UFC 3 Simulated Fight -- Bisping vs. Belfort - Wiggy's Blog

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UFC 3 Simulated Fight -- Bisping vs. Belfort Stuck

Posted on January 16, 2013 at 07:00 PM.

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The main event for this weekend's UFC card will feature a pivotal middleweight bout, as Michael �The Count� Bisping will try and get past the constant striking threat of Vitor �The Phenom� Belfort. Belfort is certainly the favorite on the feet, and he has excellent BJJ. Bisping will need to use his usual mix of cardio, clinch work and solid jabs to elude Belfort and survive the first two rounds so that he can tire Belfort out. Either way, it's a compelling match-up.

All this said, a simulation in UFC Undisputed 3 seemed in order, so I set up a five-round CPU fight. I conducted the fight with expert difficulty (to reduce the number of reversals found on �Ultimate�), and I used simulation settings for a much better representation of stamina. Mario Yamasaki got the tap to be the ref for this fight.

Round 1

Both fighters come out to the centre of the Octagon, and they tap gloves. Bisping connects with a left jab, and Belfort counters with a push kick to create distance. Bisping is firing left jabs. Both men near the cage, exchanging blocked strikes. Bisping tries for a takedown, missing horribly and landing on all fours, but �The Phenom� doesn't capitalize. With both men back standing, Belfort lands a right jab. Bisping with a right cross and then a left body kick. Belfort fires back with a right hand of his own. Belfort is landing. Several counter shots, followed up by jabs. Bisping backing off a bit. Bisping finally catches a kick, tripping Belfort to the floor. Bisping doesn't follow him there, letting him up.

Both men back standing. Some whiffed strikes by both fighters. Both men clinch in the middle of the ring. Bisping shoots for a double and has it. He's operating in full guard, looking for a chance to pass. Bisping finally passes to side control, and he lands a big strike, cutting Belfort. Bisping lands another big strike from the side. Belfort reverses Bisping, but then Bisping rolls right back on top. Bisping holds position in half guard for a bit. Belfort sweeps him again, getting into half guard and landing some big shots. Belfort now being controlled by Bisping from the bottom. Belfort finally stands up. Bisping instantly shoots for a double and is stuffed by Belfort. Belfort rolls Bisping over and gets side control. He lands a hard elbow to end the round.

Wigmore's Round Verdict: 10-9 Belfort

Round 2

Belfort lands a stiff left, and he follows up with some jabs. Now he's landing uppercuts, forcing �The Count� to back up. Bisping does land a few right straights of his own. Belfort lands a right uppercut, followed by a right to the body. Bisping desperately shoots, but Belfort's sprawl looks good. Bisping flies in with a huge double and actually gets it, but Belfort instantly bucks him off, going into Bisping's guard. Bisping now bucks Belfort off and tries a double, but Belfort sprawls and punishes him with some hard shots to the side of the head. Both men back standing. Bisping closes quickly and does a single-collar clinch, landing a few short rights. Both men are exchanging short strikes in the clinch. Bisping finally backs Belfort into the cage, looking to show his strong clinch game.

Bisping is swimming through all of Belfort's pummel attempts, and he finally lands a two hard left uppercuts. Bisping shoots a double against the cage and drags Belfort to the mat. Belfort tries to stand, but Bisping is ready and hits a huge slam. Belfort instantly sweeps, taking top control away from Bisping. Belfort holding position. Bisping finally bucks him off, and they're both standing. Belfort lands a hard right, backing Bisping off. Belfort tries a push kick, but Bisping catches it and trips him. Bisping jumps into Belfort's guard, landing some shots, and finishes the round in side control.

Wigmore's Round Verdict: 10-9 Bisping.

Round 3

Both men come out swinging, with Belfort getting the better of the exchange. Belfort stiffens up Bisping with a hard right uppercut. Now Belfort is closing, grabbing a Thai clinch against the cage. He lands a big right knee and two short left punches. Bisping pushes him away and desperately shoots, but Belfort stuffs it. Another uppercut by Belfort, followed by some body shots. Bisping is countering wildly, missing most of his shots. He does hit a jab and body kick. Leg kick by Belfort, and then a three-punch combo. Belfort is landing, but his pace is slowing, as Joe Rogan notes that he's breathing heavily. Belfort collects himself, and then he lands a few more shots. Two counter jabs by Bisping. Uppercut by Belfort followed by a push kick and body punch. Bisping desperately shoots the double and gets it, but Belfort instantly sweeps into Bisping's guard.

Bisping quickly grabs a kimura and is trying to lock it in. Belfort is fighting it, but Bisping is cranking tighter and tighter. He finally gets full torque, and Belfort has to tap. Crazy.

The Result

At 3:36 of Round 3, the winner by submission (due to a kimura), Michael �The Count� Bisping.

Analysis

That finish just came absolutely out of nowhere, and Bisping clearly saw an opening when Belfort was punching himself out. Since Belfort was low on gas, his ability to fight the submission was fairly limited, and it's a big win for Michael Bisping.

Belfort was definitely doing a great job of stuffing takedowns while landing some heavy uppercuts and body shots, and he had great positioning and punishment when in top control on the ground. Overall, Belfort landed 59 strikes to Bisping's 38, and I'd say about 40 of Belfort's 50 punches were significant. This is backed up with the fact that Bisping had 81 percent head damage, meaning a TKO was in his future if he didn't grab that kimura.

For his part, Bisping had more dominant positions than Belfort, and he landed 6 of 16 takedown attempts. He got some decent punches in where he could, and he survived until his magical opportunity arose.

I don't personally see Bisping having the strength to kimura Belfort in the actual fight this weekend, but a submission victory is definitely possible. Still, Belfort is a threat on the feet to Bisping on any given night, as long as he doesn't get roped into a clinch and takedown war.

Comments

# 1 SHAKYR @ Jan 17

Additions to sim in a sports game is what makes some casual fans more interested. CPU vs. CPU is a great tool when you can almost get an accurate results to the sport.
You and other guys doing things like this make wanting to be an MMA fan easier.

# 2 Wiggy @ Jan 17

Thanks. Added some pics to help tell the tale.