MMA Fighting: All Posts by Mike Chiappetta

White: Ligament damage slowing timeline of Jon Jones' return; MRI should offer more clarity

2013-05-24T01:29:25Z

LAS VEGAS -- UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones is still on the mend after an injury in the final seconds of his recent title defense against Chael Sonnen. While his left big toe was originally believed to be broken, it was later diagnosed as a dislocation. And while Jones hopes to return to the cage soon, there is not yet a timetable to his return, according to UFC president Dana White, who spoke to the champ on Wednesday.

White offered up some previously unrevealed information on the injury on Thursday, when he told the media following a UFC 160 press conference that Jones had also suffered ligament damage in addition to the gruesome dislocation.

"He says he feels great, the toe's healing good, but the problem is that ligament," he said. "That ligament popped. Anytime you tear a ligament, blood flow helps repair the thing and heal, and you don't get a lot of blood flow to the toe. Who knows? This thing could be six weeks, it could be six months. It's a pain in the ass, man. Always some little, crazy thing."

Jones, who is currently in Russia for a personal appearance, recently had the stitches taken out of his toe. White said that he plans to get an MRI on his toe when he returns. That could offer the fighter and the promotion more clarity on when he'll be able to return. Jones has repeatedly said in interviews that he hopes to fight Alexander Gustafsson in his next time out.

Jones' successful defense over Sonnen in April marked his fifth overall, tying him with Tito Ortiz for most in the division's history. He has said that he intends to break that record and then consider a possible move to heavyweight.

White: Vitor Belfort could fight Silva-Weidman winner, TRT use no issue in location of next bout

2013-05-24T00:45:19Z

LAS VEGAS -- A rematch of Brazil's "Fight of the Century" could be brewing, if middleweight champion Anderson Silva gets by Chris Weidman in July. If he does, he may have Vitor Belfort waiting for him on the other side.

That's the word from UFC president Dana White, who said on Thursday that a surging Belfort could be the man to fight "either one of those guys," referring to the Silva-Weidman winner.

To pump the brakes a bit, White said there was no definitive plan, and that it was possible Belfort could go in a different direction as far as match-ups go, but he also was clear that Belfort would merit some consideration based on his recent resume, which includes four finish wins in his last five bouts.

During that time, he's knocked out Luke Rockhold, Michael Bisping, Anthony Johnson and Yoshihiro Akiyama, and only lost to reigning light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

Of course, he also has a history with Silva, as the two met at UFC 126 in Feb. 2011, with Silva winning with a memorable front kick KO. That win helped to make Silva a superstar in Brazil, where Belfort was previously a more widely known commodity.

Meanwhile, White also said that the location of Belfort's next bout would not be influenced by Belfort's use of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). Belfort has received an exemption to use TRT in at least his last two fights, but some commissions, like Nevada, have said Belfort was not likely to receive an exemption in their jurisdictions due to a past positive steroids test.

White said that has no bearing on the UFC's plans, and that the promotion will place Belfort on a card wherever they need him, and let him go through the commission process of earning an exemption.

"Why wouldn't they give him an exemption? That's up to them," he said. "The times he's done it, he's followed [the rules]. We're not keeping Vitor out of fighting anywhere. We've had Vitor fight in Brazil because Vitor sells out in Brazil.

"It's all a bunch of conspiracy f---ing crock of shit, is what it is," he continued. "Whether it's reporters or fans or whatever that want to go after Vitor. Vitor's on TRT. Everybody knows it. I dislike TRT, and we are testing guys that are on TRT, to make sure they're within the limits and they're not cheating."

White said that Belfort underwent extra testing prior to his most recent fight to ensure his testosterone levels stayed in normal range, and that he will do the same in the future.

Dana White: Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza vs. Yushin Okami 'will happen'

2013-05-23T23:39:46Z

LAS VEGAS -- Fresh off an impressive victory in his UFC debut, Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza will step into a top 10 matchup in his next bout when he takes on perennially ranked Yushin Okami.

According to UFC president Dana White, the fight "will happen," though he didn't yet have a time frame for its scheduling. He also said it wasn't yet signed but stated it was the promotion's intended direction.

"That's the fight we're going to make," he said.

The fight could serve to mint a top contender. Souza (18-3, 1 no contest), a former Strikeforce middleweight champion," has won four straight since losing the belt, with all four coming by way of stoppage.

