryan Bader

If you’ve ever seen either of these two fight, then you understand how I can say without hyperbole that these two fighters will one day be the future of the UFC Light Heavyweight division, one of the most stacked, most competitive divisions in the entire world. Both men seem to have it all and are able to do it all, they can seemingly do no wrong while winning dramatically and dominantly. This is going to be an awesome, awesome fight.

2. Putting The “War” Back Into “War Of Attrition”: Rich Franklin vs. Forrest Griffin

I honestly think this is the type of fight where neither man goes down unless he’s completely knocked senseless. This is the perfect match-up for both men, it should be a wild brawl between two men who shine in wild brawls. Neither will give an inch, and both won’t be afraid to take two to give one. This will be a down and dirty, bloody and brutal brawl… and it has all the makings of a Fight of the Year candidate.

1. Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort, “The Fight of the Century”

Those are Belfort’s words and not mine, by the way. But they do certainly fit the bill, this does have all the makings of one of the best fights in UFC history. It just has to work out the way we all think it will, with Belfort aggressively moving forward and Silva staving him off with the best counter-strikes he’s ever thrown. I’ve said it more than once, but I’m so pumped for this fight that it absolutely bears repeating: so long as it lives up to its potential, this is going to be an amazing, astounding fight.

So there you have it, fans and friends: five great reasons to tune in and see UFC 126 “Silva vs. Belfort”. What about you? As the date draws ever-closer, what are you most looking forward to for this event?