Belfort edges ahead in the odds
Brazilian Vitor Belfort is the 1.833 favourite to beat Cypriot Michael Bisping at UFC on FX7 on January 19th. Both fighters are considered amongst the best middleweights in the division.
35-year-old Belfort has a UFC record of 21-10-0 and comes into the fight winning three of his last fights, despite losing last time out against Jon Jones – however that was at light heavyweight.
Belfort will enter the cage around 185lbs (20lbs lighter than his last fight) and stands at 6ft, with a reach of 74”. The favourite will use a southpaw stance and is renowned for his explosive strikes and is a craftsman of Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Bisping in comparison is two years younger at 33 and enters the cage with a record of 23-4-0, and has won four of his last five bouts.
The Cypriot has a slight height (6ft 2”) and reach (75.5”) advantage over his opponent. Bisping is an orthodox fighter and is regarded to have exceptional heart and fitness, and the ability to adapt to each situation that arises in the cage.
Striking: Expect Bisping to throw punches
Bisping lands on average an impressive 4.57 strikes per minute, which is testament to his excellent cardiovascular.
Belfort meanwhile throws just 1.35 strikes per minute but has an improved accuracy of 48% compared to just 41% of Bisping.
Interestingly Bisping (2.47) absorbs more strikes than Belfort (2.16) per minute, which could be due to throwing more punches and therefore opponents must throw punches and kicks back in defence.
Belfort stops 50% of his opponent’s attacks, while Bisping is defensively solid rebuffing 70% of his opponents striking attacks – which could prove decisive, as Belfort is renowned as an explosive striker.
Grappling: Belfort holds the advantage on the mat
Despite averaging (1.34) less take-downs per minute than Bisping (2.02), Belfort’s success rate is at 60% compared to Bisping who succeeds with less than half (46%) of his attempted takedowns.
Once again though Bisping will look to nullify the threat from Belfort with his solid defence. The Cypriot on average avoids 60% of his opponent’s take-down attempts, while Belfort is more susceptible with an average of 49%.
On average Belfort will attempt a submission 0.8 times every 15 minutes in the cage, while Bisping’s average sits at 0.62.
Like the odds suggest this fight is not clear-cut. Bisping should be the more aggressive, but Belfort will counter with explosive strikes and well-timed take-down attempts.
