Belcher Preparing for Akiyama at UFC 100

Written by Paul Fladten

Monday, 22 June 2009 15:46

belcher At UFC 100 in July, Alan "The Talent" Belcher will be looking to capture his fifth win over his last six fights in the world's premiere fighting organization. And he realizes that a victory over Korean superstar Yoshihiro Akiyama would put him in the upper echelon of the middleweight division.

“There are a lot of guys that have lost to Anderson Silva. It pretty much leaves Demian Maia and Nate Marquardt. I think that if I win this fight in a dominating fashion, I deserve a fight for the top contender spot.”

While Belcher may have only just turned 25 in April, he is already a proven veteran. Over the last three years, Belcher has fought under the UFC banner eight times. In that time, he has beaten such quality opponents as: Denis Kang, Ed Herman, and Jorge Santiago.

“I’ve learned a lot in my fights in the UFC,” Belcher said. “I learned against Denis Kang that it doesn’t really matter how much of a legend you’re fighting or how great the person seems, they’re just human. I proved a lot to myself in that fight. I know now that even if I’m losing a fight, I can always come back and knock a guy out or even submit him.”

Training Under Duke Roufus

Even though Belcher is from Biloxi, Mississippi, he makes sure to train before each big fight at Duke Roufus Academy. He has won four of his five fights in which he has teamed up with Roufus. His only loss came after Belcher decided to switch up his training techniques.

“The only fight I’ve lost with Duke was against Jason Day, and I trained back home in Biloxi. I changed because we had just done a long training camp for Almeida, but that fight never happened. I was spending a lot of time away from home, so I took the lazy route and Duke just came down for a week or two.”

Belcher realized that training in Milwaukee has made him more physically and mentally prepared for his time inside the octagon.

“Every time I’ve come up to Milwaukee for a six week camp, I’ve improved and been in tremendous shape. I’ve won every fight I’ve ever had after Duke has been in my corner and after I trained in Milwaukee.”

Upcoming Bout With Akiyama

On July 11, Alan Belcher will be given the opportunity of a lifetime. Belcher’s matchup with Akiyama has been tagged by the UFC as one of the five televised bouts on the main card. UFC 100 has been predicted to be the highest grossing pay-per-view event in MMA history.

“It’s a great honor,” Belcher said. “The UFC has faith that I’m going to bring it. Every one of my fights has been real exciting and explosive. They feel I have the potential, and everyone is starting to feel that I’m getting in my groove. Also, Akiyama is a brawler, he likes to stand, and there is going to be some fireworks.”

In his preparation for Akiyama, Belcher has worked on his standup, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling evenly. He said that he has been working on a lot of scrambling and scoring takedowns with his takedown defense. But most of all, Belcher said that his mindset is what will be the most different in this fight.

“What has changed is my mindset. I feel I can be more offensive with my jiu-jitsu now. I’m not young anymore, but being young in the UFC has taught me a lot. I’m starting to mature and string wins together. I’m going to be aggressive and keep going in there and winning.”

The Future

In a middleweight division that has been nearly cleaned out by champion Anderson Silva, Alan Belcher finds himself in a promising situation. While Marquardt, Maia, Dan Henderson, and Michael Bisping may be higher on the radar of UFC officials, Belcher is not far behind. A win over Akiyama would skyrocket “The Talent” into title contention.

“The UFC title isn’t just a dream anymore. It’s starting to become within reach. I’m starting to set my goals a little bit higher, and I feel like I’m in striking distance for that title. I’m training really hard to win my next, get that contender fight, and then get that title shot. I’m hoping within my next three fights to be battling for the belt. It’s something I’m really starting to take seriously.”

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