Vitor Belfort also has a case for that top contender billing after two straight highlight-reel knockouts. The division should find more clarity in July, after the matchup between champ Anderson Silva and challenger Chris Weidman is decided. White confirmed on Thursday that Silva recently finalized a 10-fight contract extension.

Against Chris Camozzi on UFC on FX 8, 'Jacare' continued his impressive run, slicing through him en route to a first-round arm triangle choke.

Okami has captured three straight, with consecutive wins over Hector Lombard, Alan Belcher and Buddy Roberts.

While Fallon Fox draws headlines, opponent Allanna Jones, CFA president see opportunity

2013-05-21T18:01:04Z

It was in 2006 when Jorge De La Noval made the decision to get into mixed martial arts. He'd just survived a health scare that included heart surgery, and at 26 years old, the perspective that comes with facing mortality followed. Instead of chasing dollar signs as he had with his previous business, it was time to do something he loved. He's still doing that, even though after promoting 10 Championship Fighting Alliance cards, he's yet to turn a profit.

Friday night's event, which stars the headline-grabbing transgender fighter Fallon Fox in a featured role, won't end that stretch of bleeding money. This event won't, and neither likely will the next one, or the next one. Yet De La Noval is undeterred, determined to take advantage of the spotlight that has suddenly come towards his promotion after a surprise revelation.

"Do I plan on competing with the UFC one day? If I tell you no, I'm limiting my dreams," he told MMA Fighting. "Are we ready to compete with them now? Of course not. The way I'm looking at, if I'm comparing it to a fighter, this is my first fight. It's going to take time and investment to create a platform where we can compete."

That vision didn't always include women. It wasn't until CFA's last event that De La Noval cooked up a tournament format to include women. At the time of that announcement, there was little fanfare, but things exploded after its opening round, after Fox revealed to Sports Illustrated that she had been born male.

When that news broke, reaction followed in every conceivable direction, from ignorant hate speech to complete acceptance. Professionally, the debate centered on one thing: whether someone born a man should be able to compete against women in a combat sport. While some felt there was insufficient scientific proof that Fox had no physical advantage from being born a male, others were satisfied that her years of hormone therapy had stripped her of any edge.

Fox became a topic hot enough that mainstream outlets as varied as TMZ and The New York Times have followed her story. Of course, many female MMA stars were asked their thoughts as well, with some like UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey saying Fox should be precluded from competing in women's MMA, and others like veteran Julie Kedzie welcoming Fox into the women's fight game.

In CFA, there were many initial concerns from the female fighters, De La Noval said, but that didn't last for long, as they learned more about Fox's therapy, and saw the attention she began receiving. Since then, all of the remaining tournament contestants have signed amendments to their contracts stating they are willing to fight Fox.

Allanna Jones shared a locker room with Fox in March. The two were able to celebrate victories on the same night. As Jones recalls it, Fox seemed like a nice, polite person.

"We both shared that experience," Jones told MMA Fighting. "Every fighter, and me and Fallon, we share the same dream. We want to be successful and fight the best. We want to pursue a dream."

At the time, Jones had no idea of Fox's secret. When she found out alongside the rest of the sporting world, Jones said she didn't immediately decide to go through with her semifinal fight against Fox. Instead, she decided to research the subject, and she saw enough to believe the playing field was level. Against the objection of some of her loved ones and confidantes, including her manager, she accepted the fight.

"i know people were kind of shocked by it and I was a little shocked by it too," she said. "I was mostly upset because she didn’t come clean in the beginning, before the tournament ever started. I think that would be a normal reaction from anyone. I felt like that's something you should be honest about. I felt like women should have the choice to fight her, and that they'd almost been tricked into it. Not that she was trying to trick them, but I think it would have been better if she said it in the beginning. I could also put myself in her position and think about it from her point of view. I could understand that she didn't want to deal with the backlash, but I guess it's something she was going to have to deal with."

Jones grew up playing basketball and track, and initially joined an MMA class because her brother Victor was interested in the sport, but also because she wanted to lose weight. At the time, she tipped the scales at over 200 pounds.

From the first day, she was hooked, spending 12 hours at the gym, 9 am to 9 pm, trying to soak it up. At the time -- this was back in 2009 -- competition wasn't forefront on her mind. But she also couldn't lie to herself. She knew it was something she wanted to try.

Upon competing for the first time, Jones' love affair with the sport only grew. The rush of fighting in front of an electric live crowd was something that couldn't be replicated.

