Video: UFC vet Alan Belcher is JACKED, unrecognizable in boxing debut

Former UFC middleweight contender Alan Belcher had a big debut in boxing.

Literally.

The 37 year-old “Talent” emerged as a heavyweight pugilist for Summit Fighting Championship 39 inside the Tupelo Furniture Market Building in Tupelo, Mississippi, where Belcher obliterated heavyweight “Superman” Ryan Shough.

It was surprising to see Belcher back in action following his retirement from mixed martial arts (MMA) in late 2015. After suffering a detached retina that haunted him for the second half of his UFC career, the world’s biggest Johnny Cash fan insisted he didn’t want to take any more damage inside the cage.

Here’s what Belcher looked like as a UFC middleweight in 2013:

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Compared to his 2021 weigh in for Summit FC:

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Without the tattoo I wouldn’t even know it’s the same person.

His win over Shough marked the second time Belcher has competed in 2021. “The Talent” captured a unanimous decision victory over Tony Lopez when they went to war under the BKFC banner back in August.

“My heart is full, and I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life,” Belcher said after defeating Lopez. “I’m blessed to have minimum damage and had zero concussion symptoms, unlike my MMA bouts where I had concussion symptoms every time. My eye is good and vision is better now than it was in 2014.”

A date for Belcher’s boxing return has yet to be determined.