Vitor Belfor Out Against Matt Lindland:

I was absolutely distraught to read that Vitor Belfort was out of the fight with Matt Lindland. This was an encounter that I, along with a huge percentage of the MMA community, were extremely looking forward to.

Vitor performed incredibly well in his last outing in the Affliction card and looked to be ready to establish himself at 185 for the foreseeable future. Perhaps setting up some incredibly exciting matches down the line.

Unfortunately it looks like the old Belfort curse has reappeared and after a fourth opinion on a broken hand, he has decided to withdraw from the upcoming October 11th card.

Jake Shields Filling In For Belfort Against Lindland?

Heads are turning now in the direction of, quite possibly, Jake Shields to be the man to step up and take Belfort's place against Lindland.

Nothing whatsoever has been confirmed but sources are strongly of the opinion that Shields has been asked to step up in weight and take on a top ranked middleweight and Shields is apparently going through the gears of getting EliteXC to allow this fight to happen.

Could this fight be at “Day of Reckoning”? Let’s wait and find out. Certainly feels like this particular situation has some exciting developments ahead.

War Of Words: Cro Cop Vs. Overeem

The war of words that first burst onto the scene several months ago between Mirko Filipovic and Alistair Overeem seems to have had a temperature increase in recent days as “CroCop” officially called the out the Dutchman in a preferred Dream.6 matchup. Mirko has a lot to prove to his fans and indeed himself after his performances over the past year and it may very well be that Overeem is on the receiving end of a typically devastating “CroCop” performance.

On the other hand, he may not be. Alistair has serious game and in my opinion is about to peak in this business. He’s someone I’ve always found very exciting to watch when he is "switched on" so to speak. It seemed in the past that his main issue was performing consistently.

This has the makings to be an all out stand up war, one which could provide us with one of the most exciting matches of the year, if all goes according to plan.

The ring is Mirko’s domain. He has an intense edge to his game when he can cut opponents off and deliver those crushing kicks. Not that Overeem would run of course, but in all honesty if Filipovic can apply enough pressure on Alistair and return to his more successful aggressive nature then it’s difficult to see past a Croatian victory. It will be a very exciting fight nonetheless. Let’s hope DREAM can make this one happen.