Recently, the 26-year-old Jones tried out for the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter. That was a thrill, and she still harbors the dream of eventually fighting in the UFC, but she's fully cognizant of the possibility that Friday is as big as it will get for her. The BankUnited Center in Coral Gables, Florida holds around 8,000 fans. The event will also be broadcast live on AXS TV. While her fight with Fox isn't officially the main event -- that designation goes to veterans Travis Wiuff and Mike Kyle -- it sure seems that way, dwarfing the headliner in terms of attention.

"I want the fans to support me because they want to see me win, not because they want bad things to happen to Fallon Fox," she said. "She's human just like we all are. She has feelings, too. I just want everything to be positive."

De La Noval is hopeful they will be. He said after promoting 10 events, the organization has never even had a fight in the stands. That's by design, he says, as the promotion works to present an upscale event where fans are comfortable dressing up and presenting themselves with class. The behavior usually follows suit, he says.

But just in case, they are taking additional precautions, hiring extra security to keep an eye on Fox. The Florida State Boxing Commission, which will oversee the event, is taking extra steps as well, requiring blood tests from Fox to check her testosterone levels and ensure they are not higher than average for a female.

Like Fox and Jones, De La Noval has big hopes for Friday night. He views the wide exposure as another step in building his brand. But whether his drawing card Fox wins or Jones stops her momentum, the CFA leader thinks this is a significant step in an undeniable climb. Building a promotion takes seminal moments. The opportunity is here, and he can't let it pass.

"Everybody in MMA is going to be watching," he said. "They're going to see how committed we are to the sport. We're not basing this company on Fallon Fox. We're not making the investment based on one fighter. It just happens that we have her and that she has a lot of momentum going. It's bringing a lot of attention, and everyone is going to try to enjoy it and take advantage of all that attention and exposure. This is an opportunity you can't even pay to create. It happens when it happens, so we're all doing the best we can with it."

The Forward Roll: UFC on FX 8 edition

2013-05-21T16:00:03Z

Vitor Belfort's knockout win over Luke Rockhold last Saturday predictably received quite a bit of attention in the hours that followed. There were those who simply wanted to enjoy it for the "wow" factor, and others who used it as a springboard to delve once again into the debate over testosterone replacement therapy. Both viewpoints have validity. As Belfort's supporters note, he is not breaking any rules. As his detractors point out, his past positive drug test places him under greater scrutiny than some other TRT users.

I chose to write about Belfort's TRT use on Sunday, and many of those who commented on my column noted that Belfort seems to get far more criticism than other TRT users like Dan Henderson and Chael Sonnen. This may be true, although it's hard to tell because there are no verifiable metrics to prove it. I will say that winning changes the discussion. I will also say that our knowledge of TRT has grown quite a bit over the last year, when Belfort has been active and winning, and Sonnen and Hendo have been either absent or losing.

The truth about the TRT debate is that there is no easy answers about it. It is not a wonder drug. If it was, Frank Mir would be the heavyweight champion of the world. It is also not the only drug in town. Others are cheating behind closed doors, and there is an argument to be made that at least someone like Belfort is trying to do things on the up and up.

But even if it is legal, the whole of the TRT landscape in MMA seems out of whack. While it is true that a few athletes may have a legitimate, verifiable need for it, the number of cases we've seen in MMA makes it a near statistical certainty that some fighters are either gaming the system or getting bad advice from doctors. Belfort may well have a real need for it, and it would be irresponsible for me to suggest that he doesn't. But in 2013, whether you're a pro fighter, a football player or a golfer, this is the reality you face as a pro athlete. If you go this route, skepticism will follow, and the criticism of the treatment is yours to own along with its benefits.

On to the predictions ...

Vitor Belfort
After notching another knockout, Belfort has the best middleweight contender resume of anyone not named Chris Weidman. The UFC could wait for the middleweight title match between Weidman and Anderson Silva, and have Belfort face the winner, or give him one more fight against a name like "Jacare" or Yushin Okami.
Prediction: I think they'll wait and see what happens. If Silva beats Weidman, we get the Belfort-Silva rematch. If Silva loses to Weidman, he gets an automatic Weidman rematch and Belfort moves on to the next best contender, someone like "Jacare."

