Vitor is coming off a one sided beatdown at the hands of Jon Jones (armbar attempt not withstanding). I think this could play a key factor in the outcome of the bout and it all depends on how that bout affects vitors mentality going into the fight. If his confidence is dented by being soundly beaten by a young gun then I give the edge to Bisping. If he comes out of the blocks like a Bull in mating season to erase the memory of the loss then the edge might go to Belfort. The latter could appear more likely especially due to the home advantage however it is not so clear cut as that.
the other key variable in that will affect the outcome of this fight is Bisping's tactical awareness. In many of his previous encounters with legend of the sport he has not paid enough respect to the weapons they still possess.
Against Hendo he repeatedly circled towards Hendo's power hand. I don't think this was an unintentional mistake as Bisping is usually spot on tactically but instead a little bit of bravado which did not pay off for him.
Against Wand he did not respect the danger of Wands blitzkreig assault and very nearly got KO'd and was ultimately beaten by descision.
Hopefully Bisping will have learned from his past mistakes. Just because a guy is no longer considered in his prime (ignoring Hendo's recent resurgence), does not mean that he does not still pose a threat. Bisping needs to be careful of Belfort's early assault and then slowly start to wear him down with a high volume attack with particular focus on kicks to the legs and body, which will sap Belforts cardio. If he makes it out of the first round, which is not a given by any stretch of the imagination, then I fully expect him to get the nod on the judges scorecards
