After Vitor Belfort‘s uncharacteristic callouts of Chael Sonnen and Jon Jones after knocking out Michael Bisping at UFC on FX 7, few people were expecting either matchup to come to fruition.
However, Sonnen has now come back with a shocking update: Belfort‘s camp is not interested in fighting the trash talking American after all.
“The American Gangster” broke the news in a live chat with fans on UFC.com on Wednesday (transcription via MMA Fighting).
“I thought he challenged me,” Sonnen wrote during the live chat. “Which I quickly accepted. Then his people reached out to me and said I simply [misunderstood], that he simply wants the fight that I have, that he does not wish to fight me … It’s a good move by him, he’s terrible.”
After his highlight reel TKO over Bisping, Belfort had some strong words that were unquestionably directed at Sonnen (via MMA Mania).
“He is a clown,” Belfort said. “Get out, get out of the way. You just got knocked out pretty badly by Anderson Silva , then you fight Jon Jones. You don’t deserve it. Do the reality show. … Let me fight. Real champion vs. real champion. I think you are a good athlete, but you need to go to the back of the line and let me fight the real champion in a rematch.”
Belfort‘s surprising verbal venom left many pundits scratching their heads, considering he got completely dominated by Jones, the UFC’s 205-pound champ, at their UFC 152 encounter in September.
“The Phenom” did come close with an armbar from his guard in the opening moments of the fight, but essentially provided no offense after the fact.
Additionally, while Sonnen did suffer a second round TKO loss to Silva at UFC 148 in July, it seems a bit hypocritical for Belfort to make such a comment.
The aggressive Brazilian striker tried to stand with “The Spider” at their UFC 126 showdown in Feb. 2011, only to suffer an embarrassing front kick knockout in the first round.
Whether the callout made sense or not, “Uncle Chael” was quick to accept, even though he has his own fight with Jones booked for UFC 159 in April.
“Let be really clear and speak directly to you, Vitor. You’ve been telling the world you want to meet Jesus, and I’ll gladly arrange that travel. But first, I’m going to get rid of Jon Jones, but you are next.
Is Chael‘s first hand account accurate or is he simply doing the best he can to further enrage one of his many Brazilian rivals?
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