UFC President Dana White has confirmed discussions are underway about a possible rematch between Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort.
White was speaking to UFC co-commentator Joe Rogan on his podcast, the Joe Rogan Experience, when talk turned to the potential bout. When Rogan insisted that’s a fight he’d like to see, the UFC chief revealed the wheels are in motion.
“I know,” said White when pressed on the possibility of the two Brazilians fighting again, per Marc Raimondi of MMA Fighting. “I don’t disagree. We’re working on it.” He also confirmed Belfort is keen on getting the fight scheduled, although didn’t reveal whether Silva was equally willing.
The two men previously fought at UFC 126 in 2011. On that occasion, Silva picked up an early knockout victory after a stunning front-kick connected sweetly on Belfort’s chin.
The win for Silva made up part of his record sequence of title defences, which spanned an impressive 10 fights before a loss to Chris Weidman in 2013. The 40-year-old lost to Weidman again in a rematch after fracturing his leg, and his first fight upon returning from the devastating injury, against Nick Diaz, was ruled a no contest after Silva tested positive for banned substances.
Belfort has recovered well from his defeat to Silva four years ago, although he has fallen short in the two title matches he’s had, losing to Jon Jones at light heavyweight and Weidman at middleweight. His last win was an impressive one, though, knocking out Dan Henderson in spectacular style.
While Silva is revered as one of the most gifted competitors ever to grace the sport, MMA journalist Josh Gross thinks Belfort deserves to be similarly highly thought of:
It’s a fight that will split the fans. On the one hand, if it was to go ahead, this would be a battle between two illustrious names, two wonderful strikers and given the age of both men, would be vital in potentially plotting a route back to the very top one last time. However, with Belfort and Silva 38 and 40 years old, respectively, they are both beyond their peak.
While there wouldn’t be a belt on the line, there’d be a few interesting subplots to the fight. Mike Johnston of Sportsnet noted one particular statistic Silva would be looking to amend:
White has teased MMA fanatics with these words and debate will naturally rage over the merits of these two going toe-to-toe again. Granted, there are a lot of exciting young fighters blitzing their way through the ranks who could do with some exposure on a big stage, but there’s nothing quite like seeing two established, experienced and exciting competitors pit their wits against each other.
Belfort may well be the favourite if the two meet. Despite his outrageous natural ability, should this fight take place in early 2016, it’d only be Silva’s second since December 2013, during which time he has had to recover from a fractured leg.
For someone in the twilight of his career, such a prolonged spell of inactivity is bound to have a debilitating impact. By contrast, Belfort proved against Henderson he still has the power to trouble anyone at this level.
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