Did Alan Belcher lack fight IQ or mental fortitude?

[voxom]

Belcher is 1 of the most overrated fighters in the ufc, honestly dont get all the nut-hugging.

agreed, every time there was a thread hyping him up i always asked myself "what am i missing here"

i just never seen it, he always looked like a middle of the road fighter to me.

 

[RJ43]

Kind of makes you appreciate how Anderson completely clowns guys like Okami after a fight like this.

Belcher is good, but he doesn't have the tools to handle Okami.

 

[Highflyer]

Belcher's a good fighter. But Okami is just better. That's really all to it. One way or another Okami will find a way to win and there was really nothing Belcher could do about it, hence resorting to the guillotines 'cause he knew he was going to lose position anyway so might as well try them.

Belcher should just be thankful Okami's a nice guy and didn't bash his face in unnecessarily when he had a few good chances.

 

[Terror Zone]

Just a stupid rematch....let Belcher strike with Bisping or so many other fresh fight for the fans...Okami is a grind out fight for anyone and is a tough fight for a lot of guys

They underestimated Okami, I think Joe Silva thought he was done or something. Seemed like they wanted Belcher to get that loss back and hype him up with a win over a big name at the same time. If they were smart, they would've given him the Fitch post-GSP treatment and not put him up against any contenders until they absolutely had to. Okami's never going to get a third fight against Silva and he's still capable of beating any MW in the world once he starts grinding them down.

 

[CRuck1980]

Oh come on now lets not write off all his hard work, Belchers come a long way and at one time was on his way out of the UFC. Compared to when he was dominated by Jason Day(From on top of Day), got D'arced by Kendal Grove and squeaked by a lucky decision over Ed Herman. It's really ignorant not to notice how much he's improved much less say he's the same fighter he's always been.

How is soooo much improved from then? He used to beat up low level fighters, and now he beats up mid level fighters. Instead of squeaking past Ed Herman, he's now the only man in the UFC to lose to Akiyama and he still loses to Okami. He's done nothing of note in his UFC career to suggest he's improved by loads

 

[OldBoy91]

agreed, every time there was a thread hyping him up i always asked myself "what am i missing here"

i just never seen it, he always looked like a middle of the road fighter to me.

I have the answer for you, he posts on sherdog.

I still don't know why people act like the Akiyama fight was a robbery, the striking was even and Akiyama did whatever he wanted on the ground. I really think the commentary eschewed people's views about what actually happened.

 

[90 50]

Pretty bad IQ, after it was clear Okami could control him from top position, he should have avoided going to his back at all cost, instead of just giving it to him pulling gaurd.

Props for trying to finish with subs, but after it was clear that tactic was costing him the fight, he should have stopped doing it..

 

[The Soothsayer]

Yushin's just a better fighter.

One would think beating him twice would prove that.

And Belcher should thank the ref because the standups were gifts.

 

[Michaelangelo]

Okami was just stronger than Belcher. Once Yushin got his hands on him there was nothing he could do.

 

[chubbman]

Okami is a much better fighter. belcher is good, okami is great. boring but great

 

[Starkaine]

he was too confident and wasnt focused as much as he needed to be
just my opinion

 

[biny212]

Belcher, is way overrated on these forums just because he posts. he couldn't beat Akiyama, no chance he was gonna beat Okami.

I find it funny because Belcher released a VLOG where he was analysing the Bisping/Stann fight as if he was some expert. Pity he can't use his own advice. Made easy money on Okami last night.

^ 100% agree with you.
Belcher is just OVERRATED

 

[Judoxing]

Belcher's weakness wasn't any different from what it usually is. He has weak defensive grappling, his TDD and bottom game are weak, and he has problems against guys who can outmuscle him.

 

[Z4**]

Okami feared for his life when Chael's mom almost shot him. Do you think a fighter in Alan Belcher will scare him?

Yushin Okami, thank you!

 

[5H3RD0G]

I would use wrestling with his low center of gravity. He has a base like Cain and body build in which he can control the positioning when agains the cage. He had full mount and it evaporated quickly. I think he should also work on combos. He would aim for that kick and some power shots. Set up your strikes.

 

[trendkill101]

I think it was strength that he was missing... In the clinch it looked like he tried with all of him might to move Yushin a few times and he didn't even budge, I can only imagine how discouraging that would be after all your preperation.

 

[Which Doctor]

First of all, I'm a huge Alan Belcher fan, I was really hoping that he would challenge Anderson Silva for the belt. I think that would be a great match up and we'd see some fantastic striking. I was sad to see him lose.

With that said, I'm sure a lot of people were amazed at Alan Belcher's strategy against Yushin Okami. Instead of circling, he went backwards in a straight line until his back was against the cage. Instead of relying on his boxing, he kept looking for a headkick KO. Instead of doing everything to stay on his feet, he went for multiple (I forget if it was 2 or 3) failed guillotines. Instead of getting back up when got top position on the ground, he got dragged into a grappling game.

Is this because
A) He lacks fight IQ, was too confident and didn't notice that his strategy wasn't working and wasn't able to adapt?
B) He was too nervous, couldn't really execute his gameplan or pick up instructions from his corner because his mindset wasn't right?

I'm not dogging you, but I find it laughable that people would say he lacks fight IQ after people said he was a wizard for beating Palhares.

I don't think he looked horrible, just had some instances where things didn't turn out they way he wanted. Sounds just like fighting.

 

[Which Doctor]

i think he had a ton of troulbe with okami's attack - okami is a very tough, underrated fighter - sure he lost to boetsch and also got outlcassed by sonnen and silva, but hes clearly somewhere near the top of the heap in the division - hes a really tough fight

so i think people resort to elementary tactics and headhunting when they cant do sht

If there was 1 positive from that Boetsch loss, it's that people(fighters) might underestimate him a bit more.

 

[pr1me]

yushin was just better, dunno why belcher thought he could submit "thunder"

 

[PoisonGodMachin]

Boring fight because of Okami, should have been a draw