Following their coaching stints on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil, Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva will fight at UFC 147, and in so doing renew a rivalry that first began more than a decade ago.
Fans have anticipated this rematch since 1998, when Belfort knocked Wandy out at UFC Brazil. Fueling that fire is the fact that Silva and Belfort have been confrontational with each other in the past.
Belfort told FightersOnly.com recently that he holds no personal animosity toward “The Axe Murderer,” and that any ill will is strictly business-related.
“Wanderlei is a high-profile adversary, one of the great names of (Brazil),” Belfort said in the interview. “Yeah, I have got a rivalry with him, but it’s only sporting. I don’t feel angry at him or have anything against him.”
But at the same time, the rivalry appears to be at least somewhat genuine. Silva recently made remarks toward Belfort and his coaching methods on the show, but “The Phenom” said he won’t respond and prefers to wait until their matchup to do his talking.
“The thing with Wanderlei is that he wants to destabilize me mentally. He cannot judge me,” he said. “The important thing is to wait and see the result—when we fight, I will run over him and show what a true competitor is.”
The rivalry is only seeming to intensify between Belfort and Silva, and the months of trash talk and preparation will soon culminate in one of the anticipated bouts of the year. Their rematch is expected to co-headline UFC 147, which will feature a middleweight title bout between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen.
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