Resurgence of the Phenom

Coming off an extended hiatus, we here at Smashmouth have a lot of catching up to do. I think I would like to start with the biggest thing to happen in the last six months. What could this be? Anderson Silva's destruction of Forrest Griffin? No. Chuck on dancing with the stars? Definitely not. Rampage's departure from MMA? No, we all know that won't last.

No, I'm talking about Vitor Belfort's first round knock out of Rich "Ace" Franklin. While this probably isn't the biggest upset in UFC history, it does establish the resurgence of Vitor Belfort (19-8). Not only had it been over four and a half years since The Phenom had fought in the octagon, it also marked 12 years from which Vitor first walked in as a 19 year old freak athlete.

In Vitor's last fight in the UFC he lost a Split Decision to Tito Ortiz in a lackluster performance. Many thought this had marked the end of relevance for Vitor in MMA. This was until Vitor made a Splash in the MMA world again after he destroyed Matt Lindland, and Terry Martin.

After Affliction disbanded the UFC picked up Vitor's contract, and put him right to work. At UFC 103 Vitor looked great, and proved that he is one of the fastest, and strongest fighters in Mixed Martial Arts. Now with the talks that Vitor will fight Anderson "The Spider" Silva in January it poses an odd question. Can speed and strength overcome skill and style?

Time will tell. But I think that Vitor will be the first fighter in the UFC to upset the Spider, and give the middleweight belt a new home.