Alan Belcher: 'If Yushin Okami can’t get me down, he’s going to be crapping his pants'

This Saturday Alan Belcher will do something he hasn't done since 2009 - compete twice in the same year. The Middleweight's UFC career has been plagued with injury over the last several years including a knee injury, a detached retina, and most recently a back injury. He was supposed to fight Vitor Belfort back at UFC 153, but was forced to pull out around the same time Belfort was tapped to fight Jon Jones for the Light Heavyweight title at UFC 152.

Now Belcher is set to rematch former contender Yushin Okami. The two first met way back in 2006 at UFC 62. It was Belcher's UFC debut and Okami got the unanimous decision win. But Belcher told MMA Weekly that he expects their second fight to go much differently:

Every second we’re on the feet, I’m going to be bringing the pain to him. I’m going to make him make him not want to be in there with me. I want it worse than him, I want this win worse than any fight ever.

If he can’t get me down, he’s going to be crapping his pants. Whenever I hit him, he’s going to realize when he looks in my eyes that I want it a lot more than he does, and he’s just going to be the best he can just fighting off his instincts, his heart’s not really going to be in it because he’s going to feel my heart and my ferocity. He will be scared.

Belcher is rightfully focusing on his striking advantage, but he proved in his last fight that he's no slouch on the ground either. At UFC On Fox 3 he faced off against feared grappler and leg lock technician Rousimar Palhares. Toquinho got Belcher down early and immediately started attacking, but Alan defended impressively and got the TKO from guard.

UFC 155 is coming up this Saturday December 29. In the main event, Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez will rematch for the Heavyweight title in the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV.