Alan Belcher shocks Denis Kang at UFC 93

Less than two years ago, Denis Kang was considered one of the top welterweights in mixed martial arts. Following a shocking upset in his UFC debut at the hands of Alan Belcher, he’s now a fighter that’s been on the wrong end of three of his last five fights. Belcher, meanwhile, watched his stock continue its uptick after another impressive victory.

Denis Kang announced his signing with the UFC to considerable fanfare a few months back, and most considered this matchup in Dublin, Ireland something of a "tune up" fight. Alan Belcher had the reputation of being a tough second tier fighter, but not one worthy of championship consideration. That may have changed following his impressive showing against Kang.

From the outset, the matchup appeared as one-sided as advertised with Kang looking very impressive both in his standup and ground fighting. He rocked Belcher with a nice combination early in the fight, and then began to take his opponent down at will. Belcher was on the defensive for the entire first round and although his technique certainly wasn’t as "slick" as Kang’s managed to escape from two submission attempts late in the frame.

The tide changed in the second round with shocking suddenness—Kang tried to shoot for a takedown early on, only to have Belcher sprawl away. As he did, he simultaneously "pulled guard" and locked in a tight guillotine choke that Kang didn’t see coming in the least. Kang was tapping out before he hit the ground and soon after Belcher had has hand raised as an improbable tapout victor.

Belcher improved his record to 14-5, and at only 24 years of age has a very bright future in the sport. Kang, meanwhile, has some questions surrounding his future—he’s definitely not over the hill at age 31 but has struggled of late when stepping up in class with losses in four of his last six bouts. Most alarmingly, he’s been stopped decisively in three of those four setbacks with submission losses to Belcher and DREAM middleweight GP champion Gegard Mousasi, along with a first round KO loss to judo virtuoso Yoshihio Akiyama.