Veteran UFC workhorses Alessio Sakara and Alan Belcher, who have a combined 17 appearances inside the Octagon, are penciled in to duke it out in a middleweight bout at UFC 99 from the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany on June 13 according to MMAWeekly.
“Legionarius” is coming off a brutal knockout of Joe Vedepo via head kick at UFC Fight Night 15 back in September. It was an eye-opening finish from the heavy-handed former Italian boxer.
Sakara was set to lock horns with Jake Rosholt at UFC Fight Night 17 on February 7, 2009, until a late shoulder injury forced him off the card.
The former light heavyweight is currently (2-2) in his last four bouts and the same during his three-year career (4-4, 1 NC) with the UFC. Sakara – who historically struggles against higher-level competition — has been branded a gatekeeper of the division.
That’s a title he’s probably ready to pass on to Belcher.
“The Talent” is fresh off a comeback victory over PRIDE and Spirit MC standout Denis Kang at UFC 93. Belcher was taking his lumps before Kang got sloppy and ended up in a fight-ending guillotine. It was his fourth win in his last five attempts — a surprising technical knockout loss to newcomer Jason Day at UFC 83: “Serra vs. St. Pierre 2” earlier this year is the only blip during that span.
UFC 99 is expected to be headlined by former middleweight champion Rich “Ace” Franklin taking on ex-PRIDE smashing machine Wanderlei Silva in his middleweight debut. Heath Herring and Cain Velasquez as well as Mike Swick and Ben Saunders are also expected to hook ‘em up.
For more on UFC 99 click here.
59 Comments »
Alan Belcher’s gonna knock that fool out.
belcher was getting his a** handed to him by denis kang in every aspect of the game until kang does what he always does, which is put his head into a submission or a punch, sakara is going to take belcher out… didnt u guys see the way belcher had his hands down against kang? sakara is gonna jump all over that! this fight should have good betting lines!
Belcher’s standup must be the sloppiest and slowest ever in the UFC.. he’s gonna get KTFO by Alessio “the king of everything” Sakara!! I can’t wait to see the italiano knock this countrya$$ boy out..
YOu know what I found interesting? I have been training mma for about 6 months now (still a rookie)…. but its no secret that eventually I will look to test my skills at the amatuer level. My family in Italy have been asking me about it over the phone….so to best explain to them, I brought up the UFC…. I was Freaking AMAZED out how familiar they are with the UFC over in Italy! They all knew exactly who Sakara was….I was shocked! To hear that the UFC is big in parts of the world that they havent even held events in yet is AMAZING!!!
10 years from now UFC will be HUGE!!! Their are rumors circulating that UFC 200 will take place on the moon! hahaha
Can I ask why on God’s green earth is Sakara still in the UFC ? Will never be a title holder and not even a gatekeeper…
how about because hes an exciting fighter and has never had a boring fight? and why do you care if hell never hold a belt? theres plenty of guys who wont hold a belt, doesnt mean theyre not good fighters
I would NEVER complain about having allesio on a UFC main card! Name 1 boring fight he has ever been in?
The guy is a WARRIOR! Yes I am biased because I am also italian, but come on…the guy is like Drago….win or lose, they go down swinging in style!
about only 1/30th of UFC fighters will ever hold the title….should we just start cutting everyone else?
I like this matchup and i think Sakara is going to beat him with his superior boxing skills.
Belcher won’t be happy with this he wanted a better opponent
oh! yeah, this is probably more like it…
War Legionarius…
So much for your title shot Belcher! hahahaha…I hope that my fellopw countrymen Sakara Knocks his block off!
This fight will win ko of the night honors!
you are from italy,how interesting!
Im from douchland. We worship Fedor as the all mighty. I was brought up since birth to be Fedors love slave.
fake john right here…Anyway, hope Legionarivs wins. I just love his tatz, hope I could get as many tatz as that dude. Nice boxing form too. But the good thing about this boxer is that he utilizes leg kicks, and he even has the form to throw ‘em! Good scrap right here considering Belcher, who’s also a known scrapper.
syd u from phils ryt? from there too…its cool that we can hav absolutely free events here…but only ufc…the rest are replays though…
Nope Im the real john. I just love Fedor that much. I would do anything for him…….. ANYTHING!
lol, john…please don’t on the caps for the word anything…it will make your statement more creepy…hehe
I can’t stand Belcher. I figured they were gonna feed him to Akiyama. Oh well, i hope sakara knocks his teeth in.
Gaara: Yep, born and raised here dude! Where you from? Are you a member yet of that MMAMania/Facebook thingy? If so, just add me up. Maybe we could watch the UFC Philippines event live if they do come here!