Luke Rockhold
After 10 months off, Rockhold faced a tough task, stepping in against a rejuvenated Belfort. For all the talk about TRT, yes, it's also fair to say that Belfort has added some new tricks to his arsenal, and that comes through hard work. I pointed out in my breakdown before the fight that if Rockhold had any trouble, it would be early, due to reacclimatizing himself to the speed of the fight. He never got the chance.
Prediction: A fight with Michael Bisping makes sense now

Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza
Here's another former Strikeforce stud who went underappreciated fighting in Zuffa's junior circuit. If there was any question over whether he was for real, he answered it by steamrolling the surging Chris Camozzi. Of course, there's still one more level on the UFC middleweight totem pole, and he's not far from reaching it.
Prediction: As mentioned, Belfort is a possibility, but if it's not him, how about he draws Okami in a dangerous matchup for both.

Rafael dos Anjos
With wins in five of his last six bouts including Saturday's close call over Evan Dunham, dos Anjos steps into the top 10, where something significant must be on the horizon.
Prediction: He fights Pat Healy when Healy returns from his suspension

Rafael Natal
Natal doesn't blow you away with any one thing he does, but he is certainly a true professional, always coming into his bouts in great shape, and taking over late when his opponent fades. In each of his last two fights, he won mostly because of his conditioning. Still, though while he's won four of his last five, he's yet to make much of a dent in the division.
Prediction: He faces CB Dollaway when Dollaway is ready to return from injury towards the end of the year

Nik Lentz
Hacran Dias was the proud owner of a nine-fight win streak until running into Lentz, who has seen his career rejuvenated since moving down to featherweight. Lentz's grinding style and stifling top control will be challenged as he moves into the upper echelons of a division that is stocked with good wrestlers, including the likes of Jose Aldo, Chad Mendes and Frankie Edgar. For now though, he still has room to grow.
Prediction: He faces the winner of the UFC 162 matchup between Cub Swanson and Dennis Siver

Gleison Tibau
Do you know that Gleison Tibau has competed 19 times in the octagon? That's tied for 11th most all time. More amazing? Though it seems like he's been around forever, he's still just 29. Is this the time he finally realizes his potential?
Prediction: He's matched up with Ross Pearson

John Lineker
Flyweights with power are a rare breed, which makes Lineker an especially intriguing prospect. Just 23, he has knockouts in four of his last seven wins. He's also capable of keeping the frantic pace that the 125-pounders are known for. If the rest of his game tightens up, the UFC may find themselves with a gem.
Prediction: He fights Tim Elliott

Manager: Nate Diaz feels no remorse for tweet that got him fined, suspended

2013-05-20T20:07:44Z

After firing off a tweet that used a gay slur to criticize Bryan Caraway, UFC star Nate Diaz was quickly fined $20,000 and suspended 90 days for violating the UFC's code of conduct. Diaz has not been heard from publicly since then, but his manager Mike Kogan has attempted to defuse the situation by explaining that Diaz was using the term in a different context than the more generally understood, offensive way.

That explanation hasn't been enough for some critics, who believe that Diaz might have missed a lesson on sensitivity, but Diaz's team is holding steady on their stance.

According to Kogan, who discussed the incident on Monday's edition of The MMA Hour, Diaz feels he has nothing to be sorry for.

"Nate doesn't feel remorse for what he said," Kogan told host Ariel Helwani."I don't feel remorse for what he said. I don't feel remorse for defending what he said or elaborating on what he said. Because it was not a homophobic statement. It was not intended to offend homosexuals. We weren't even talking about homosexuals. One can debate the multiple uses of this term. We can sit here and debate in the English language, there's a lot of words that mean a lot of different things, but whatever. As it is, it wasn’t intended to be used the way people tried to twist the way it was being used. So therefore, what does he have to feel bad about? The fact that [Caraway] shouldn't gloat over other person's issues and try to kiss ass to make a point?

"Did anybody ask Bryan Caraway about his stance on marijuana? No," continued. "Nobody asked Bryan Caraway anything. They just gave him the damn money because he was chasing after Dana all over Twitter begging for the g------n bonus. Just take your money and go away."

Kogan said that while he understand some could be offended by Diaz's choice of words, he believed the context of Diaz's tweet made it clear he wasn't intending to offend anyone in the gay community.

