What to do with Vitor Belfort?
That’s one of the more pressing questions on the mind of UFC president Dana White these days. Belfort has four consecutive wins at middleweight, with three of those wins coming by knockout.
Belfort is one of the more popular fighters on the UFC’s roster, and his late-career resurgence put him back in title contention long after most gave up on him.
In two consecutive fights, Belfort faced an opponent that would have be given a title shot if they beat the Brazilian. Despite scoring highlight-reel knockouts over Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold, Belfort still hasn’t been given his second crack at the middleweight title.
Of course, that’s mostly because a rematch between new champion Chris Weidman and Anderson Silva is one of the biggest money fights available to the UFC.
Belfort may be deserving of a crack at the gold, but there’s not a single person on the planet that would prefer seeing him face Weidman instead of Silva.
Where does that leave Belfort?
The UFC offered him a fight with Tim Kennedy, but Belfort turned it down, saying that he’ll only fight for the championship at 185 pounds. He’s willing to fight anyone in any other weight class; he even offered to take a fight at heavyweight.
What Belfort really wants, though, is a fight with Chael Sonnen. If he cannot get that fight (Sonnen is already booked to face Shogun Rua later this month), Belfort‘s wife said that her husband’s second choice is Dan Henderson.
According to Eduardo Cruz of Fighters Only, Henderson’s Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach Ricardo Feliciano doesn’t mind the idea of Belfort vs. Henderson 2 at all:
Hendo is already 205lbs, this is his normal weight. If this bout happens in November, it will be excellent if included in GSP’s card in Las Vegas. I will pump him up. Vitor will regret to have asked for this rematch!
On Oct. 21, 2006, Belfort and Henderson squared off at PRIDE 32. Held in Las Vegas, the fight was notable for its curious judging scorecards: Two ringside judges scored it 30-27 for Henderson, while a third awarded Henderson the win by a score of 30-24.
Oh, and Belfort tested positive for 4-hydroxytestosterone after the fight and was suspended for a year; that failed test ultimately led to Keith Kizer—the executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission—noting to Bleacher Report that he’d have a difficult time awarding Belfort an exemption for testosterone replacement therapy.
I don’t see Vitor Belfort getting a TRT exemption from us. I really don’t and I feel kind of bad for him in some ways because if he has learned from his mistakes and now he’s trying to do it the right way and his levels are low with the treatment good for him and I hope he is doing that.
Because of Belfort‘s inability to secure a TRT exemption in Nevada, I’d be highly surprised if the UFC books the fight for UFC 167 in Las Vegas. If the promotion does elect to put Henderson in the cage with Belfort, I’d expect to see it take place in Brazil or anywhere else that isn’t governed by a strict commission.
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