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When he returned to action last September, he destroyed veteran Jason MacDonald in the first round of their bout, and after another short injury layoff, he's ready to return this May against one of the most dangerous fighters in the UFC: submission specialist Rousimar Palhares.
"I need a challenge at this point," Belcher said on Tuesday at a press conference for UFC on Fox 3 (transcribed by MMAJunkie.com). "I can't really say that the other guys don't have the big name or they're not good fighters. Everybody is amazing, but really, I need the top guys to really challenge me right now."
That need for a challenge led him to the bout with Palhares, who has submitted five opponents in his UFC career, including four of his last six. But where others have turned away, Belcher embraces the opportunity to take on such a fighter.
"They offered me someone else that I didn't think was, I don't know, the right fight for me," Belcher said. "Joe [Silva] was kind of like, 'Well, there's nobody else unless you want to fight Palhares, and nobody wants to fight him.' To me, that made perfect sense. I know it's a dangerous fight, but I knew it would put me where I wanted to be. I really want a challenge."
Where he wants to be is in the title picture in the UFC's middleweight division, and he feels this is the type of fight that moves him much closer than any other matchup at this point. A win over Palhares will put him in some good company in the UFC, as only Dan Henderson and Nate Marquardt hold that distinction, and he understands that it's far from an easy fight.
"I want to really make a run," he said. "Everything I've done up until this point has been, I won't say mediocre or that I haven't given my all, but I'm ready to rededicate myself and totally give 100 percent to fighting and winning every single fight and trying to go to the belt... You have to get ready for heel hooks and leglocks and that kind of stuff, so you bring in people that are really good at that kind of stuff and drill those positions. It's nothing new. Everybody has something that they're really good at. You just try to create the situation that you're going to be in, and you just train for it."
"If I let myself get in that situation, I could definitely lose, so it's a very interesting matchup. It's going to be a lot of fun and a dangerous fight for me. He hurts everyone that he beats, usually, so it's going to be a good challenge."
Ultimately, Belcher wants to prove to himself that he belongs at the top of the division, and this is the fight that will help him find out whether he does or not.
"I feel like I've done a lot of good things in the sport," Belcher said. "I'm on a pretty good little winning streak, but just coming off of the eye injury, it took a lot out of me. It took a couple years to recover, but I'm ready to get after it again."
"I want to find out where I'm at. I don't want any easy fights, no warm-up fights or anything like that. I just want to jump back in there and take the challenge."
Penick's Analysis: Belcher's an immensely talented fighter, and it was very unfortunate that the torn retina held him out of action for a year and a half of his prime. Still, he's far from done with his growth as a fighter, and this is going to be a huge opportunity for him to plug himself into the top end of the division. Palhares is extremely dangerous, but Belcher's no slouch on the ground. He's also a very intelligent fighter, and his combined all around game make him just as tough a fight for Palhares as Henderson and Marquardt were. This is the fight each of them need in order to put forth a break out performance, and that makes for one extremely exciting matchup, and one that will play out on free TV this May.
Delson Heleno Dan Henderson Josh Hendricks Ed Herman Heath Herring
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