"If we would have made a homophobic statement, or a statement that was clearly intended to insult homosexuals, that’s one thing," he said. "You come out and say, 'Hey, you know what, I’m really sorry it hurt people. We didn’t mean to do that.' But to me, and this is just my philosophy, and I'm sure it's going to be disagreed with by many people. This is how I think, and how Nate thinks. The mere fact that there is a protocol to deal with these crisis situation implies its lack of sincerity."

Kogan said that while he thought there was a better choice of words available, any apology would be an admission that he intentionally intended to offend the gay community.

He also suggested the code of conduct has been enforced unevenly, nothing other incidents that took place that didn't result in fines. He said he plans to have a private conversation with UFC leadership to gain a better understanding on what exactly constitutes a violation, how a fine amount is determined, and how a benefitting charity is chosen.

"I'm not trying to throw people under the bus," he said. "I'm just saying, people are out there making their opinions known and I guess, randomly, some opinions are more bolder than the others. Or maybe there's some kind of Twitter hate meter, if it goes up too high then you start to punish people. I don't really know. It really doesn't matter. It is what it is."

When Diaz is cleared for competition in a few months, Kogan said he will likely be heading north to 170 pounds, where he fought four times in 2010-11. Kogan said that over the years, Diaz's activity has made the draining cut to 155 more laborious, and that moving upward would give him a chance to add more muscle to his 6-foot frame.

Meanwhile, another client, Roy Nelson, is likely due for a big raise, as he's finished out his previous contract and is in line for a new deal at just the right time, having won three straight, all by first-round knockouts.

For now though, he'll concentrate on getting Diaz through this rough patch and moving him towards a new home as a welterweight.

"Just because there's a few really strong, big guys at 170, that doesnt mean he can’t be there," he said. "That doesn't mean he's going to stand there and try to measure his strength against their strength. There's strategies, there's ways to beat people without letting them engage their physical attributes, right? Carlos Condit is not a huge 170 guy. He fights at 170. I think Nate will do just fine."

For Vitor Belfort, a late-career surge clouded by TRT use

2013-05-19T14:01:09Z

Vitor Belfort's professional career has been one of twists and turns. He was alternately one of the scariest men in mixed martial arts and at least for a time, one of the most head-scratchingly inconsistent. He was the heir to the throne, then nearly a washout. He espoused his Christian beliefs, but made enemies and perpetrated some of the most stunning violence fighting has produced. His career has had multiple acts. There was the "Phenom," the downfall, the comeback, the rise and fall, and now, the TRT period.

At 36 years old, Belfort is finding some of his greatest success. He is 9-2 in his last 11 fights, which is the best single stretch of his career since opening it with 10 wins in his first 12 bouts. In the last six years, he's only lost to current UFC champions Anderson Silva and Jon Jones. He's coming off crushing knockouts of Luke Rockhold and Michael Bisping, and there is a real belief that he is surging towards a possible middleweight title shot.

Yet all of this comes wrapped in a layer of controversy. After Belfort beat Bisping in January, the UFC confirmed what he would not; that he was undergoing testosterone replacement therapy, treatment he continued for the fight with Rockhold.

The fact that Belfort declined to publicly disclose it himself, even when offered the opportunity, is one of the reasons there is an air of skepticism about his particular case.

More Coverage: UFC on FX 8 Results | UFC news
Download MMA Fighting iPhone App

In January, just before fighting Bisping, ESPN's Brett Okamoto straight up asked Belfort if he had ever applied for TRT or was considering it. Belfort gave a rambling answer, eventually saying, "This is too controversial, why am I going to say something that doesn't accomplish anything?"

Last week, I spoke to Belfort, and he had changed his tune. I asked him if he wished the genie had never come out of the bottle and his secret had stayed a secret. He said no, and that he felt everyone on TRT should be publicly outed. But after beating Rockhold in Jaragua do Sul, Brazil, he declined to answer any questions about TRT during a post-fight press conference.

Belfort is entitled to his silence if that's the path he chooses, but staying mum on the subject will not make it go away.

Back in the late 1990s, before I covered mixed martial arts, I was a general sports reporter, and I occasionally stepped into major league baseball clubhouses. This was right around the time when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa decided to bring video game baseball to real life, hitting home runs by the dozens. This was around the time when it was revealed by an Associated Press reporter that McGwire was using androstenedione, which then was being sold as a legal, over-the-counter supplement.

When that story broke, there was a real debate over whether McGwire was breaking any rules. After all, andro was legal. But the scientific community was pretty quick to point out that it was a steroid hormone. (It was later reclassified as a steroid.)

