The Best of Joey Beltran Is Yet To Come

“The Mexicutioner” Joey Beltran has officially arrived in the UFC’s 205 pound division, and he put a solid exclamation point on his second fight in the division with a slugfest victory over Igor Pokrajac.  Bouncing back in kind from a “Fight Of The Night” loss to fellow Heavyweight import James Te-Huna, Beltran waded through dangerous firepower from Pokrajac and showcased his dirty boxing skills en route to a unanimous decision victory.

The fight was all leather for all three rounds, as both men were content to test each other’s firepower in the first, wading through wicked punches without so much as batting an eye.  Pokrajac was game, but Beltran found his rhythm more often and took home the first round.  The second and third round were contested similarly, two granite-chinned light-heavyweights exchanging bombs, but Beltran’s gas tank looked outstanding.  Pokrajac seemed to fade partway into the second round, but Beltran kept the pressure on, and showcased evolution as a fighter, both in the precision of his boxing and the growth of his endurance.

It should be fascinating to see what Joey Beltran develops into in the future.  Many were content to write him off as a simple slugging gatekeeper, but his tenure at 205 shows that there may be more to “The Mexicutioner” than meets the eye, and that Joey Beltran is a fighter to keep an eye on.