NM: I live in America, but all my family is in Italy…I actually have duel citizenship….Love Italy, America….not so much!
im from cebu bro! hw bwt u? nope! im not a member of that facebook thingy and wouldnt want to be one either…its just that i hate those networking accounts..lol, im the only computer student that doesnt have those..ei facebook,myspace,friendster and the likes…i sure hope to watch live event here in flip as u say…if ever given a chance..and it was very nice to know some phil dude that really is an educated MMA fan…
you bet!….just grudge this daydreamer sakara….
Belcher, no doubt. You heard that here first.
I sincerely hope he gets KTFO like that guy in WEC the other day shaking like an leaf on the floor. He just has certain qualities that I hate in a person…the cocky overconfident prick!
Belcher that is!
Belcher by TKOoooo
Good match up. But I have to go with Belcher by TKO.
I’m suprised there stacking this card so deep with 100 right around the corner. War UFC
haha i know ufc 100 is gonna be crazy!!!hopfully!!
gsp vs alves
evans vs machida
hendo vs bisping
overeem vs tba
haha nah i just hope the matches are crazy!!
MY TOUGHTS EXACTLY…
JON JONES VS KEITH JARDINE
ROGER HUERTA VS DIEGO SANCHEZ
MARQUARDT VS ANDERSON SILVA
MAIA VS OKAMI
AND UFC BRING VITOR BELFORT PLEASE!!!
Huerta is no longer with the UFC. And Vitor being in the UFC would be nice.
i know about huerta but if the ufc offer him a good deal he will do it.. but maybe the ufc will keep that option in case they make a show here in mexico
WAR PHENOM!!
What part of Mexico are you in?
i live in cabo i am pretty sure the event will not be here!! LOL it has to be in monterrey, guadalajara, or the DF(the capital) and i will be happy to go wherever the ufc put a show here
of course i can dream
I go to Nuevo Leon about 45 minutes away from Monterrey. I dont think the UFC should go anywhere near Mexico right now. But it would be bad@ss for them to eventually go to Mexico! I could visit family and see some fights. Wouldnt get no better than that!
yep i know!! thing are a litle bit crazy here in mexico even thats not the case here in cabo and all B.C.S.
but i hope one day the can make it
i am hopping that my first event i watch live will be in las vegas in december, the last event of the 2009(the best of the year) i am working on it
Alot of guys on this site (including me) are gona try to make it out to Vegas for the UFC in September. You can e-mail Kevin if your interested.
which event is in september?
i went to one at the mandalay bay it was nice i met every fighter u can imagine just by going to the weigh ins.the only fighters i didnt meet was franklin,ortiz and w.silva.
Im not sure yet, Kevin was the one who came up with it. Meeting some of the fighters would be bad@ss!
hey MD how u miss those fighter!!! well just W. silva and franklin oohh what in hell!! even i think it will be fun to know tito!!
LOL haha i mean NM not MD …. whats that mean??
ill take sakara
belcher ko in the 1st
Belcher by decapitation, this guy has really started to prove himself as a pretty tough guy, his last few fights have been pretty impresive.
Really he was getting his ass kicked on the feet and on the ground up until he caught that guillotine in his last fight and he won a razor thin split decision to Ed Herman which a lot of people thought he lost.
and before that he got his ass beat by jason day.
yep yep and yep… great points all around, sakara takes this guy out in round 2
and he hung in there and won the fight, he was never hurt. Belcher is a tough SOB and is getting tougher. I think he will destroy Sakara
WAR Sakara, Belcher is a tool
Agreed. Belcher = The biggest tosser in the UFC!
a really hard fight to pick a winner
yes glad to see legionarius back. good fight. war. missed seeing him at ufc 17. mutch better fight. hope he gets the ko. hard one to call.
umm ufc 17?
probably meant Fight Night 17. he hurt his shoulder or something and had to back out of a fight.
oh yea he was supposed to fight either miller or rosholt yeah?that was a quick fight with rosholt being to stubborn and not listing to his corner.
I love legionarus!
I just wish he’d win more =\
Win or lose, he is exciting every time. I love to watch him fight.
Belcher by KO in this fight.
Belcher over Sakara via TKO. Alan has won 4 out of the last 5 fights. No his last fight against Kang wasnt that impressive but still caught Kang slipping. Thats what counts, his hand was raised at the end of the fight. His fight against Kang was prolly the worst Ive seen him. I look for much improvement in this fight out of Belcher as well as a victory via TKO.