Alan Belcher ready to resume title run after one-sided win over Jason MacDonald at UFC Fight Night 25

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Alan Belcher made a successful return to the Octagon on Saturday night, taking out Jason MacDonald with a brutal ground and pound attack that forced MacDonald to submit to strikes in the first round.

After 16 months out of action due to a torn retina that nearly ended his career, Belcher entered Saturday's card with a lot of doubts, but after shaking that off with an excellent performance, he's ready to resume his career from where he left off prior to the injury.

"Even up until [the fight], I was kind of uncertain of what I wanted to do," Belcher said after the event (transcribed by MMAJunkie.com). "I gave my all in this training camp and everything, but I was nervous as hell going into this fight, coming back. I missed the feeling, and I feel like I can definitely continue down the path I was on, trying to go for a title shot. I think that's what I'm going to do now."

Belcher has won five of his last six fights, with the sole loss being a split decision against Yoshihiro Akiyama that many felt he should have won. Prior to the injury, Belcher was determined to be recognized as a viable challenger for the Middleweight Title, and was taking all the fights he could to make that statement. Now that he's back, however, he's more than willing to let that shot come to him.

"I think before I had the injury, I was in such a hurry to try and get a bunch of wins and get to the top and everything," Belcher said. "Through this whole experience, it just taught me to be a lot more patient. I think now that I'm a lot more patient.

"My new mindset, I think it's going to come a lot faster now. I've got a feeling that the title shot is going to come faster than I want it to now, so I'm not really worried about it now."

Penick's Analysis: It was great to see Belcher get back into the cage after the eye injury, and he looked great in the fight against MacDonald. He's not quite at "title challenger" stage, but he's on the next level below that group of fighters, and a few more wins will bring him in line. He's continued improving his all around game over the last several years, and prior to the injury he was looking as good as he ever had. If he's back to 100% and can continue with the strides he made before the layoff, he'll be a force at middleweight for a while to come. He's only 27-years-old, and has a lot of years left in the sport, so if he can put a run together that shot will come to him.

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