It seems that a rumored title eliminator between Vitor Belfort and Michael Bisping isn’t official as both fighters have denied that the bout exists.
Neither the UFC nor company president Dana White have said anything about the match, but Belfort recently sent a message via his Twitter feed saying that nothing has been planned yet:
I don’t have anything confirmed about fighting Bisping. It’s all rumors. When I know about it will let you guys know.
Update — It seems the rumor gained fuel off an announcement from a minor UK rumors website, causing the story to be picked up by sites Caged Insider and SporTV. In a preemptive piece, SporTV used this as their headline:
Vitor Belfort UFC schedule x Michael Bisping for January 19 in Brazil
Bisping has also denied knowledge of an upcoming fight against Belfort, openly wondering on his own Twitter account where the news was coming from.
Belfort, who came within inches of defeating UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones at UFC 152, boasts a 10-6 record in the promotion stretching back to the UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament in 1997. Belfort has gone 21-10 over his entire 16-year MMA career.
Prior to the Jones fight, Belfort’s last loss came at the hands of middleweight champion Anderson Silva in a knockout loss following a sharp front kick to the face.
Bisping also last saw action at UFC 152, with his fight against Brian Stann ending in a hard-fought decision win. Often credited as a perennial title contender, Bisping stands at 13-4 in his UFC career with a 5-1 record in his last six fights—his most recent setback coming from a controversial decision loss to Chael Sonnen during UFC on FOX 2.
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