UFC
UFC on Fox 3 winner Alan Belcher wants a fight with Michael Bisping
May 9, 2012 - 9:45:25 PM UFC on Fox 3 winner Alan Belcher wants a fight with Michael Bisping

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Alan Belcher's UFC on Fox 3 win over Rousimar Palhares vaulted him into the top end of the UFC's middleweight division. It was to date the biggest win of his career, and though he'd like to be in a title fight against Anderson Silva a lot sooner than later, he's got at least one other name in particular he'd like to fight.

"I think a fight with Michael Bisping makes a lot of sense," Belcher said in an interview with TapouT Radio (via BloodyElbow.com). I mean, [Bisping's UFC 149 opponent Tim] Boetsch looks like a beast at 185, and I've got to admit, he looks pretty scary. The other guys in the division, in my mind, I've already beat them so many times, and I know everything about them, and I know they don't have anything really threatening. Boetsch has got some pretty powerful tools, and is a pretty scary dude."

"Bisping, of course, is getting to be a professional point fighter, and he's kind of hard to beat like that. That fight would be a nice payday, and a big fight for the media, so I'm kind of leaning towards that one. It would make sense, and the fans would love it. I can almost feel the energy I would get from the fans if I put him to sleep."

Belcher insists there's no personal beef between the two of them, but believes Bisping would be the right fight to move him to the next level in the division and get him closer to that title shot.

"I don't know what to think about him," Belcher admitted. "I can already kind of feel the kind of smack talking that he would be doing, and I think that he just honestly believes that he's better than he is. I don't think he respects me or considers me to be one of the top guys. It would feel good to beat him, but I don't want to let those type of personal emotions get in the way of what's really important, and that's competing for the world championship and winning."

Penick's Analysis: If Bisping gets past Tim Boetsch in July, and if Hector Lombard gets past Brian Stann in August, the UFC is likely to put one of them in the next Middleweight Championship fight. If Lombard gets the nod, I like the idea of a Belcher-Bisping fight a lot. At the same time, if the UFC decides one fight in the UFC isn't enough for Lombard to get a title shot, a Belcher-Lombard fight could be really entertaining as well. Considering he hasn't fought several of the biggest names in the division, there's no shortage of options for him to be booked against.