McGwire was not the only major leaguer to take andro. Far from it. Andro was an open secret in MLB, essentially a loophole that could be exploited. But McGwire was one of the sport's biggest stars, and so it was he who was most faced the heaviest scrutiny.

The whole scenario echos all these years later with what's going on in MMA with TRT. Testosterone is a performance-enhancer that is quickly seeping into the sport. There is little doubt that some fighters are taking advantage of a loophole. There is no question there is not enough random testing to keep them honest. There is really no way to tell who is truly deserving of an exemption, of who didn't shut down his own testosterone production due to previous abuse.

Due to a failed drug test in 2006, Belfort falls under suspicion of that, and whether at least some of this recent surge is chemically assisted.

That said, TRT is no miracle drug. Of known users, almost all of them have lost at least once while on it. Dan Henderson and Chael Sonnen and Frank Mir have all lost while on it. So did "Rampage" Jackson and Dennis Hallman and Shane Roller. TRT does not make you invincible, even if it makes you better.

There is a drug problem in sports, and in MMA. No doubt about it. Belfort has repeatedly said that he is not breaking any rules, and that is very true, but that may just be because the rules are outdated, much like they were in McGwire's case. Belfort may not be deserving of any more criticism than a random steroid user who does it under the cloak of anonymity, but his stature is so great and his story is so wildly compelling that it's going to come his way anyway.

One day in the near future, Belfort may fight for a belt again. He is likely going to need to be cleared by a state commission at some point, and some are on the record saying they might have a problem offering him a therapeutic use exemption due to his past PED bust. We are heading for some kind of collision course. We're already there from a public relationship perspective.

Even if you don't want to look too far ahead, you can't help but look at the here and now. The Belfort of today is a killer, something similar to the young, powerful crusher we first saw so long ago. And that's sort of the point. With all of his contemporaries gone or on their way out, Belfort has managed to not only stay relevant, but also go through a rebirth and hover near the top. After nearly 17 years of fighting, that's either cause for celebration or cynicism. Maybe he's just older and wiser than he used to be, maybe the dark period of his career when he suffered through the tragic loss of his sister was more difficult to navigate than he could ever put into words. But maybe TRT plays a role, too.

Fifteen years ago, when all of this PED stuff was a fairly new conversation in sports, McGwire became a national hero for breaking the home run record. If Belfort does something comparable and wins a championship, I suspect his achievement will never be unconditionally appreciated, not with the clouds hanging overhead.

UFC on FX 8 results: Vitor Belfort knocks out Luke Rockhold

2013-05-19T03:08:20Z

After months of leadup, after weeks of trash talk, and a pushing match on the day of weigh-ins, there were still raw feelings as the UFC on FX 8 main event began. Combatants Vitor Belfort and Luke Rockhold refused to touch gloves prior to their match, and then as the fight transpired, Rockhold chose to taunt Belfort, inviting him in for exchanges.

It would prove to be an ill-advised move. Belfort took him up on the offer, unleashing a striking series that is likely to be replayed for months to come, and certainly around December when the year's best are compiled.

Belfort crushed Rockhold with a spinning heel kick and then followed with a few thunderous punches from the top, earning a knockout stoppage at 2:32 of the first round.

"I didn't see that one coming," Rockhold said afterward. "I thought I was finding my timing. What can I say? He caught me with a spinning heel kick to the head."

More Coverage: UFC on FX 8 Results | UFC news
Download MMA Fighting iPhone App

Belfort, a 16-year veteran who has mostly been known for his hands throughout his illustrious career, scored his second straight KO that stemmed from a kick. In January, he beat Michael Bisping after a head kick and punches.

Against Rockhold, Belfort had thrown the same spinning kick earlier in the fight and missed, but went back to the well about 90 seconds later and found pay dirt.

The victory will certainly put Belfort in the discussion for the division's No. 1 contender, after champ Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman fight on Fourth of July weekend.

Belfort, who has won four of his last five, wouldn't go out and ask for the bout, but said he was open to anything, including a rematch with Silva.

"I'm here to fight. I don't pick fights, I accept fights," he said. "The fans are excited. I'm very happy. I'm going to root for Anderson. He's doing a tremendous job."

The win was the 11th first-round finish in his UFC career, and he's now 23-10 overall. Rockhold, who was making his UFC debut after coming over as the Strikeforce champion, is now 10-2.