UFC Fight Night 77: Belfort vs. Henderson 3 Fight Card, TV Info and Predictions
Two legends of mixed martial arts will clash for the third time in the main event of UFC Fight Night 77 on Saturday night in Sao Paulo. Vitor Belfort and Dan Henderson have split their first two meetings. Henderson won the first fight by unanimous decision back in 2006 when the two men were still in Pride FC.
Seven years later, Belfort would get his revenge, winning by KO via head kick in 2013. It was the first time Henderson had been stopped with strikes in his career.
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Can Belfort repeat the feat in the rubber match? The answer is no, but he'll still win.
The ban against testosterone replacement therapy, or TRT, has changed both fighters. Belfort found new life and explosiveness with his use of TRT, and he put on some of his most amazing performances during that era—the second fight against Henderson included.
Hendo also looked a bit more spry while on TRT, but he still lacked the overall explosiveness Belfort possesses. With all things considered relatively equal in the third fight, the 38-year-old Belfort has a significant speed and submission advantage over the 45-year-old Henderson.
Simply put, Belfort has more ways to beat an opponent than Henderson. The latter will load up the right hand looking to detonate the H-Bomb on Belfort's chin. A long as Belfort is wary of the shot and protects himself against it, he should be able to win a unanimous decision on more effective striking and top control.
Don't rule out the possibility of a submission. Belfort's ground game is excellent—just ask Jon Jones. Belfort nearly submitted the former UFC light heavyweight champion with an armbar back in 2012. In either case, Belfort wins the battle of TRT poster athletes.
| Matchup | Weight Class | Prediction |
| Bruno Korea vs. Matheus Nicolau | Bantamweight | Korea by submission |
| Pedro Munhoz vs. Jimmie Rivera | Bantamweight | Munhoz by decision |
| Viscardi Andrade vs. Gasan Umalatov | Welterweight | Andrade by TKO |
| Matchup | Weight Class | Prediction |
| Kevin Souza vs. Chas Skelly | Featherweight | Skelly by submission |
| Clay Guida vs. Thiago Tavares | Featherweight | Guida by decision |
| Yan Cabral vs. Johnny Case | Lightweight | Cabral by decision |
| Gleison Tibau vs. Abel Trujillo | Lightweight | Tibau by submission |
| Matchup | Weight Class | Prediction |
| Fabio Maldonado vs. Corey Anderson | Light Heavyweight | Anderson by decision |
| Gilbert Burns vs. Rashid Magomedov | Lightweight | Burns by decision |
| Alex Oliveira vs. Piotr Hallmann | Lightweight | Oliveira by submission |
| Thomas Almeida vs. Anthony Birchak | Bantamweight | Almeida by TKO |
| Glover Teixeira vs. Patrick Cummins | Light Heavyweight | Teixeira by TKO |
| Vitor Belfort vs. Dan Henderson | Light Heavyweight | Belfort by decision |
An Almeida Exhibition
Anthony Birchak is a dangerous striker, but he's drawn a future superstar in the UFC who's his home soil on Saturday. Thomas Almeida has all of the necessary tools to become a champion in the bantamweight division down the road.
The 24-year-old Brazilian is 19-0 overall with 15 TKO and three submission wins (3-0, 2 KO in UFC). Most recently, Almeida proved he could handle an experienced opponent and a little adversity. After being rocked and cut by Brad Pickett, Almeida bounced back and stopped the rugged veteran in the second round.
In the UFC, Almeida has landed seven significant strikes per minute and connected on 50 percent of his strikes, per FightMetric.com. He's the real deal, and Birchak will find that out firsthand.
Glover Over Cummins
Patrick Cummins' game is pretty simple. He wants to use his elite wrestling skills to take opponents down, hold them there and pound them out. Against most fighters, he can simply impose his will and bully his way into top control on the ground.
He'll find it difficult to put Glover Teixeira in compromising positions. Not only is the Brazilian fighting at home, but he's also a high-level jiu-jitsu practitioner. That skill is often lost when discussing Teixeira because he's become more known for his powerful striking.
Teixeira also isn't the easiest opponent to take down. He has successfully defended 63 percent of the takedown attempts against him in the UFC, per FightMetric.com. His game is more well-rounded than Cummins'. The versatility will allow him to dictate the identity of the fight by the second round.
More than likely, Teixeira will want a stand-up battle because that's a fight Cummins can't win. Expect a second-round stoppage win as Cummins is forced to spend some extra time with a striking coach.
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